The digital world is well acquainted with the importance of installing an SSL Certificate. The peace of mind that it provides to businesses is priceless. It is after all the presence or absence of security in a website that mostly makes or breaks an online business. The other factors that assist in a website’s success can flow through only if its security is in place.
However, there are mainly two ways in which one can decide to install an SSL Certificate:
- First either on a shared Hosting
- Second on a Virtual Private Server Hosting
This simple choice arises in people’s minds as to which option is the best. The most common question that is asked when installing an SSL certificate is – ‘What are the pros and cons of installing an SSL certificate in a shared hosting?’
For users who are a novice in this whole installment process, it is worth mentioning that one can install an SSL certificate on a shared hosting and also in a VPS Hosting. There has been news that state that it is impossible to host an SSL certificate on a shared hosting in the first place.
Given the complicacy of the installment, it is understood that there is no direct answer. But a complete denial is not true.
The answer whether an SSL certificate can be installed on a shared hosting or not can be accurately given only by the service hosting provider. From a technical point of view, it is definitely possible to install an SSL certificate on a shared hosting; but the catch is, this depends on whether the service provider allows it.
The criteria for installments vary. The market is oozing both with companies who allow this by default and with companies who charge a minimal fee to give a website a VPS Hosting. The availability of choices makes it difficult to come to a point of decision.
To understand if installing an SSL certificate on a shared hosting has more pros or cons, it is important to understand the difference between shared and VPS hosting.
So what is the difference between a shared hosting and a VPS hosting?
To put it in a lay man’s word, a shared hosting hosts a lot of websites on one server. All the websites there has the same IP address.
Unlike the Virtual Private Server Hosting or VPS, websites on a shared hosting do not enjoy the benefits of having a unique address for every domain. Installing an SSL certificate on either a shared or VPS hosting gives the user the characteristic pros and cons of the used hosting.
#1 Unique vs Shared IP address
The first characteristic difference between a shared hosting and a VPS is that a shared hosting lacks a unique IP address.
‘There are websites functioning without a unique IP address. How does it make a difference?’ one may ask.
Well, it is very simple.
There are cases where some websites are censored in some countries. If a user has a shared IP address with the censored site, it is possible that automatically their site too will be censored in that country.
This makes it impossible for companies to penetrate through the shield and market its website. Of course, this takes away a major chunk of potential ‘profit bringing audience’ from the company.
Having a VPS keeps a website separate. It does not matter if the shared IP is blocked. It can function on its own terms.
#2 Email
Sending and receiving emails do not have much difference whether one is using a shared hosting or a VPS Hosting. This is mostly because emails are sent through the mail proxy servers. Yes, emails sent from a shared hosting will take more time to send and receive.
There are some misconceptions about the benefits that having a dedicated IP hosting brings into a website.
It is rumored that obtaining a dedicated IP address will free emails from being marked as a spam, eliminate ISP block or reverse DNS tests. These things do not happen.
#3 Unique Presence
It is unnecessary to explain how having a unique presence helps a website in the market. People into online businesses are well aware of the pros and cons that a unique online presence brings into their website. Needless to say, a website on a shared server will not enjoy any of the benefits of having a unique presence.
#4 Program or Script Requirements
The program or script that is run on a VPS Hosting may require the process to run for a long time. On a shared hosting, this same script will terminate after 10 minutes.
The benefit of a dedicated IP hosting is that it allows a script to run for as long as needed provided it does not consume too much space in the server’s memory. This would otherwise result in a CPU throttling.
However, it is worth mentioning that CPU throttling can occur in both the hosting.
#5 Access to Port
In a shared hosting, many ports are blocked to maintain security. The fact that everyone on a shared hosting uses the same IP increases the chances of having security holes in the firewall network.
Having a dedicated IP frees the user from having its ports blocked. A website that is running on a VPS hosting has access to all the ports it needs to operate its services on.
An analysis of the pros and cons of having a shared hosting and a VPS hosting clearly states that installing an SSL certificate on a private hosting makes more sense. A shared hosting is good but has limitations that might stand as a roadblock on the path to success for ambitious online portals.
However, it is to be noted that there are companies that benefit from shared hosting too.
It is not for others to decide but for each company to assess the pros and cons that a shared hosting or a VPS hosting provides. What works for one company may not work for the other. It is important to have an SSL certificate installed, but more important than that is making the installation work to cater to the company needs. The market gives users many options. Make a decision based not on others review but on one’s own judgment. Choose the hosting that seems tailor-made for the company’s needs. This will surely help a company reach the heights of success.
