Last Updated on February 1, 2023 by Obaro Alidou K.
Shared hosting is the most popular type of web hosting because of its price: cheap. If you are looking for the best shared hosting service to start an ecommerce store, a blog, or just your business website, your online journey, here is your best bet.
In this guide, you will learn all the secrets behind shared hosting, understand how it works, get the hidden metrics to value it; plus the list of the world’s top shared web hosting providers regarding speed, uptime, support, security, file limits, and entry process limitations. Now, let’s get in the secrets.
Before anything else, it is important to understand….
What is Shared Hosting?
As its name suggests, shared hosting is the class of hosting where you share the server with many other users.
When you purchase a shared hosting plan, your website is stored on the same server with hundreds or even thousands of other customers.
Different levels of Shared hosting
Levels in shared hosting are done through the hosting plans. With most web hosting providers, you get 3 plans: an entry-level plan which generally allows hosting only 1 website, a middle plan which grants more power and allows unlimited websites, and finally, a high tier plan which is the highest level and also the most powerful.
What is Shared WordPress Hosting?
As WordPress is the most used platform for building websites, people have managed a hosting environment to run WordPress easily. So, shared WordPress hosting is just shared hosting made up for WordPress users.
Shared Hosting vs. VPS Hosting: What Is The Difference?
VPS Hosting is still shared hosting. The only difference, though, is that with VPS hosting, the server is divided into small portions giving each user a dedicated private space for his only needs. As each customer owns his private allocated space, it becomes hard for a given account to hurt another. VPS Hosting is by that way more stable than shared hosting.
Advantages of Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is easy to use. Clients also have a 30-day money-back guarantee (at least) to get their money back if they are not happy with the service. However, those are not big deals. The first and biggest advantage of shared hosting is…
#Cheap Price
The first and foremost reason why 90%+ of website owners are using shared hosting is the cost.
Hiring an entire server costs a lot of money. However, with shared hosting, as you are sharing the resources with many others, you can also share the cost.
So, a dedicated server that would have cost $500/month becomes $5/month with shared hosting. That is why when you browse the web searching for cheap web hosting, 100% of what you find is shared hosting.
#Ease of use
When you are using shared hosting, the company takes care of the servers. You are not responsible for any technical setting.
It also includes cPanel which is the most popular and easiest to use web hosting control panel. CPanel provides a clean dashboard with simple and beautiful icons to help you manage your hosting account with ease.
Everything is just a matter of clicks. You also get Softaculous App Installer which allows you a 1-click install of 300+ scripts like WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, OpenCart, etc.
Things you can do In CPanel
- Add or delete a website
- Create/delete email accounts
- Add sub-domains, parked domain, and add-on domains
- View inodes usage
- Install a blog, eCommerce, social media with 1-click
- Upload a file to your server
- Perform backups
- Install SSL Certificates
There are hundreds of other actions you can perform in your cPanel account.
Now, as you know the advantages, let’s see what is not good about shared hosting.
Shared Hosting Drawbacks
As in everything, low cost most of the time means high drawbacks and, that includes Shared web hosting.
Shared hosting has some disadvantages which make it less desirable for big website projects. Here are the top 5 unhappy facts that come out.
#5 Cons of using shared hosting
1. Performance
When you are sharing the same server, it is still easy for a small website to load under 1s. I have even seen shared servers that run at 350ms like A2 Hosting. But, when your website starts getting a bit heavier (2-5MB), it becomes hard (not impossible) to run fast.
2. Downtime
A shared server is easily overloaded and when that occurs, there are high chances it goes down. That is why it is nearly impossible to get a 100% uptime for a period of 6 months when hosted on a shared server.
In some cases, your site might go down several times within a month or even a week if you choose a poor hosting provider.
3. CPU usage
CPU usage is a metric used by the web hosting industry to prevent server injuries in shared hosting.
It doesn’t matter if your hosting plan is unlimited or not; when you are on shared hosting, you are limited in the server’s CPU usage.
In fact, you will be allowed to use up to 25% only of the CPU. If you exceed the limit for more than 10s, most web hosts will suspend your account.
Ok; calm down; it is just the daily utilization and for the lowest plan. When you buy the top tier plan, you might be allowed to use up to 100% of CPU each day.
