Just as the name implies, Shared Hosting means that multiple websites, often thousands of them, are hosted on a single server maintained by the hosting provider. Shared hosting is easily the most cost-effective and most economical hosting solution that Reclaim Hosting offers.

A shared hosting plan provides the user with space on a shared server for an annual fee and is granted an allotment of the server’s total available resources depending on the hosting plan purchased. A single account, or cPanel, can include multiple sites, so long as the total account doesn’t exceed the user’s allotted space on the server.

Shared Hosting isn’t for every project or end-user, but this kind of inexpensive hosting can help individual students and faculty members, nonprofit organizations, institutional departments, and independent creatives get a web presence quickly – even if funding is tight.

All shared hosting users can register a domain for an additional annual fee, have the ability to create and use unlimited add-on domains, subdomains, databases, and bandwidth, access to SSH, FTP, WebDAV, PHP, MySQL, and access to Reclaim Hosting standard support services.

Where a domain name is your website’s address, a hosting account provides you additional capabilities to build on it.

When you pay for domain registration, you are paying to own that address on the internet. For example, if I buy reclaimhosting.com, that means that I own that address and no one else can build on it. Registering a domain is often the first step in building a website.

A hosting account, however, gives you additional abilities to actually build on that address. You can think of it as the construction materials for your website. Reclaim’s Shared Hosting plans come with a cPanel that’s outfitted with Installatron, a powerful web application installer that allows users to instantly install top web applications with a single click. This includes some of our most popular applications including WordPress.org, Omeka, and Scalar, though there are over 100 to choose from! You can learn more about the cPanel and the Installatron Applications here.

When you purchase a hosting account, you’ll want a domain to pair with it. You can register a domain with us for $15/year. If you already own a domain and would like it to be managed by Reclaim, you can alternatively transfer that domain. Already own a domain with a different provider, don’t want to transfer it, but do want to use Reclaim’s awesome hosting plan to build on it? No problem! You can use domains already registered with other providers to build on your website without moving them. Simply change the nameservers, and you’ll be all set to use it on your new hosting plan! Read more information about changing your nameservers here.

You can register a domain, transfer a domain, or get set up to change your nameservers all when you sign up for a Shared Hosting plan above. Still have questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out to our support team!

For projects that fall somewhere between a standard Shared Hosting plan and a full dedicated server, our VIP Hosting Plan can be a perfect middle ground. For many users, a full dedicated server isn’t necessary – but a standard shared plan no longer feels like enough. That’s where VIP Hosting shines. VIP gives you significantly more resources, faster performance, and priority support – all without the cost or complexity of managing an entire server. It’s ideal for sites that are growing quickly, running heavier plugins, or expecting more traffic but aren’t quite ready for a dedicated environment. Visit our VIP Hosting Plan page to more about the features of our VIP plan.

Shared Hosting is a great fit for most personal sites, small projects, and organizations getting started. It provides an affordable, reliable environment without the complexity of managing your own server. However, there are a few situations where upgrading to a dedicated server can offer added benefits.

If you’re running a project that requires complete control over server settings, custom applications, or highly specialized configurations, a dedicated server gives you full flexibility to tailor the environment to your exact needs. It’s also ideal for sites or communities that anticipate heavier traffic or rapid growth.

Because Shared Hosting means multiple users share the same server resources, you may occasionally see performance variations during busy periods. We carefully monitor and balance our shared environments to maintain excellent performance, but a dedicated server offers guaranteed resources entirely your own—perfect for high-traffic or mission-critical sites.

In short: Shared Hosting is a powerful, cost-effective choice for most users, and a dedicated server is available when your project needs maximum control, customization, or consistent high-level performance.

If you’re looking to host a digital project that’s not supported in a Shared Hosting environment, a large WordPress Multisite or other large application instances like Commons in a Box, or just want your own server to customize that’s dedicated to your project alone, take a look at our Managed Hosting plan or, if you’re more of a DIY person, Reclaim Cloud.