As a website grows it uses more and more server resources, it often comes to a point where the website has outgrown shared web hosting.
The natural progression is to upgrade to a VPS or dedicated server, but that brings a whole new level of complexity.
Ongoing management is now required for:
- The web server / operating system
- Server security (this is a big one)
- Server services (http, SQL etc)
Progressing beyond shared web hosting is significantly more expensive than shared web hosting in terms of disk / bandwidth allocation and ongoing management.
Shared Hosting Limitations
One of the biggest limitations with a typical shared hosting setup is shared resource limitations. In this type of hosting environment websites share physical server resources with other websites on the server.
This often means during peak times or periods of unexpected traffic a shared host can often grind to a halt as one website competes for available server resources. (against other websites hosted on the server)
Not only disk space and bandwidth is shared; but more importantly CPU, RAM and Disk Read/Write access, these dictate how fast and responsive your website is.
Some configurations such as cloudlinux attempt to alleviate this domino effect through tenant isolation.
Introducing Cloudflare CDN
CloudFlare protects and accelerates websites by intelligently routing traffic through a global distribution network. Once configured (and its easy to configure) Cloudflare will automatically optimize the delivery of your web site for the fastest load times and best overall performance. Cloudflare also blocks threats and limits abusive bots and crawlers from wasting your bandwidth and server resources through an advanced security network.
Cloudflare tout - "on average, you'll see 65% fewer requests to your servers and save 60% of your bandwidth"
Not only does it reduce bandwidth by globally hosting and distributing static elements such as images, CSS and JS - It reduces the overall number of requests to your server, this is key for a busy website in a shared hosting environment.
Extend Shared Hosting
The key to extending the lifespan of your shared hosting / server is to reduce the overall requests made to it; this will allow the server to cope with busy times and unexpected traffic spikes.
By implementing Cloudflare or a similar solution you can effectively extend your shared web hosting significantly; save yourself the headache of server administration, fighting spam/attackers and save some serious dollars.
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Optic Empire can help implement a shared hosting / cloudflare solution that will perfectly fit even the busier website.