4. Entry Process Limitation
Shared hosting also limits the total number of visitors who can request your web pages at the same time. The metric used is called Entry Process or Concurrent Connections.
Most hosting providers will allow 10-20 concurrent connections for shared hosting.
Let me be clear— 10 concurrent connections limit might allow 10-30 people to browse your site at the same time. How? Most visitors won’t be clicking on your web pages each second. They will rest some seconds or even minutes to read, look at your images…etc. releasing connections for others.
However, I always think a 20 concurrent connection limit is the minimum to be comfortable. Higher is great.
5. Inode limits
Here is another limitation you need to take a closer look at when buying shared hosting.
In fact, you are also limited in the total number of files you can use and it is called inodes.
In web hosting, inodes represent the total number of files allowed per hosting account. The higher it is, the better your experience.
Shuuuut…calm down because a reputable hosting company will supply you with hundreds of thousands of inodes which is more than enough. And, guess what; I have already done the hard work and listed the world’s best web hosting companies where files limits won’t get you back. More on that further below.
Hand-Picked Post: Inodes Limits: #1 Web Hosting Limit That Hurts-The Definitive Guide
How Much Should You Pay For Shared Hosting?
The best thing about shared hosting is its cheap pricing. You can get a deal for as low as $4.95-$10 per month. And, If you are ready for a 3 year upfront payment, you can even grab a $2.95/month offer.
Keep in mind though that this is just for the entry-level and middle plans. The highest plans which provide more power and features might cost more.
Is Shared Hosting Good for Business
Absolutely YES, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. However, for ambitious and big/high traffic website projects, you better look for something more stable like VPS, Managed Hosting, or Dedicated server.
Is Shared Hosting Good for E-commerce?
Again, YES. But it depends on the size. You can’t expect to run Amazon or eBay on shared hosting. But, for small shops, it is more than OK. Here is an example of solid eCommerce hosting.
When to Use Shared Hosting?
When you are just starting a blog, making your own small business website, and starting a new/small eCommerce website, shared hosting is the best bet. Why? Simply because it is the most profitable hosting deal to start most types of online businesses.
Likewise, if you already own a website (blog, eCommerce, etc.) and your monthly traffic doesn’t exceed 100,000 visits, shared hosting will still do the job. You will just need a quality host and keep switching to a more powerful plan to handle your growth.
Entry-level plan: for up to 25,000 visits/month
Middle plan: for up to 50,000 visits/month
High tier plan: for up to 100,000 visits/month
When to Not Use Shared Hosting?
Most people abuse it because it is the cheapest hosting deal. Stop it; it is a mistake. Sometimes, shared hosting might hurt your client/user experience, SEO, and even your entire business. Below are two situations where you should avoid using it.
1. When your Website Becomes More than a Hobby
No matter the kind of website you own; blog, company’s website, online store; when you start making a good amount of money ($2,000+/month), you should value your business and switch to a more stable hosting. It could be managed hosting or VPS.
By doing so, you are providing your visitors/clients a better user experience which would certainly result in better Google ranking and more profit on your side.
2. When You Have High Traffic
Switching to a more powerful hosting when your traffic has grown is a must.
Remember, shared hosting has tiny entry process limits. Then, when you start getting high traffic, those limits might not handle your audience.
The problem though is that when you exceed the entry process limits by far, your blog starts crashing and hurting, by the way, user experience, SEO, which will result in lower ranking and profit. VALUE YOUR AUDIENCE by switching to a powerful hosting when you exceed 100k monthly visits.
However, less than that, please stay with shared hosting; it is the best value. The question now is: What are the best shared web hosting services?
#5 Best Shared Hosting: With The Largest Inodes and Entry Process Limits
If you want quality hosting where you won’t get in trouble with inodes and entry process limitations, don’t waste your time. Here are some of the best shared hosts in the market (server technology compared).
| Inodes limits | Entry Process | Cost/month | ||
| A2 Hosting | 600k on every plan | 15-100 | $3.92 | Get 63% OFF |
| FastComet | 250k-500K | 20-40 | $2.95 | Get 60% OFF |
| InterServer | 250k | 25 | $5 | Visit |
| Hostarmada | 240k-500k | 10-50 | $2.95 | Get 65% OFF |
| Hostwinds | 250k-600K | 15-20 | $3.29 | Visit |
Note: The speed graphs in this post show average loading times for a website hosted on those companies shared servers. We gathered these results from diagnostics we collected before and after a website was moved to those companies. It doesn’t include any caching or speed boost system. The actual speed will depend on the kind of website you own, its size, and the hosting location you choose.
