Standard Shared Web Hosting

This is the most common and cheapest type of web hosting package available but also a large step up from the majority of free hosting plans and, in my opinion, the best *starter* hosting type to learn from.

The price can vary greatly from host to host and there are multiple tiers with increasing storage, bandwidth, and features. You can find many inexpensive hosting packages with all or some of the following:

100 to 1000+ megabytes of storage space
2 to 80+ gigabytes of bandwidth per month
Windows(IIS) or Unix/Linux(Apache) server *
Multiple or add-on domains
Server side scripting with CGI, PERL, PHP, or ASP(windows) for dynamic pages
A handful or unlimited databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MSSQL)

* Windows and Unix/Linux is exclusive, the server is running IIS or Apache to serve pages.

The reason it is called "shared" hosting is due to how many websites or accounts they put on each server, it is possible to have dozens to hundreds of web sites on one machine because serving simple web pages is trivial for modern server hardware.

Standard shared hosting accounts use, or in most cases require, a unique domain name (ex: www.Example.com, www.HostingPrimer.com) making them a good start for home business and small business websites or an upgrade to any site which regularly exceeds bandwidth on a free host.

Advantages:

Cost - cheap, $5 per month and up depending on storage and bandwidth
Advanced features - PHP, MySQL, ASP
Unique domain or web address, ex: www.example.com
Personalized e-mail addresses at your own unique domain, ex: jondoe@example.com
No pop-ups or automatic banners by the provider
Available with large amounts of storage and bandwidth if needed

Disadvantages:

Shared environment and resources - out of hundreds of sites on the same machine one may not play nice and use up server resources which can slow/bring down every other website on that server.
No administrative privileges or ability to modify apache,php,etc configuration files or install any add-ons..

	Hosting Primer Main How-To Guides Getting Started: Bringing a Web Site Online Managed DNS Guide Server Side Includes with Apache or PHP Monitor Site Uptime Hosting Types Domain Hosting Standard Shared Web Hosting Reseller / VDS / VPS Web Hosting Dedicated Hosting Servers Blog Hosting Free Web Hosting Other Tools and Scripts		Standard Shared Web Hosting This is the most common and cheapest type of web hosting package available but also a large step up from the majority of free hosting plans and, in my opinion, the best starter hosting type to learn from. The price can vary greatly from host to host and there are multiple tiers with increasing storage, bandwidth, and features. You can find many inexpensive hosting packages with all or some of the following: 100 to 1000+ megabytes of storage space 2 to 80+ gigabytes of bandwidth per month Windows(IIS) or Unix/Linux(Apache) server * Multiple or add-on domains Server side scripting with CGI, PERL, PHP, or ASP(windows) for dynamic pages A handful or unlimited databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MSSQL) * Windows and Unix/Linux is exclusive, the server is running IIS or Apache to serve pages. The reason it is called "shared" hosting is due to how many websites or accounts they put on each server, it is possible to have dozens to hundreds of web sites on one machine because serving simple web pages is trivial for modern server hardware. Standard shared hosting accounts use, or in most cases require, a unique domain name (ex: www.Example.com, www.HostingPrimer.com) making them a good start for home business and small business websites or an upgrade to any site which regularly exceeds bandwidth on a free host. Advantages: Cost - cheap, $5 per month and up depending on storage and bandwidth Advanced features - PHP, MySQL, ASP Unique domain or web address, ex: www.example.com Personalized e-mail addresses at your own unique domain, ex: jondoe@example.com No pop-ups or automatic banners by the provider Available with large amounts of storage and bandwidth if needed Disadvantages: Shared environment and resources - out of hundreds of sites on the same machine one may not play nice and use up server resources which can slow/bring down every other website on that server. No administrative privileges or ability to modify apache,php,etc configuration files or install any add-ons..