Optimized WordPress Hosting vs Shared Hosting – Which Should You Choose?

There’s a big debate among web hosts as to whether you should go with a shared or a dedicated server for hosting your website. The differences between the two are numerous, but the most critical one has to do with price, as a dedicated server generally costs more money than a shared one does. Let’s take a quick look at what each one entails, and which one is the best choice for your needs.

Optimized WordPress Hosting

This type of hosting allows you to install and use the WordPress content management system (CMS) on your site. In theory, a shared WordPress host should be no different from a shared non-WordPress host in terms of performance and functionality – the only difference is that you get the added bonus of WordPress’s functionality and reliability. As a result, you might want to consider this type of hosting for those who are new to creating websites or for those who want to quickly build a simple, informational site with WordPress.

Advantages of using a shared WordPress host:

• Cost-effective – Using a shared WordPress host means you’re sharing the cost of a server with up to 20 different websites. That’s a big savings!
• Relatively easier to set-up – Installing and configuring WordPress is easier with a shared host than it is with a dedicated one. It’s also a lot less complicated than configuring and installing a fully-functional CMS, like Joomla or Drupal.
• More flexibility – With a WordPress-based website, you can add as much or as little functionality as you want – there’s no need to limit yourself to what the shared host provides out of the box.
• Fully integrated – With a shared host, you get access to all the necessary tools and resources you need to manage and maintain your WordPress-based site, including backups, monitoring, and more.

Disadvantages of using a shared WordPress host:

• Less reliable – Shared hosts are generally less reliable than dedicated ones, so if you’re depending on the internet to drive traffic to your site or to provide information to your customers, you might want to consider an alternative. Shared hosts are also not as secure as dedicated ones as they have less access to hardware devices.
• Less redundant – Having more than one site on a single server means that if one site has a problem, the other sites are affected as well. The good news is that with a dedicated server, the impact is minimal. If a site breaks down, the only impact is the one you’re experiencing.
• Less private – Since you’re sharing a server with up to 20 different sites, there’s always the possibility that one of your neighbors or friends could discover your site’s IP address and gain access to your accounts. While this scenario is unlikely, it’s still not something you want to expose to the public.
• Less customizable – Since you’re sharing a server with other people, you have fewer options when it comes to the appearance and functionality of your site. You’re really limited to whatever the host provides out of the box.

Shared Hosting

This type of hosting provides you with a virtual server that you share with other people. You don’t get the all the advantages of a dedicated server, but you do get the benefit of being able to use a popular and powerful programming language, like PHP, to create your site.

Advantages of using a shared hosting server:

• Economical – If you have a limited budget, shared hosting is often the best choice since you don’t need to spend as much on rent as you would for a dedicated one.
• Flexible – With a shared hosting plan, you have more flexibility in regards to the applications you can use than with a dedicated one. You’re free to install as many different applications as you want, and you don’t have to ask permission from the host every time you want to install a new program.
• Private – Since you’re sharing a server with only a few other websites, the chances that someone will discover your site’s IP address and attempt to hack into your accounts are minimal. This makes it more secure than using the internet to reach your database from a shared IP address.
• Meaningful – Since you’re sharing a server with other websites, you get the benefit of all the websites combined, which is more than you’d get from a dedicated server for the same price. The more websites you have on a server, the better in terms of performance – at least, that’s what Google would have you believe. And, in theory, if you have a lot of websites on the same server, you’ll get more benefits than you would with a dedicated one.

Disadvantages of using a shared hosting server:

• Less reliable – Since you’re sharing a server with other people, there’s always the possibility that one of your neighbors or friends could discover your site’s IP address and gain access to your accounts. While this scenario is unlikely, it’s still not something you want to expose to the public.
• Less redundant – Since you’re sharing a server with other people, there’s always the possibility that one of your sites could break down, causing issues for the others on the server. The good news is that with a dedicated server, the impact is minimal. If a site breaks down, the only impact is the one you’re experiencing.
• Less secure – Since you’re sharing a server with other people, there’s always the possibility that someone could discover your site’s IP address and attempt to hack into your accounts. This makes it less secure than using the internet to reach your database from a dedicated IP address.
• Less customizable – Since you’re sharing a server with other people, you have fewer options when it comes to the appearance and functionality of your site. You’re really limited to whatever the host provides out of the box.

In the end, it depends on what you want out of your website. Do you want to save money? Go with the shared host. Do you want more security? Go with the dedicated one. Do you want to have more control over the appearance and functionality of your site? Go with the shared one.