How Shared Hosting Limits Growth: Buyer Beware

Shared Hosting is often chosen by users who are just beginning their online endeavors. However, for a growing business, shared hosting can have a number of limitations so it is important to be aware of these limitations before choosing this method of website hosting.
Security
When using shared hosting, there are a number of security weaknesses that you should be aware of. For instance, you have to share security certificates and an IP address which means it is not private. Your own IP address and security certificates ensure better security. There is also the chance of security breaches if the domains on the server are each able to run scripts such as PERL or PHP, or if the server permits shell access. As well, because the host uses prepackaged software, there is the chance your files could be accessed by others sharing the server.
Shared Resources
With shared hosting, CPU, memory, and storage space are shared among the other users of the server. This means resources can be drained if there is suddenly a high flow of incoming traffic which may take your website temporarily offline. Shared server hosts will normally set limits on bandwidth and storage space, so if you have a growing website, you will likely soon outgrow shared hosting.
Limited Use of Software
With shared hosting, you do not have direct control over the server so you are limited in the type of software you can use. It is the shared host that determines what software packages that will be used which can be very restrictive when growing and expanding a business website.
Shared hosting is a good choice if you are just starting out on the internet and have a small website that does not receive a high volume of traffic. However, there will be a time where you will need more server resources and flexibility so you will need to upgrade. A dedicated server is often the ideal choice for people with an online business that is expanding.
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