Most website owners choose shared web hosting for their websites. Shared web hosting means that one powerful computer called server hosts many websites at the same time. The resources of this server, such as network connection and disk space, are shared between the websites. Thanks to this, the cost of hosting a website is lower for the website owners as well as for the hosts.
One advantage of shared hosting is that users do not have to configure the server shared between many websites, hire an administrator to perform maintenance, make backups etc. Users may concentrate on their websites instead. For those who do not want the administration routine, this is a good variant; however, corporate and professional users who require complete control of their website will find that shared hosting does not suit their needs.
A single web server may host as much as several hundred websites. Consequently, it requires some limitations to be introduced. Normally each user may occupy up to several gigabytes of disk space. There is also a restriction on bandwidth usage, so that all the websites could load equally fast. If you plan that your project might have a lot of visitors, shared hosting is definitely not your choice.
When you create a shared hosting account, you usually get access to a website control panel. It allows you to create, edit and configure your website as well as carry out other types of maintenance work. Working with the control panel interface is easy, so no special knowledge is required. The hosting company’s skilled administrators will be in charge of everything else behind the scene, like software and security.
Since shared hosting suits most websites, the service is highly in demand and in the US alone there are hundreds and thousands of companies ranging from small ones, with just one or two servers, to very large ones, and from expensive to very cheap or even free, funded by advertisements.
If all you need is a dependable place to host your website, and you never have to use complex options requiring an administrator to make special changes to the server, your best choice is shared hosting, since it is inexpensive and easy to use.