Shared hosting, widely known as “website hosting,” is the most commonly utilized hosting option for websites online due to its affordability and suitability for a wide range of websites.
Shared hosting has various restrictions, even when labeled as “unlimited.” Many of these limitations are not clearly stated on the sales page or in the service agreement, which is often overlooked by users. This lack of awareness poses a significant issue.
By not fully grasping the restrictions of a hosting service, the website owner may unknowingly breach hosting regulations and face penalties like temporary or permanent account suspension.
We will outline the key limitations of shared hosting plans to assist you and other readers looking to hire hosting services. This will help you determine if shared hosting is suitable for your website, providing you with more confidence in your decision. Ready to begin?
Activities and websites that are not allowed on shared hosting.
In this hosting setup, server resources are shared among multiple clients, so companies restrict hosting high-resource-consuming websites to maintain server stability and performance.
Activities that are not allowed in most shared lodgings.
- Create websites for hosting auctions online.
- Host websites that permit the transfer of files in both directions.
- Utilize the server for hosting online gaming like Counter-Strike and Battlefield.
- Utilize hosting as a reflection of other websites.
- Distribute substantial multimedia files like video streaming.
- Engage in sharing files or peer-to-peer actions (p2p).
- Utilize the hosting account for storing files or backups that are not associated with the hosted website. It is recommended to use services like Dropbox, Google Drive, One Drive, or a hosting platform with specialized features for this purpose.
- Utilize the hosting plan for reselling purposes, which involves hosting customer sites within your account. In these instances, it is essential to opt for a reseller plan or another suitable plan like VPS or dedicated hosting.
The account user is notified of a suspension in such cases to ensure compliance with the rules and possibly have the account reinstated. Failure to comply could lead to permanent account cancellation.
To prevent this issue, I suggest reviewing the hosting service terms and contacting the sales or support team with any inquiries before selecting your hosting provider.
Prohibited material and behaviors
Hosting companies have additional rules that, if violated, could lead to account termination and legal action. It’s advisable to avoid such practices to prevent serious consequences.
Examples of things that are not allowed:
- Websites that reveal or share unauthorized and/or copyrighted material, such as music, literature, images, and third-party logos.
- Sites that center on violence, discrimination, child abuse, and various criminal activities.
- Websites with harmful scripts and/or deceptive software.
- Websites that advertise using unsolicited emails.
Restrictions on the use of resources
On hosting plan pages, you often encounter specified limits for disk space, bandwidth, databases, and email. However, there are additional potential restrictions related to company services that may not be explicitly listed.
Server resources such as processing power and memory.
Lodgings without specified processing and RAM resources often have usage limits for these resources. Users are alerted by the company when they reach these limits and are advised to move their site to a more suitable plan, such as Cloud, VPS, or dedicated hosting. The specific limits depend on the hosting company.
HostGator restricts users from utilizing 25% or more of the server’s resources for 90 seconds or longer. GoDaddy imposes limits on CPU core usage, RAM, site connections, active processes, and disk input/output.
UOL Host states that site owners are accountable for managing hosting usage to prevent disruptions to other websites on the server. It also mentions restrictions on simultaneous connections to MySQL databases. Locaweb has various limitations, such as those detailed in its unlimited policy, particularly regarding databases.
Issues like the ones mentioned can arise on websites experiencing high traffic volumes, with numerous simultaneous accesses, unoptimized plugins in content management systems like WordPress, Magento, Joomla, etc., poorly written scripts, or other processes that excessively consume server resources.
Inodes limit
An inode is any file within a hosting account, such as emails, files, pages, and images. HostGator and GoDaddy set limits on the number of inodes allowed in a shared account, with consequences for exceeding these limits. For HostGator, surpassing 250,000 inodes may lead to suspension, while GoDaddy’s limits are 250,000 for Linux hosting and 500,000 for Windows hosting.
Understanding the cause and preventing this issue is crucial. HostGator explains that clients may exceed the inodes limit by keeping the catchall feature enabled and neglecting to monitor or delete SPAM emails. To address this, disable the catchall feature or monitor the inbox frequently to prevent email buildup.
Customers who utilize cPanel can conveniently monitor the account’s inode count via the dashboard. 😊
E-mail guidelines and policy on sending messages
Many shared hosting plans provide email service, but it is important to be mindful of the usage restrictions set by companies.
Permission to distribute promotional emails
Some shared hosting plans do not permit the use of email for email marketing purposes. For instance, with UOL Host, email is restricted to communication and cannot be utilized for distributing information or email marketing.
Companies differ in their email marketing policies. KingHost permits email marketing only to websites hosted within the company, while HostGator and Locaweb have their own distinct regulations.
Maximum amount of emails allowed to be sent within one hour
Each company establishes a maximum number of emails that can be sent per hour. It is crucial to be aware of this limit to avoid potential issues such as errors, delays, and possible account suspension when sending bulk emails through your hosting account.
Limit of emails that are registered
The capacity of your email list may restrict you from utilizing your hosting account for email marketing campaigns. For instance, HostGator imposes a limit of 5,000 contacts. To manage extensive lists, it is advisable to opt for specialized third-party services. Reliable email marketing tools include MailChimp, Dinamize, and Constant Contact.
Kind of registration
Hosting companies may not accept all email lists due to their stringent antispam policies. It is advisable to have a double opt-in list, where users register their emails and confirm their subscription to receive messages. Importing email lists without clear origins can lead to email sending restrictions or even account suspension by the hosting company.
Shipping schedule
To prevent server overload, many organizations restrict the timing for sending bulk emails. Typically, sending emails during off-peak hours, such as early mornings, when there is less traffic, is permitted. Be sure to adhere to the designated time frames set by the company to prevent hosting issues.
Backup Limitations
Website hosting clients should pay attention to backup rules to prevent future issues, even though most companies provide automatic account backup.
In numerous shared accommodations, the company routinely performs backups, but it is not a guarantee for the customer. Contracts, like the one from GoDaddy, state that the client is accountable for backing up their shared account.
To minimize risk, make sure to regularly create a backup of your account and review your hosting provider’s backup policies in relation to:
- How often are backups created and how long are they kept before being replaced?
- Is there a charge for backup recovery? If so, how much does it cost?
- Many companies only conduct automatic backups for small accounts, so it’s important to verify if your account complies with the maximum backup size limit.
- Make sure that the hosting backup covers your entire account, including the website, database, and email, rather than just a portion.
- Ensure that the company provides a warranty for the backup in the agreement, as they may not be accountable if it is simply a regular procedure.
Be sure to create a backup of your account as any hosting service can encounter issues leading to data loss, as demonstrated by recent incidents involving Amazon (AWS).
Conclusion
No website hosting is without limitations, so it’s essential to review all restrictions, including those related to disk space, traffic, and email accounts, before selecting a hosting provider. Be sure to carefully read the terms of service to prevent any issues with your hosting.
The term is typically located at the bottom of the hosting website but can also be found on the plan page or in a dedicated contract section. It may go by various names like service term, hosting agreement, or contract. To make it easier, we provide a list of links to the terms of the companies mentioned in this article. 🙂
Review the limitations of your lodging thoroughly, and reach out to the company’s support or sales team if you have any inquiries to ensure you can host your website smoothly without unexpected issues later on.
The terms of service mentioned in this article
- HostGator Terms of Service
- UOL Host’s hosting agreement share.
- GoDaddy Hosting Contract
- Policy for utilizing and sending HostGator emails
- KingHost Agreement Page
- Locaweb Contract Page
I hope you enjoyed the post! If you did, please share it on your social media or leave a comment! 🙂
Published on 11/04/2017 and revised on 17/04/2018.
