Hosting glossary
Shared hosting
In short: Your website shares one server, and its resources, with many other sites.
Shared hosting is the cheapest and simplest type. The host runs and secures the server; you look after your website through a control panel.
It suits most small business sites, blogs and portfolios. Busy sites can outgrow it and move to a VPS or cloud hosting.
Also called
- Web hosting
- Shared web hosting
See also: Shared vs VPS vs cloud hosting: which do you need?
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Related terms
- VPS (virtual private server)A private slice of a physical server, with its own guaranteed resources.
- Cloud hostingHosting that draws on a large pool of servers, so you can scale up or down on demand.
- Managed WordPress hostingHosting set up and looked after specifically for WordPress sites.
- Fair-use policyThe rules that put limits on 'unlimited' hosting plans.