The web hosting industry has spawned a broad range of niche markets over the years. Ranging from shared hosting to dedicated hosting, as well as all the hybrids in between, each type of web hosting presents its own set of pros and cons.

Shared Hosting - Cost Effective, Easy to Use and Feature Rich

Whether you call it conventional, regular or normal hosting, shared hosting is the most common web hosting service on the market. In fact, a large majority of the websites you encounter online are running on this type of platform.

As the name implies, shared hosting is a service arrangement where you share bandwidth, disk space capacity and various network resources with other paying customers. The structure of this model equates into a low-cost solution that is typically easy to maintain for even the most inexperienced of users. Although the price is usually reasonable, these packages do not slack on power, as they come loaded with an arsenal of useful features. The economic value, simplicity and hassle-free aspect makes shared hosting a viable option for most individuals and small companies.

Dedicated Hosting - The Utmost in Control, Flexibility, and Responsibility

Dedicated web hosting is the exact opposite of the shared variety. Instead of sharing the server with other customers, the hardware is dedicated exclusively to your website needs. Since you are not forced to share resources, dedicated hosting can provide you with a superior level of control, flexibility and performance. This is an arrangement wherein you can choose your own operating system, install your own software applications, and incorporate the security mechanisms you feel will provide the server with the best protection. It also a scenario that requires you to have a certain skill set in order to administer and maintain the server. Unlike shared web hosting, dedicated hosting is not recommended for the inexperienced user.