Shared web site hosting is a very popular and effective way to save money on web hosting services. Shared hosting is exactly what it sounds like: a super-sized web server that is shared by many different clients. Shared web site hosting gives each of its clients its own web space, tools and services for hosting their particular web sites. However, these clients do not have access to each other's domains, so privacy is maintained just as it would be on a standard web host.

This allows costs to be kept low, and thus prices to be kept down. For individuals or small businesses starting off with a new website, this is a good option. Usually, starter websites are relatively small and don't have an enormous amount of traffic (as opposed to the web server of the New York Times), so there is very little chance of exceeding the space and transfer allotments provided by the shared hosting plan.

What to Look for in Shared Web Site Hosting

Cost is the main reason people choose shared web site hosting. However, it shouldn't be the only one. Issues such as reliability, server security, user friendliness, and customer service are equally important. Anyone with experience running a web site will tell you that an insecure web server, vulnerable to hackers, isn't worth the money you may be saving. The same thing goes for control panels that are difficult and frustrating to use, service inconsistencies, or inadequate customer service that leaves you waiting and worrying.

Reliability in a shared web site hosting service means that your web site will always be ready and available to receive visitors. Server outages, on the other hand, take your domain out of circulation until the problem is resolved. Some people complain about an inordinate amount of "down time" on their host servers. This should not be a matter of course. It should be a very infrequent exception to the rule of constant server availability, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Any hosting service whose clients suffer from repeated server unavailability has obvious technical problems and should be avoided.

Security and Shared Web Site Hosting

Another important indicator of shared web site hosting quality is server security. By now, nearly everyone has heard horror stories of hackers breaking into corporate or personal websites and vandalizing or stealing data. Security technology keeps evolving as hackers become more sophisticated. Security certificates, which encrypt data being sent through the server, are a good insurance against that information being viewed by unauthorized eyes.

Security certificates have been around for awhile and have become standard. However, there are other security tools available, such as trust logos. These are tools to help identify your website to customers as legitimate. Trust logos differentiate your business from all the fraudulent spam that arrives in people's mailboxes every day.

User Friendliness and Customer Service

User friendliness will determine whether your web hosting experience will be a pleasant one or a time-wasting nightmare. It doesn't matter how technically ingenious a web hosting plan may be. If it's a mystery how to use it, all that wonderful technology will be wasted on you. All shared hosting plans should come with a well-organized, easy to use control panel, as well as detailed instructions and FAQs about the panel.

Any questions that remain unresolved, of course, are for the customer service department. Here we arrive at the final but crucial component of web hosting. When you have a problem, you'll need to depend on a good support team that offers two key features: technical expertise and responsiveness. Many web hosting services are good at one, but not the other. The best shared web site hosting services provide both aspects of customer support.