The Major Differences Between Managed Hosting And Shared Hosting

Nov 21st, 2011 Lawrence White

Many website and blog owners hear the terms shared or managed hosting and instantly start to feel a bit confused due to the fact that if you lack technical expertise any hosting option may sound like Greek to them. However, choosing between the many web hosting solutions available on the net does not have to be difficult if you step away from the technical terminology and look at the various options from a more logical standpoint which makes it easy for those without prior understanding to better grasp what they really need and should expect from a hosting provider.

The major difference between shared hosting and managed hosting in layman's terms is the customer service and the amount of work that you will need to do on your own. In a managed web hosting package you will not have to worry about anything outside of taking care of your website because the company will take care of it for you.

Much like the name implies, they take on the role of IT manager when it comes to your website hosting and not only store the server in their own space, but will maintenance and troubleshoot any problems that you have with a simple phone request or complaint. Thus, it is easy to see why this is the best choice for those who are not too tech savvy and just need a hosting solution that will get them going and online.

On the other hand, those with some technical skills may feel more comfortable taking care of their own hosting maintenance and troubleshooting which is when shared hosting can come into play. In a shared hosting solution the server is still served in a separate location but you can access it remotely and perform your own fixes and tweaking to meet your website preferences.

This can be great for professionals who know what specifications they want, but for those without a clue attempting to purchase a shared hosting solution would be as disastrous as attempting to take turns co-piloting a plane with no prior knowledge before it's your turn. You also may not get the same offer of around the clock customer service because the assumption is that you will be taking care of a large majority of the tasks and problems as they arise. This can mean finding yourself in a hard place if you encounter a problem with your hosting that you do not know how to fix.

Finally, the last major difference between managed hosting and shared hosting is security, because as you may guess the managed hosting solution will take care of all security needs as well as constant updating and a secure place for your data within your server. However, with shared solutions you may or may not be responsible for security of your server or the tasks such as updating and backup may be distributed between you and the provider meaning that you will have more tasks to take care of on a regular basis.

About the Author:


Claranet are a leading managed services provider offer both hosting and network services for small and large businesses. To view the full range of services offered by Claranet, visit www.claranet.co.uk

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