Business today is more than just having a brick-and-mortar store. These days, businesses of all sizes have turned to their website for an increased revenue stream as more customers prefer shopping online instead of in-store. This shift is significant for SMBs and businesses of all types, but the need for increased website security is glaringly apparent. With more customers utilizing your site, just the standard domain and web hosting services might not help me enough, so here is a look at shared hosting and Cloudflare, so you can make an educated decision on what is suitable for your needs.
What is Shared Hosting?
Shared hosting is one of the most affordable hosting options for businesses of all genres. The server acts as a holding tank for many different websites with shared WordPress hosting. The load is shared among these businesses, so costs remain low. This option is desirable for those looking to have a website and desire a low-cost, hassle-free form of management.
What is Cloudflare?
Cloudflare or cloud hosting is a different way to buy WordPress hosting. It offers the ability to utilize a variety of options for the business. Cloudflare offers public, private, and hybrid options to help you customize the experience for the website. Private accounts can do that for those looking to emphasize their overall security measures. Public and hybrid Cloudflare accounts offer options similar to shared hosting, but Cloudflare is more expensive to utilize as it is newer than shared hosting.
Security Measures
Your business is grouped with a similar format when you have a top-rated web hosting with shared hosting services. With so many businesses using the same server, speeds vary depending on how large other sites are and how much traffic they contend with daily. Spikes in visitors can slow the speed of your website and can have the potential to limit user experience. However, shared hosting remains the standard and does offer increasingly more competitive security options for SMBs.
With Cloudflare, your upfront costs will significantly be affected as your site will not depend on a dedicated server but rather a cloud-based approach to utilizing web services. Often, companies that experience higher traffic levels and have overly large websites opt for Cloudflare for their website hosting.
Shared hosting and Cloudflare offer optimal security measures and can keep your website safe from attacks, but Cloudflare's primary benefit is more accessible migration services. If there is any issue with your website, it is easier to take it from the cloud-based server and move it to another without interruption in services for your client base.
Overall Costs
Costs vary by the company with all forms of website hosting services, but with shared hosting, companies can offer substantial discounts for the use of the space in their servers as other companies share them. The ability to have free domain name registration services and create your website tools are available on shared hosting sites. Additionally, security authentication measures help vastly improve security. Shared hosting sites often cost a fraction of what Cloudflare can offer.
Cloudflare hosting adopts a different strategy altogether. Their services often include updated software systems and enhanced versatility without jumping through any hoops. However, convenience will cost you more, so you can bet on spending more monthly to keep your website up to date for these premium services.
Which Should I Choose?
The options for shared hosting and Cloudflare vary greatly, and finding which one is right for you can be a difficult decision, but it is primarily based on how big your website is and how much traffic you intend to go through your site. Generally, Cloudflare services sites that are substantially large and have a lot of traffic while shared hosting is generated for smaller sites. However, it is essential to ensure you know how much growth you expect in the coming years and what security measures you require for your SMB.
Your cybersecurity is essential to the progression of your business and website. You want to have the right services for your valued clientele and ensure that the threat of cyberattacks remains low. Evaluate the expectations of your business and determine what is most important to you. If you require a smaller size and a more budget-minded approach, shared hosting is ideal, and for most businesses, shared hosting remains the standard and best option. However, if you see substantial growth in the future of your site and your budget can take on the added expense, Cloudflare is a great idea. It is all about what you want and is willing to spend for your SMB.
