TechnologyCloud Hosting vs. Shared Hosting: Which is Best for You?By pepnewz Posted on January 18, 201914 min read002,851Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google+Share on LinkedinTo get a website running on the internet, you need the services of a web hosting provider such as Oxygen Digital. However, how do you select the best kind of hosting for your business? And what’s the variation between shared hosting and cloud hosting?There’s no denying that web hosting can be tricky and, more often than not, difficult to understand. Plus, there are tons of options available out there. It is rather easy to get lost. With that said, don’t get disappointed if you get confused at the starting point.To better understand which hosting is right for you, you need to delve deeper on the key features such as support, pricing, uptime, and security. Each hosting option differs under each of these features. For a little help, we’ll walk you through the differences between cloud hosting and shared hosting to assess which is right for your business.What is Cloud Hosting?Cloud hosting is where your site gets hosted on multiple servers, rather than having one server to host your website. So, if one server is down, your website can be, for the most part, migrated or directed to another server.According to cloud computing technology, it enables a cluster of machines to work as one entity. Thus, rest assured that your site gets hosted successfully because of the many servers. Users of cloud hosting can enjoy its flexibility and speed. Furthermore, engineers can easily take out resources because high traffic is normal or usual for this kind of web hosting service.What is Shared Hosting?This hosting service points out to the hosting plan that contains a cluster of sites hosted all together and using shared resources (bandwidth, disk space, storage, and databases) on a single server. Most website hosting providers offer this kind of plan.Shared hosting needs or must have a dedicated server given by the hosting provider. Those people who use this hosting plan can enjoy its affordability and ease of use. However, it may not be the best option for sites with tons of traffic.Shared Hosting vs. Cloud Hosting: FeaturesHere are several features that set both web hosting plan apart from each other. Check them out.SupportWith regards to support, cloud web hosting gets the upper hand. Why? It’s because cloud hosting plans offer more features than other hosting options. For the most part, these kinds of hosting plans have more bandwidth, storage, and databases.On the other hand, shared web hosting tends to have more limitations compared to the cloud web hosting. Even if the hosting plan tell its users that they have unlimited resources, but if the team monitoring the users see one user taking full advantage of the resources, consequences such as suspension can happen.UptimeAlthough shared web hosting can guarantee about 99.9 per cent uptimes, it’s rather complicated and tricky to live up to that. One particular reason for this problem is the, believe it or not, sharing of resources. For instance, if one site happens to have lots of traffic, it could, for the most part, cause downtime problems with all the other sites on that particular server.On the other hand, cloud hosting provides the best uptimes because the users are, more often than not, migrated on a dedicated server. Although sharing of resources is still there, downtime issues on one web server mean sites are getting transferred to another apt server.BonusesWith regards to bonuses, shared web hosting gets the upper hand. Since most web hosting providers are trying their best to attract clients of shared web hosting, they tend to offer free bonuses for those who subscribe to the shared web hosting plan. It can range from website builders, free web transfers, and domain names, which is a massive benefit for shared web hosting users.On the other hand, cloud web hosting users have limited choices or aren’t prone to such freebies.SecurityIn shared web hosting, the security is, for the most part, based on applications and databases, making them prone to hackers. When a person gets to have access to the shared hosting server, it’ll be much easier to access the sites on it. And when a site gets hacked, most hackers leave a point of entry so that they can try to cut it again.With that said, because security issues are prevalent on shared web hosting, most hosting providers tell their users to install reliable antiviruses such as Kaspersky Internet Security and Norton Internet Security. Moreover, they also advise their users to use strong passwords and to get rid of futile options on your Personal Home Page (PHP) settings to improve security.On the other hand, cloud web hosting providers handles emerging issues through security control. For the most part, there are four controls behind the structure of cloud web hosting security. These are the following:Corrective controlsDeterrent controlsDetective controlsPreventative controlsAlthough cloud web hosting experience the usual security problems such as illegal invasion, network eavesdropping, and cloud-specific ones such as abuse of side channel and cloud services attacks, cloud hosting has strengthened their data integrity, data confidentiality, and data access control. Other than that, the service has also integrated encrypted algorithms to protect data and privacy even more.Ultimately, cloud web hosting gets the upper hand when it comes to security. It provides more control regarding safety.SourcePerformanceSince the resources are, for the most part, shared on shared web hosting, it can be a limiting aspect that weakens speed. Even though there are hosting providers that did well in this aspect, most hosting providers have a hard time to offer sufficient resources for this particular feature. Additionally, you might have to encounter issues of constant outages and downtimes.On the other hand, cloud web hosting offers auto scalable, ultra-fast, and customizable platform. In cases of a high volume of traffic, the website does not bulge. Well, this kind of service is great for sites with high traffic.SpeedWhen it comes to speed, cloud web hosting is the best. With the unlimited resources, you can have for your own site to keep it up and to run at high speed. In shared web hosting, when a site has high traffic, the other sites are, for the most part, affected with slow speeds, which means terrible loading speed. With that, users usually have to wait for the issue to be, like it or not, resolved to continue their online presence.PricingLastly, with regards to the pricing, shared web hosting gets the upper hand. Since you share the resources with other users, you also get to share the cost with them. For the cloud hosting, you only pay for the services you use. So, the price comes down with your website’s structure.Takeaway Takeaway If you’re looking for an affordable web hosting service, then shared web hosting might be the right service for you. It’s great for people who have a low budget or for startup business owners because they can take advantage of features needed to get you started at an affordable price.On the other hand, cloud web hosting gets the upper hand with regards to uptime, security, performance, and speed. It’s ideal for websites that have high traffic or medium to large businesses. Additionally, if you want to learn how to optimize your website, you can find valuable insights and tips here.Author BioPauline Jacobs is a writer and a blogger. She loves to write about technical stuff such as web hosting. Pauline is keen on researching information on reputable websites such as Host Namaste. When not working, she spends some quality time with her family.