Shared Hosting is presumably the most known and used among casual web surfers and entrepreneurs alike. If you have a website right away, and you don't know what shared hosting is, chances are you are on it.

In the US alone there are factually thousands of web hosts that offer shared web hosting. Some of these hosts have their own data center; others let out servers from larger data centers. Then there are resellers, who themselves have borrowed shared server space or dedicated servers with bigger web hosts.

Let's take a look at the idea of shared web hosting plans.

With shared hosting, numerous individual websites from different customers reside all on the same physical server. That means that all of these websites share the similar resources on that server. As a result, none of these sites will be able to consume 100% of the server's resources. To a certain extent, they will be divided among all of the websites hosted on that respective server.

This is to keep costs little and to enable web hosts to offer plans in the price range shared hosting is known for. As all of the shared hosting accounts on a server utilize the same hardware, maintenance and administration costs are low. But don't many hosts propose unlimited bandwidth and disk space with shared hosting?

Yes, indeed some do. Though, disk space and bandwidth are not the same as RAM and CPU usage, which will have to be capped to ensure the server's stability. This means that your website is likely not going to load as fast or be as receptive as on a dedicated server. This is especially true for sites that rely heavily on scripting as well as queries to the database.

Not all websites are created evenly. Some static web pages consume very few resources to host and serve, others need a lot. Good hosts will transfer your website among different servers to ensure you are getting the performance you need. As well, good hosts will not completely fill a server; rather cap it at a certain percentage.

On the other hand, not even bandwidth (or disk space) is unlimited - there is a physical limit the network can handle, and most hosts will suggest a dedicated server once you reach that limit. If you host lots of images or other media files, you may want to consider hosting them separately on a storage service like the Amazon S3.

Read your host's Terms of Service carefully. Shared hosting providers generally do not allow resource-hungry applications like Forex programs or live streams to be run on shared hosts.

Out of the box, nearly all shared hosting solutions serve all domains with a shared IP address. You can see what new domains can be found on the same IP you have by looking up your domain and the matching IP on www.webhosting.info. On the other hand, if you require a dedicated IP (e.g. for SSL), that's usually possible for a small monthly fee.

One more concern with shared hosting is security. Bad neighbors are hypothetically able to hack into files owned by other domains on the same host. As well, not everybody updates their installs of WordPress, DruPal etc. frequently, leaving room for exploits on that host.

You will either have to accept the fact and live with it, or move to a more exclusive solution like dedicated servers. In any case, you should forever update all of your web applications as soon as possible to minimize the risk of security holes. Do not host your site on a shared host if you are handling extremely sensitive data.

To some things up, most people run their websites on shared hosts, and happily so. It is certainly worth your time (and some trial and error) to find a good host to make the most out of your shared web hosting solution. Take security updates for your applications of choice serious, most excellent yet subscribe to their mailing list or rss feed to stay informed. Have Backup often. Don't rely on your host to support your files in the event you have been hacked. Don't forget your database(s).

A<a href=”http://www.savvyehosting.com”/>shared hosting</a>service or virtual hosting service or derive host refers to a <a href=”http://www.savvyehosting.com”/>web hosting</a> service where many websites reside on one web server connected to the Internet.