According to a TechRepublic report, global internet traffic increased by 25%-35% in March 2020. Lockdowns and the growing WFH (Work From Home) trend are abundantly responsible for this significant traffic spike.
The increased traffic is an excellent opportunity to launch a new website, be it a personal blog, an online store, or a business website.
One of the primary considerations when starting a website is hosting. While there are many different hosting services available now, most people find it difficult to choose between shared web hosting and managed web hosting.
So, what should one select between the two? Is one better than the other?
Let’s take a look:
What is Shared Hosting?
As the name suggests, shared hosting requires a website to share server resources with other websites. Every website that is hosted on a particular server is allocated fixed storage and bandwidth. However, this can vary based on the hosting provider, and the hosting plan one selects. Every website owner is also provided a hosting account for managing day-to-day hosting operations.
As multiple websites are hosted on the same server, shared hosting plans are highly economical. Also, there are now shared hosting plans exclusively designed for the WordPress platform. Shared WordPress hosting can be an ideal option for starting a new blog or a small business website on WordPress.
Top Benefits of Shared Hosting
- Cost-effective: The biggest advantage of shared hosting is its cost. Shared hosting is generally cheaper than every other type of hosting.
- Account Access: Even though the server resources are shared, every website owner is provided an individual hosting account.
- Sufficient Resources and Features: The resources and features one gets with shared hosting are highly adequate for small websites. But this can vary as per the hosting provider.
What is Managed Hosting?
Managed hosting is where the hosting provider manages the day-to-day hosting maintenance and performance of the website. For instance, providers now offer managed WordPress web hosting where the services are optimized for the WordPress platform. They have dedicated engineers and support executives to provide all the help the customers need.
As the service provider manages the hosting service, managed hosting is costlier than shared hosting. But with all the aspects of hosting being taken care of by the professionals, website owners can better focus on growing their website.
Top Benefits of Managed Hosting
- Improved Hosting Performance: As compared to a basic shared web hosting plan, managed hosting offers improved speed and performance.
- Additional Features: This type of hosting generally comes with additional features related to backups, security, search engine ranking, and more.
- Professional Assistance: Website owners are provided premium support where they can instantly get in touch with professionals to get all the assistance they need.
What Should You Select Between Shared Hosting and Managed Hosting?
As can be seen above, both shared hosting and managed hosting have their advantages. The decision between the two depends on the needs of the website and the website owner. If someone is starting a new personal blog or a small business website, shared web hosting can be a budget-friendly choice.
If it is a large business website or maybe an ecommerce store, improved hosting performance and professional assistance available with managed hosting can be valuable.
