Possible Problems with Shared Hosting

Any host can promise easy low cost hosting and most of the time they may be offering the real deal!  However, there are several issues once can run into when purchasing shared hosting, even easy low cost hosting!  Here are some potential problems and their solutions.

Cyclic Redundancy Errors indicate a problem with the hardware of your shared hosting server.  Generally, they are indicative of a hard drive failure.  Should this occur to you, it is imperative that you contact your hosting company as soon as possible, so hardware may be switched out.  Indicate the error message, so they understand the gravity of the situation.  These errors cannot be 100% prevented, however, when purchasing affordable web hosting, one might want to check on the age of the equipment on which you are hosting your website.  Ask your host how old the server is, how frequently it is used, and when/if there has last been a hard drive failure.

With shared hosting, there is not much ability to customize certain features that come with your package.  Should Fantastico not be available and you require it for installing WordPress, PHPNuke, OsCart, or other third-party software, you might want to ask your host if there is any way it can be added to your control panel.  However, this is an optional feature, and if they did not guarantee it with your purchase, they are under no requirements to provide you with it.  Before purchasing budget web hosting, ask if your host provides Fantastico to their shared hosting customers.  A majority of hosts do provide this service with no additional costs.

Should you have an outdated control panel, you may be missing out on additional security upgrades and added features.  The first thing to resolve this matter would be to contact your hosting company and request an upgrade of the control panel.  This can be a time-consuming process, so it may be some time before they can provide an upgrade.  When you are searching for a easy low cost hosting provider, ask what version of control panel they use.  There are several control panels on the market today, the most popular being Cpanel, Plesk, and Ensim.  Compare the versions the host is using to the most current version available on the manufacturer’s website.

When purchasing a shared easy low cost hosting account, you sacrifice power and flexibility for cost.  In many cases, this compromise is justifiable and reasonable.  However, should your site require a property change, your host is under no obligation to make this change for you, as it can negatively affect other customers on the server.  There is no harm in asking, so contact your host and see if a property can be modified.  Outline all the property requirements your site has prior to purchasing hosting.  In most common scenarios, this might consist of a specific version of PHP or a specific version of SQL.  Ask prospective hosts about your specifications prior to purchasing to see if they can meet your needs.

SQL Problems can cover a wide range of sources.  Analyze your error messages.  Many times, SQL errors will have to do with the coding of your site.  A missing ; or an erroneous $ can cause an SQL call to fail.  Check these sources first, as coding problems are very common.  Secondly, check that your SQL server is online and your database is not corrupt.  This can be done within MySQL.  Before bringing your site online, check all of your code as well as your database locally or on a private domain.  This will ensure when your site goes live, there will be no syntax or parse errors.

If your site is not resolving or you are getting a page other than your site, look into the DNS.  Compare your current DNS settings with those your hosting company provided you.  They usually look something like “ns1.hostingcompany.com” or “nsx.hostingcompany.com.”  If your current DNS settings are incorrect, change them by contacting your registrar.  You can find this information by doing a whois on your domain name.  Quadruple-check the new host’s DNS settings before you switch your name servers.  A very simple typo will make your site irresolvable.  Find out who your registrar is and make sure you are changing the domain names to them AFTER your site is ready to go online.  Once your domain name is pointed to the new DNS, all mail, FTP, and site inquiries will go through the new host.

This catalog of issues is not meant to scare or intimidate anyone away from easy low cost hosting.  In fact, most of these issues are often things even the best affordable web hosting can not prevent against.  In a highly technical world, it can be very intimidating to receive one of these errors.  Be prepared and do your research on errors before panicking.