So, you have finally decided to get your idea off the ground and set up a website for your small business. Well done! Maybe you have already found that the plethora of web hosting options available has left you wondering where to pitch your tent. Naturally, you will be tempted to save money and go with the free hosting options but the negatives far outweigh the savings you are looking at. So now we have ruled out free hosting, we are left with shared hosting and VPS/Dedicated servers. What is the best thing to do?
Start with shared hosting.
Shared hosting may be getting lots of bad press but for a beginner, it is your best bet to getting off the ground. Shared hosting is like the middle ground of web hosting, between hosted and VPS/dedicated, so you will likely be making the right decision by starting there.
Arguments against shared hosting and why you should ignore them
One of the main arguments against a shared hosting plan is that they often struggle to keep up with demands when your website starts swarming with visitors. Barry, at www.bestwebhosting.co.uk, however, has this to say “while there is nothing wrong with that assertion in theory, it is often exaggerated. Some of the best web hosts can comfortably handle 300,000 page views a month on shared hosting. Shared hosting is sufficient for the majority of entry level businesses out there.”
Shared hosting should see you good for the next year or two, as long as your company doesn’t go viral; if it does you will have bags of money and will hire IT consultants to smooth the server transition anyway.
The second argument against shared hosting, is that it is very prone to attacks and the activity of other websites can harm your website. Again, this is true if you subscribe to substandard web hosting plans. A good webhost will have tools in place to make sure your files are safe and that any activities that put other sites on a server at risk are nipped in the bud.
The third argument is that shared hosting can’t hold certain web applications. Well unless you are setting up a website that isn’t for blogging, tutorials, drop shipping, forum activities, online retail etc. you should be perfectly fine. If in the course of any of these activities your website starts to slow down, take a look at optimisation options first before you move to a new host.
Shared hosting is probably good enough for you as a beginner and saves you money
As a beginner, you probably don’t have the budget to pay for VPS hosting or dedicated hosting and since free hosting isn’t an option, shared hosting is your ticket to getting a little of both worlds. From £3/month you can get yourself a good shared hosting plan. A VPS plan can start from £50 or more!
So in summary, a good shared hosting is all you need as a beginner in the online world. As you get deeper into the industry and obviously as your traffic and earnings improve, you can start looking at higher-level options. Make sure that you do your due diligence before pitching your tent with any provider. Shared hosting is cheap but you shouldn’t pay anything for a bad service. Select well!
Cover photo credit: Torkild Retvedt / Flickr
