Shared Hosting

What is shared hosting?

Shared hosting is a common type of hosting for your website. It’s where the service provider hosts multiple websites on one physical web server. Typically, most websites don't use many server resources, so shared hosting lets providers offer stable service at a low cost. If you decide that shared hosting is right for you, you’ll need to decide which type of shared hosting you want. GoDaddy offers three shared hosting solutions: Linux plans using cPanel, Windows plans using Plesk, and WordPress Hosting. Each of these solutions offers different features and benefits. You can learn more about all of them on GoDaddy.com. Remember, shared hosting allows you to share hosting space and costs with others, while still getting the speed and space you need for your small business website.

How does shared hosting work?

Once you purchase a shared hosting plan, GoDaddy stores your site on one of our servers and assigns it a unique DNS. The DNS serves as the address that allows people around the world to find and view your website. This unique address is required in order for people to view your site. By purchasing a shared hosting website hosting package, you're buying space on one of our servers. It’s similar to the space on a computer’s hard drive, but the server allows you to access the files from your website anywhere. Basically, shared hosting means based on the foundation of sharing a single server, you can deploy multiple websites on a shared web host.

Who should use shared hosting?

Shared hosting is ideal for small business owners. By sharing a hosting server with others, shared hosting solutions allow you to get your small business website the power and space it needs, at a lower cost than a dedicated hosting solution. At GoDaddy, we offer fast, reliable shared hosting plans for every need - from a basic blog to high-powered site. E.g., Shared hosting is the most budget-friendly type of hosting. Since you're sharing resources — like neighbors in an apartment building — you spend less but have fewer options and less control; WordPress hosting is built on our state-of-the-art hosting; and Managed WordPress hosting is the perfect solution for anyone who wants the power and simplicity of WordPress without the hassle of constant updates and technical adjustments.

What if I need more power than shared hosting?

Then Virtual Private Servers (VPS) and business hosting are good options, each dedicate specific portions of a web server’s capacity and processing to each customer. Like a condo, your space (on the server) is yours.

Ok, how about getting maximum power beyond a shared hosting solution.

Dedicated server hosting — the mansion of hosting analogies — offers unlimited resources at a premium price. You can choose between full root access or managed plans. It’s your call.

What website should not use shared hosting?

Though there isn’t a one size fits all solution to hosting, certain websites call for different hosting capabilities, it’s safe to say ecommerce, enterprise-level, high-traffic or resource heavy sites – those that require maximum power and scalability – would be better suited for dedicated hosting platforms. Particularly, ecommerce sites and online retail stores are examples of websites that need something more robust and complex than shared hosting plan. And although it’s possible to host an online store on a shared hosting account, you’d be better off with a dedicated server. So, for dedicated server needs, we recommend our business hosting and ecommerce and VPS plans.