Shared Hosting vs Managed Hosting – Which Hosting Service is Best?

If you’re looking for a web hosting solution for your business, you’ve likely heard of shared hosting and managed hosting at some point in your search.

While both hosting services may appear to be similar, there are some key differences that can make a big difference to the level of service you can offer to your clients.

Today, we’re breaking down these differences between managed hosting and shared hosting so that you can choose the best one for your business and the needs of your clients.

Before we dissect the differences between shared and managed hosting, let’s get to know both hosting solutions with a quick overview of some basic features.

The features of shared web hosting.

Shared hosting is a web hosting service where multiple websites share resources on a shared server. It’s a cost-effective option suited to small websites with limited traffic, as server management is minimal and shared among multiple users, making it a beginner-friendly choice. However, resource limitations can affect performance and scalability. There are also some security risks on shared servers when compared with managed servers. It may not be the best fit for businesses looking for high uptime, robust security, and dedicated resources.

• Shared web hosting involves multiple websites sharing a single server
• It’s cost-effective but comes with limitations when it comes to server resources
• Minimal server management is required, making it suitable for beginners
• Ideal for small websites with low traffic
• Limited scalability and resources

The features of managed hosting services.

With managed web hosting, a hosting provider takes care of all technical aspects for you, including server management, security, and maintenance. This type of web hosting plan is ideal for businesses seeking high uptime, expert support, and scalability, as it offers dedicated resources. Managed hosting minimises the need for technical expertise even when hosting multiple sites, allowing you to focus on your core business while ensuring top-notch performance and reliability for your clients’ sites.

• Managed hosting providers offer dedicated resources and a server exclusively for your website
• It offers superior support, ensuring high uptime and security
• Server management is handled by the hosting provider, so no technical knowledge or experience is needed. Plus, you have a handy, easy-to-use control panel to make quick and simple changes
• Highly scalable to accommodate your and your clients’ growing businesses.
• Eco-friendly options may be available with some providers
• Advanced security features, including automated daily backups, to keep everything you’re hosting safe

Now that we know the key differences between managed and shared web hosting, let’s break this down even further and take a look at what these differences mean for your business.

Cost-effective hosting options

A shared hosting account is budget-friendly, making it an attractive hosting option for cost-conscious businesses. Most shared hosting options, though, come with strict plans – and once you’re in the plan, it can be difficult to change if you need to. 

A managed hosting provider offers higher resource allocation, ensuring better performance and reliability, though it may come at a slightly higher cost. However, managed hosting from Nimbus is endlessly scalable to suit your needs. So while the costs may be a bit higher, they are easy to manage. 

Green hosting

Some shared hosting companies are eco-friendly, but not many. Most web hosts aren’t worried about their carbon footprint. You may also share a server with companies that aren’t green in the slightest, which may not impact your carbon footprint in the way you want. So, if you’re eco-minded like us, shared hosting might not be the greenest option.

Nimbus provides completely green web hosting plans. We’re running on 100% renewable energy. Our data centre saves 45 million tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere every year, and we’re still up to 400% more capable than our competitors at handling traffic spikes. So, you can reduce your carbon footprint and improve the performance of your clients’ sites by choosing Nimbus. 

Simplified server management

Both managed and shared hosting offer minimal server management, so they are ideal for those with limited technical skills. However, there is a bit more to do (not a lot) with shared hosting. If you simply want to have a server that does everything for you, managed hosting is the best option. 

With managed hosting providers like us, we take care of everything. You’ll receive 24/7 support, regular backups, security checks, and everything else you need. So you know that your clients’ sites are safe and performing quickly.

Scalability

A shared hosting service can be somewhat limited in terms of scalability, depending on the provider and whether they offer unmetered bandwidth options. This means if the websites you host grow, you may face constraints that can be tricky to sort out. If another website on the same server grows, your sites may also be affected. 