#1. A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting is a leading web hosting provider which excels in speed and security. It is even the fastest shared hosting in the market. With data centers in the USA, Europe, and Asia, the company has the largest inodes limits from the whole hosting industry and supply customers with responsive and knowledgeable support.
A2 Hosting Speed And Uptime
When it comes to speed, A2 Hosting is the best. It has a loading time of around 350 ms and 99.97% uptime.
A2 Shared Hosting Inodes And Concurrent Connections
No matter the shared hosting plan you purchase; A2 Hosting gives you 600,000 inodes and up to 100 concurrent connections!
The default concurrent connections limit is actually 35. But, depending on the server load, you are allowed to use up to 100.
STARTUP: 600,000 inodes and 15-100 Concurrent connections
DRIVE: 600,000 inodes and 35-100 Concurrent connections
TURBO BOOST: 600,000 inodes and 35-100 Concurrent connections
TURBO MAX: 600,000 inodes and 35-100 Concurrent connections
A2 Hosting Features
- Free SSL Certificates
- Unlimited SSD Storage
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- Free CDN
- Latest cPanel
- 1-click App Installation (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Prestashop…)
- 4 Worldwide datacenters to choose from
- Any time money-back guarantee
- 24/7 Guru live chat support
- From $3.92/month
- Get it $52.86/year!
Visit: https://www.a2hosting.com
Hand-picked Post: A2 Hosting vs. SiteGround: 10+ Reasons Why A2 Hosting Destroys the Wheel
#2. FastComet
FastComet shared hosting is a cloud hosting which means more stable and reliable. The company owns 9 datacenters and supply customers with premium service and VIP support. Best of all, it is cheap and allows one of the largest inodes and entry process limits for shared hosting.
FastComet Speed And Uptime
FastComet servers are up nearly all the time which is impressive for shared hosting and loading time is also great. It has recorded a 99.99% uptime and 620 ms overall in speed.
Ps: HostGator shared hosting speed is 950 ms (slow).
FastComet Inodes And Concurrent Connections
FastComet also excels at server resource allocation. It provides larger inodes and entry process than most big hosting companies like BlueHost (See Review).
FastCloud: 250,000 inodes and 20 Concurrent connections
FastCloud Plus: 350,000 inodes and 30 Concurrent connections
FastCloud Extra: 500,000 inodes and 40 Concurrent connections
FastComet Hosting Features
- Free domain name transfer
- Free SSL Certificates
- Free SSD Storage
- Free CDN
- Free cPanel
- 1-click SOFTACULOUS App Installer
- 9 datacenters to choose from
- 45 days money-back guarantee
- Free 24/7 premium support by experts
- From $3.95/month
- Get FastCloud for only $59.3/year!
Visit the website: https://www.fastcomet.com
#3. InterServer
InterServer started in 1999. They have 20 years of hosting excellence. It is a US-based hosting company with 4 datacenters (Three in Secaucus, NJ and one in Los Angeles) using LiteSpeed Web Server technology plus InterShield security to make your site is as fast as secure. They shared hosting offer is made up with a unique hosting plan that includes Unlimited of everything (disk space, bandwidth, hosted websites, email accounts, etc.)
InterServer Speed And Uptime
With LiteSpeed technology out of the box, InterServer performs well in speed and even better than most shared hosting providers with a great 433 ms loading time. When it comes to uptime, InterServer beats nearly every shared hosting company with a fantastic uptime for over 6 months. Unbelievable; that the best uptime I have seen from a cheap shared hosting service.
InterServer Inodes And Concurrent Connections
InterServer also excels at resource allocation with more than enough Inodes and entry process limits.
InterServer Shared hosting plan
Again they have only one shared hosting plan and it provides up to 400k inodes and 25-50 Entry process limit depending on your website resource requirement.
