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Shared Hosting vs. Virtual Hosting
Wondering what the difference is between
shared and virtual hosting? Truth be told, they are basically the same
thing. Virtual hosting is pretty much the old name for shared hosting. In
the old days shared hosting was more correctly called "virtual server"
meaning one actual server box acting like many to serve individual web
sites. But web hosts today will use the terms synonymously.
What is shared or virtual hosting?
The web hosts we list on this site are all virtual or shared hosts. Shared
hosting means you do not have to go out and buy your own server boxes and
set up an elaborate system of servers, T3 connections, routers, back-up
generators, network monitors, and security guards for yourself. You pay
your web host a small monthly fee to to do all that to keep your web site
running, while you sit back and relax. Good deal, eh?
With shared hosting you do not own your own server box, you share a server
with the other users signed up with your web host. Usually about 100-300
others will be hosted on a single server. A bad host will neglect to
monitor how much web space and bandwidth their users use and will overload
their servers with users. This can cause your site to load very slowly or
not at all. Our top ranked hosts monitor the amount of users they place on
each server so as not to overload the system.
Dedicated Hosting or Colocation Hosting are for those who need and can
afford their own servers and do not want to share with others. With
dedicated hosting you rent your own server and colocation hosting you own
your own server. Usually large businesses will choose either of these
types of hosting if their site is enormous or they have the manpower,
building space and knowledge to manage their own systems. For the
majority, however, shared hosting is the most efficient and economical.
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