Our managed hosting options are endlessly scalable. Whether you’re hosting one WordPress website or 70 eCommerce stores, there’s a plan to suit you. Choose the plan that fits your needs right now, and if your situation changes or your online store grows, easily manage your hosting plan and scale it up or down to suit your situation. You have the option to use managed dedicated servers or managed VPS servers, so there is no one else slowing your sites down, and if your sites become too big, we can increase the space for you.

Expert support

While there will be some support available from shared hosting providers, you are often on your own to find out whether your sites aren’t working because of a server issue, or if there’s a problem on your end. This can be really frustrating and may cost you or your clients a lot of money during the downtime.

With managed hosting providers like us, you have 24/7 support for any questions or queries you have from our amazing support team. Not to mention regular maintenance schedules, an easy-to-use hosting control panel, and automatic updates for site security. So, your websites will remain secure and supported.

Security

Shared hosting plans can never guarantee site security because you’ll be sharing a server with other websites – other websites that you don’t know or manage. This means there are loads of web pages that could pose a risk to you and your clients’ sites. Shared hosting plans can be risky to your security as you can’t control the data centres or cloud hosting option you’re using.

With managed hosting plans, you have additional security measures in place. This not only means regular security scans of the server, resource protection, and regular backups, it can also equip you with benefits like a free SSL certificate for every page you host, spam protection, checks to operating systems to ensure everything is in good working order, and a great deal more. In short – everything you need to protect your resources from cyber attacks.

You can probably tell that we love managed hosting at Nimbus. We think it’s the most versatile, scalable, and easy way of hosting your clients’ websites. Choosing between shared and managed hosting, though, comes down to what is right for your business. So, here are some factors to consider when choosing your hosting solution.

What does your business need?

If your list of clients is relatively small, and their websites experience low traffic, then shared hosting could be a great option for you. You’ll keep costs low while ensuring that your clients’ websites can perform the way they need them to.

If your business is growing or your clients’ websites are already experiencing high traffic, your business will benefit from managed hosting. The endless scalability and high-quality resources at your disposal ensure that you can always accommodate growth.

Are your technical skills strong?

As we said above, shared hosting doesn’t require much technical expertise, depending on the provider, but there is still a learning curve. If you aren’t tech-savvy or don’t have an in-house IT team, and just want to focus on running and growing your business, managed hosting is a great option. It takes care of all the technical aspects, leaving you with more time to focus on your business. 

What’s your budget?

We won’t pretend that shared plans aren’t cost-effective in the short term, and can be a good option for some companies looking to host a single site or a few WordPress sites.. However, managed hosting can provide more value with dedicated resources and support. 

When deciding which hosting option to choose, your budget should be taken into consideration, of course. But so should your long-term goals. If you’d like hosting to become a pivotal part of your business, something you can offer to all of your clients, then shared hosting may soon become restrictive. So, while you may not be able to factor the cost of managed hosting into your budget in the short-term, your long-term goals may call for it.

What features are must-haves for your business?

It’s fair to say that uptime and performance are essential for any online business. And there are some shared hosting services that can offer acceptable performance for smaller websites. However, this is where managed hosting thrives. With 99.995% uptime and 400% better capability to handle traffic spikes, our managed hosting ensures that your websites outperform the competition every day of the week.

So, which should you choose for your business? While shared hosting certainly serves a purpose for some, managed hosting emerges as the victor here. It’s the best solution for those looking for website reliability, robust security, and minimal management.

Nimbus – your ideal managed hosting provider

Nimbus’ managed hosting options provide a range of benefits over shared hosting that are nearly impossible to ignore. With advanced support at your fingertips, endless scalability, and simplified server management tools, managed hosting from Nimbus is well worth the investment – and it may not cost as much as you think. We have top-tier hosting plans for all your hosting needs, from VPS hosting to dedicated server options.

It’s vital to explore your options thoroughly when choosing a hosting plan. If you’d like to dive deeper into the differences between managed hosting plans and other hosting types, check out our other blog articles. We’ve compared managed hosting to numerous other hosting options. And, in most cases, managed hosting remains victorious. Managed hosting is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to take their hosting to the next level.