We’re used to seeing the phrase ‘cloud’ in front of almost every technology term. While most techies understand what the cloud is, the same cannot be true for all of its possible uses. So, before you continue reading, let’s define the difference between cloud hosting and shared hosting.
Briefly speaking, the most popular and cost-effective kind of hosting is known as shared hosting. During shared hosting, a number of websites share a single physical server’s space and resources. Because you get an entire server to yourself and don’t share its resources with anyone, cloud hosting is far more powerful.
What Is Shared Hosting?
Shared web hosting is the most affordable, popular, and generally available sort of hosting option. It’s frequently marketed at $9.99 or less each month.
A single server is distributed among numerous users in shared hosting. Each user will be allocated a set amount of bandwidth. However, any user may add an infinite number of websites to their account. As a result, the server that is divided across numerous accounts might often wind up supporting hundreds of sites!
Pros and Cons of Shared Hosting
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| – Low Cost: The primary benefit of shared hosting is the low cost. | – Performance and Resources: When compared to cloud hosting, the number one drawback of shared hosting is site speed. |
| – Virtually Zero Maintenance: While some users may need to maintain their sites on their own, the majority of server maintenance is handled by the host. | – Flexibility and Customization: The shared instance has been streamlined and configured to be simple to use, although this might be a drawback due to the limited customization options. |
| – Software and Visual Interfaces: A visual control panel is a popular practice in shared solutions, indicating a more straightforward and controllable method for users who do not want to become too technical with web development. | – Targeted Attacks: While less expensive, shared hosting is also less secure. |
Recommended reading: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Shared Hosting
What Is Cloud Hosting?
In contrast, cloud hosting provides an extra layer of abstraction to the hosting environment. Rather than a single server handling many sites under a shared instance, cloud hosting provides a collection of several servers linked to the hosting network. The websites are built around a “pool” of shared resources. This is true for allocated disk space, computing power, and memory. Your data and configuration settings are dispersed among numerous physical devices in various locations, all of which are linked.
Pros and Cons of CLOUD Hosting
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| – Higher Performance: Cloud hosting architecture is intended to manage enormous levels of traffic more effectively than traditional alternatives. | – Cost: Cloud hosting costs significantly more than shared hosting. |
| – Reliability: Some of the most important characteristics of cloud servers are redundancy and high availability. | Maintenance and Security: Ultimate control entails total responsibility for maintenance and security. |
| – Control and Customization: You have complete control over the virtual computer while using cloud hosting. |
Cloud Hosting vs. Web Hosting: Which One Should You Choose?
The first step in deciding whether to use cloud hosting or shared hosting is to identify your requirements. Before developing a detailed action plan, you must first understand your budgetary constraints, the sort of data you will handle, the size and traffic flow, the experience of your staff, and the security budget.
For tiny sites with little to medium traffic, shared hosting is the default option. Implementing cutting-edge security technologies or amassing vast resources is not cost-effective. Personal blogs, reference books, instructive websites, personal storage banks, and testing platforms are a few examples of use cases.
For high-performance sites that require a secure and scalable environment, cloud hosting is the ideal option (on-demand). It is also ideal for low-traffic sites with visitors undertaking computationally intensive tasks, as well as users with unique framework requirements or bespoke installations. Some of the most frequent applications for cloud hosting are gaming servers, high-concurrency shops, streaming platforms, and HIPAA Compliant Hosting data centers.
Following the selection of your cloud type, the following step is to pick a renowned and dependable hosting service provider.
FURTHER READING: |
1. Shared Hosting vs WordPress Hosting: Which One Should You Use? |
2. VPS VS Shared Hosting: What’s the Difference? |
FAQs
Is cloud hosting faster than shared hosting?
Yes, Cloud Hosting is much faster than Shared Hosting since each Cloud Hosting user has their own IP address and server. But with Shared Hosting, all users share the same server, so the greater the number of users within that server the slower it will be.
How many types of hosting are there?
Every website is unique. That is why multiple servers exist to satisfy their demands. A single server may be shared by several websites. Meanwhile, some websites have their own server.
Web hosting is classified into four types:
- Shared Hosting
- VPS Hosting (virtual private server)
- Dedicated Hosting
- Cloud Hosting