Linux Shared Hosting: A Beginner’s Guide

When you decide to launch your website, you are to make a long list of decisions. Right from the type of website, its design, UI/UX, domain name, etc., to choosing a good web hosting service for your site. Web hosting plays an important role in the speed and performance of your site. There are many hosting services available, like Shared Hosting, VPS, Dedicated Server, Cloud Hosting, etc. Each of these services has some pros and cons. Today, we will be focusing on Shared Hosting services and specifically Linux-based Shared Hosting plans.

What is Shared Hosting?

In Shared Hosting, your website resides on a server that is shared by many other sites. In other words, the resources of one physical web server are shared between multiple sites.

Imagine you wanted to travel from Mumbai to Goa by road. You could opt to travel by an independent car or use a public transport service like a bus. While both would take you to your destination, there would be advantages and disadvantages to each choice. A Shared Hosting service is like taking a bus to reach Goa – sharing the space with other travellers.

What is Linux Shared Hosting?

When you opt for a Shared Hosting service, you get the option of choosing between a Windows and Linux Web Hosting server. In Linux Shared Hosting, the web server runs on Linux that adds the benefits of the Linux platform to the Shared Hosting services.

Advantages of Linux Shared Hosting

Here are some benefits of a Linux Shared Hosting service:

• Affordable: Since the costs of the server and its maintenance are shared between multiple users, Shared Hosting is one of the most affordable hosting services. Also, Linux is free since it is open-sourced. Therefore, it helps web hosts offer Shared Hosting plans that are cheaper and more efficient.
• Intuitive control panel: Linux also allows hosting providers to offer cPanel to help you manage your site. cPanel is one of the best control panels available. It has a simplified interface that makes site management a breeze.
• Varnish Caching: While many users complained about site speed with Shared Hosting services, many hosting providers integrate Varnish Cache with Linux Shared Hosting plans that make your site up to 1000x faster.
• Compatibility: Linux Shared Hosting allows you to build some amazing applications since the OS offers support to a wide range of programming languages.

Who should opt for Linux Shared Hosting services?

Shared Hosting services have some limitations too. It is not recommended for high-traffic websites or those who need a customized hosting environment. Linux Shared Hosting plans are ideal for small businesses, start-ups, and new sites. 

Summing Up

Remember, every website requires a different hosting service at different stages in its lifecycle. Linux Shared Hosting plans work best for new websites or small business sites that don’t experience heavy traffic and have basic hosting requirements. However, we recommend users to regularly assess the hosting requirements of their site before choosing the hosting service. We hope that this article helped you understand Linux Shared Hosting services. Do let us know if you have any further questions.