There is a reason why shared hosting is the most popular of all the hosting options - it’s affordable and can get the job done assuming it’s for an SMB (small/mid-sized business) with moderate traffic. Web hosting Dubai offers unique shared hosting solutions, and could be used as an inexpensive source to test the hosting provider.

Intro to shared hosting

The concept of shared hosting is quite similar to an apartment building that houses various tenants. These tenants will be obviously sharing the resources and utilities in the building. 

In shared hosting, multiple websites share a single server and all its resources. This shared environment makes this hosting solution more economical than the rest. The hosting provider will be managing the server.

Is it right for you?

It is a right call if you are running a small/mid-scale business and not expecting a lot of traffic. As long as it doesn’t need a lot of resources to run, shared hosting is the right option. However, it doesn’t give you a lot of room to grow. If you expect your hosting solution to grow and adapt proportionately to your business growth, you will have to migrate to a better hosting package. 

Evaluating the shared hosting plan

A fitting solution for new websites, shared hosting allocates a set amount of resources for your website to run. This will be shared by other websites in the server. If your website operations require more resources to retain its functionalities, you can upgrade to better plan albeit at a higher price. 

You can evaluate the hosting package based on the following features.

• Customer support – Websites are basically software that relies on hardware (server). And both these aspects may experience glitches and issues occasionally. If and when such issues arise, you might need additional support to resolve it. That’s why technical support is an important feature of a hosting package regardless of the type. They should be readily available to resolve issues if any.
  
• Control panel – Though this is a standard feature in a hosting solution, not all hosting solutions offer one. A control panel makes it easier for you to manage your hosting account even if you don’t have adequate technical knowledge. However, without a control panel, you will have to rely on the hosting provider to manage your account. 
  
• Reliability – Reliability depends greatly on the uptime offered by the hosting provider. The general rule of thumb is a 99.5% uptime. Even a 0.5% downtime can affect your business, especially during peak sales periods. However, 100% uptime is practically a myth unless it’s a high-end, expensive package. When it comes to shared hosting, 99.5% uptime is a good deal. But mind you that this happens only when other tenants of the server don’t consume a lot of resources. If they do take up a lot of resources, your website will have to work with what it gets. It might affect loading speed and uptime. 
• Easy upgrade/migrate options – A hosting solution should always provide enough room for the website to grow. Better upgrades with more resources should be made available. If they aren’t, the website owner should be able to easily migrate to a different hosting service. 
  

Evaluating the features mentioned above will give you an idea as to how effective the hosting solution in question will be for your website. Despite a few shortcomings, shared hosting can still be dependable if leveraged properly.