Simple Plan: 250k-400k inodes and 25-50 Concurrent connections
InterServer Features
- $1.99 domain name for the first year
- Free SSL Certificates
- Free unlimited site transfers
- Unlimited hosted domains
- Free Website builder
- Unlimited SSD Storage
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- Free CDN
- Free cPanel
- SOFTACULOUS App Installer (150+ Cloud Apps with 1-click Installation)
- 30 days money-back guarantee
- Free 24/7 support by experts
- Fixed pricing
- And much more
Price: $5/month
Visit the website: https://www.interserver.net
Check InterServerGet your first month for only $0.01 + special 10% Discount
#4. HostArmada
Hostarmada is a premium shared cloud hosting provider who focus on performance, security , and customer experience. They have built a reliable infrastructure to provide first-class service and support to clients. HostArmada owns 9 datacenters around the globe (Toronto, Fremont, Newark, Dallas, London, Frankfurt, Bangalore, Singapore, and Sydney) and has one of the best server technologies in the market. Apart from speed and support, they also excel at inodes and entry process limits.
Hostarmada Speed And Uptime
Hostarmada has excellent Speed and uptime as you can see from the screenshot below.
HA performance is 576ms loading time and 99.98% for uptime.
HostArmada Inodes And Concurrent Connections
Start Dock: 240,000 inodes and 20 Concurrent connections
Web Warp: 350,000 inodes and 30 Concurrent connections
Speed Reaper: 500,000 inodes and 50 Concurrent connections
Price: From $2.95/month
HostArmada Features
- Free domain name for life
- Free SSL Certificates
- Premium SSD Storage
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- Free CDN
- Free cPanel
- SOFTACULOUS App Installer (150+ Cloud Apps with 1-click Installation)
- 9 datacenters to choose from
- 45 days money-back guarantee
- Free 24/7 premium support by experts
- From $2.95/month
#5. Hostwinds
Hostwinds shared hosting is good for small websites. The entry process limits might be tiny for big websites but it is enough for most users.
Nonetheless, they also have Business hosting which is still shared hosting with LiteSpeed Servers to handle more demanding sites. They have one of the cheapest prices, great inodes limits, and the only company I have seen that provides free dedicated IP address on shared hosting.
Hostwinds Speed And Uptime
Hostwinds might not be the best in speed but, it loads under 1s and the uptime is better than the industry average.
As you can see from the screenshot, Hostwinds gets 701 ms in speed and 100% uptime.
Hostwinds Features
- A free domain name for the first year
- Free SSL Certificates
- Unlimited SSD Storage
- Unlimited Bandwidth
- Free CDN
- Latest cPanel
- 150+ Cloud Apps with 1-click installation
- Free Dedicated IP address
- Only 50-60 clients per server
- 30 days money-back guarantee
- 24/7 live chat support
- From $3.29/month
- Get it $39.4/year!
Hostwinds Inodes And Concurrent Connections
#Hostwinds Shared
For shared hosting, Hostwinds allows 250,000 inodes on each plan which is still good than BlueHost’s 50,000.
BASIC: 250,000 inodes and 15 concurrent connections
ADVANCED: 250,000 inodes and 15 concurrent connections
ULTIMATE: 250,000 inodes and 15 concurrent connections
Website: https://www.hostwinds.com
Check Hostwinds[Get it 53% OFF now ($39.42/year)]
#5 Best Shared Hosting: Full Comparison Table
| FastComet | A2 Hosting | InterServer | HostArmada | Hostwinds | ||
| Inodes | 250k-500K | 600k on every plan | 400k | 240k-500k | 250k-600K | |
| Entry Process | 20-40 | 35-100 | 30 | 20-50 | 15-20 | |
| Av. Speed | 0.7S | 0.35S | 0.47S | 0.5S | 0.7S | |
| Price | $3.95 | $3.92 | $5 | $2.95 | $3.29 | |
| Visit | Visit | Visit | Visit | Visit |
Note: This list is being updated each month as data are subject to changes.
Shared Hosting Final Thought
Shared hosting might not be the most powerful type of web hosting but, it is the best web hosting for beginners and low traffic websites, blogs, and even eCommerce.
Nevertheless, I recommend you to check the inodes and entry process limits before buying.
Can’t go through the pain? Get one from these #2 FastComet A2 Hosting
OR, find one from the best web hosting companies ranked after 13 merciless benchmarks.
Now, it is your turn!
What do you think about shared hosting? Which one is your favorite? Do you have any particular pain? Comment down below.
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Cheer!
Obaro
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