Did you know companies with less than 1000 or a few employees also prefer cloud hosting services over and above other web hosting services, according to TechRepublic?

This shows cloud application hosting fits all kinds of size moulds, proving its versatility and appeal across businesses of various scales.

But on the same line, shared hosting also remains a popular choice, not just because it’s affordable, but because it is also an excellent option to begin with.

So, as both seemed like a great and popular option, let’s compare the two and understand why small businesses prefer cloud application hosting over shared and why migration from cloud to shared hosting is a good option.

Shared Hosting

Advantages of Shared Hosting

• Affordability 

Shared hosting is comparatively more affordable, which makes it an excellent choice for small businesses with cost constraints.

• Ease of Use

Its ease of use and need for manageable technical knowledge make it a great option, as technical aspects are taken care of by the host, which also simplifies the user experience.

• Managed Hosting

The host takes care of server management, maintenance, and updates, eliminating the need for users to be expert or tech literate.

• Cost Distribution

The cost is USP as shared among multiple users on the same server, leading to lowering the costs for each user.

• Plan Flexibility

You get to choose among shared hosting plans to cater to various needs, offering flexibility for users to find a suitable plan.

Disadvantages of Shared Hosting

• Slow Performance

There can be performance issues in case some other websites on the same server experience high traffic, which can lead to slower loading times.

• Security Concerns

Shared IP addresses may pose security risks, which means if your neighbour’s web page gets hacked, it can affect your performance and resources, and you share the same server.

• Scaling Difficulties

As the server is shared among multiple websites, it limits the ability to scale in terms of storage, memory, and processing power.

• Lack of Server Control

 You don’t get or get limited access to advanced server settings as your web hosting provider manages and customises your server.

Cloud Hosting

Benefits of Cloud Hosting

• Reliability

Cloud app hosting makes use of multiple interconnected servers, which cater to high reliability. Even if a single server experiences some issues, the webpage can seamlessly switch to another.

• Performance Excellence

Unlike shared hosting, the main benefit of cloud servers is that they ensure superior performance with fast load speeds, making them an ideal choice for web pages with high traffic.

• Scalability and Flexibility

You get on-demand resource scalability, which means quicker adjustment of resources based on your demand, preventing downtime during business peak periods.

• Flexible Pricing Model

It works on a pay-as-you-go model, which ensures that users only pay for the resources they use, which makes it flexible as well as cost-effective for varying resource needs.

• Enhanced Security Measures

It implements advanced security protocols to protect against common cyber threats like DoS attacks, malware, and cross-scripting.

Disadvantages of Cloud Hosting

• Technical knowledge Required

When working with cloud hosting, you may require a good understanding of its workings, making it not so user-friendly for those lacking technical know-how.

• Cost Considerations

As compared based on flexibility, cloud hosting tends to be costlier than shared hosting, which may create affordability challenges for small businesses.

Reason To Shift from Shared Hosting to Cloud Hosting

Moving from shared hosting to cloud hosting is crucial for several reasons-

1. In shared hosting, multiple web pages share the same server resources but with cloud hosting, your webpage is not confined to the limitations of a single physical server.
2. Cloud hosting can scale up or down according to your webpage needs. 
3. Another important advantage is that if you experience any lift in traffic or encounter technical issues, it can influence the performance of other web pages on the same server. In contrast, cloud hosting distributes resources across multiple servers, lowering the risk of downtime and ensuring better overall reliability
4. You get advanced security advantages with cloud hosting, such as firewalls, encryption, and regular backups, which is comparatively better than shared hosting
5. You get the advantage of geographical diversity by allowing your data to be stored on servers in different locations, which improves the speed and accessibility of your website for users around the world

Conclusion 

Therefore, shared hosting is a great choice, but shifting to cloud hosting gives you the advantage of more flexibility to handle large traffic changes, better security, and faster access to worldwide users.