Why You Should Not Host Laravel on Shared Hosting

Many beginner developers and uninformed clients choose shared hosting only to face deployment issues, slow performance, and poor page load speeds.

Sure, shared hosting is appealing for its low cost, but it’s often chosen without understanding the drawbacks. Also, deploying Laravel on shared hosting might save money upfront, but it can lead to significant problems for end-users.

In an age where budget-friendly VPS and cloud-based hosting solutions are readily available, it is surprising that Laravel shared hosting is still a thing.
This article discusses the pitfalls of deploying Laravel on popular shared hosting providers like GoDaddy or HostGator and why cloud hosting is a far superior HostGator alternative or Godaddy alternative.

But first, let’s learn the basics of shared hosting.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is a service that allows multiple websites to share a physical web server and its resources. And as we discussed above, this surely is a budget-friendly option, BUT sharing a single hosting server among multiple websites can lead to speed, performance, and security issues.

Laravel Shared Hosting

When it comes to shared hosting for Laravel applications, you may face a LOT of issues. Firstly, users are typically restricted to a limited bandwidth & disk space, which hinders the growth of the application. Additionally, as your application expands, you may need to migrate to a dedicated or managed server – and this process can be complex and time-consuming as well.

Many shared hosting plans also lack SSH access, limiting your ability to manage and configure your application effectively. Ultimately, these factors can result in slow and compromised application performance due to the shared nature of the hosting environment, significantly impacting the functionality and success of your Laravel applications.

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Cloud Hosting vs Shared Hosting

Now that we’ve learned about shared hosting let’s learn how cloud hosting compares to it. Both cloud and shared hosting are popular options, having their own strengths and suitability for different types of websites and applications.
The table below compares both around several aspects:

Feature	Cloud Hosting	Shared Hosting
Resource Allocation	Uses multiple servers, distributed resources	Resources shared among multiple users
Scalability	Highly scalable, resources can be easily adjusted	Limited scalability, subject to provider’s hardware
Performance	High performance due to distributed resources	Performance may vary based on other users’ activities
Cost	Typically more expensive due to flexibility and power	More affordable, suitable for small to medium websites
Server Isolation	Provides better isolation of resources	Shared environment may pose security risks
Customization	Greater customization options and configurations	Limited customization, dependent on provider’s settings
Downtime	Less downtime as resources can be redistributed	More susceptible to downtime due to shared resources
Security	Enhanced security features with isolated environments	Security risks due to shared environment
Control and Flexibility	More control over server settings and software	Limited control and pre-configured settings
Traffic Handling	Efficiently handles high traffic loads	May struggle with sudden traffic spikes
Technical Expertise	Requires more technical knowledge to manage	Suitable for beginners with minimal technical skills

Cloud Hosting vs. Shared Hosting – How Do the Hosting Trends Look in 2024?

Cloud hosting trends are evolving rapidly, mirroring the dynamic landscape of technology and business demands. These trends highlight the continuous transformation and innovation within cloud hosting, offering businesses fresh opportunities to boost their agility, efficiency, and competitiveness in the digital age.

The graph below represents the popularity of shared vs. cloud hosting in 2024.

Shared Hosting and Its Limitations for Laravel Apps

Shared hosting can present several limitations for Laravel projects, particularly for web applications that demand more resources:

1. Resource Constraints

Laravel’s features and capabilities demand significant CPU resources, and if your app experiences heavy traffic or resource-intensive tasks, shared hosting might not be able to provide the necessary processing power.

Also, this further leads to memory limitations, especially when dealing with large datasets or complex operations. And shared hosting environments often have limited memory allocations per account, leading to performance issues or crashes

2. Security Concerns

Shared hosting typically does not allow root access, which limits your ability to configure the server environment to your specific needs and potentially mitigate security risks; this can increase the risk of security vulnerabilities, as a compromise in one website could potentially affect others.

3. Limited Customization and Configuration

Shared hosting providers often restrict access to server configuration files, like php.ini or Apache/Nginx configurations. Laravel often requires specific PHP extensions and configurations, which may not be possible in a shared hosting environment.

4. Deployment and Version Control Limitations

Many shared hosting plans lack Git support, making it harder to deploy code updates efficiently.

Even when available, , automated deployment tools may be absent, requiring manual file uploads via FTP, which is time-consuming and error-prone.

5. Scalability Challenges

Shared hosting is generally not designed for applications that expect to scale significantly. While y vertical scaling is possible by adding more resources to the same server, this options can be limited.

As your application grows, you may quickly outgrow the capabilities of shared hosting, necessitating a move to more robust hosting solutions like VPS or dedicated servers.

How to Deploy Laravel On Shared Hosting – Steps

Many shared hosting providers, including GoDaddy, HostGator, Namecheap, etc., provide shared hosting services. Note that deploying a Laravel application on shared hosting is a lengthy process and includes the following steps:

1. Firstly, compress your Laravel application folder to create a zip file (e.g., laravelapp.zip).
2. Open the cPanel for your hosting provider (e.g., GoDaddy or HostGator).
3. Click on the File Manager option and then select the Upload button from the top menu.
4. Once uploaded, unzip the laravelapp.zip folder.
5. Open the unzipped laravelapp folder and MOVE the content of the public folder to your cPanel’s public_html folder. You can delete the empty public folder afterward.
6. Navigate to the public_html folder, and locate the index.php file, right-click on it, and select Code Edit from the menu. This will open the cPanel code editor in a new tab.
7. Change the following lines in the index.php file:

   `require __DIR__.'/../bootstrap/autoload.php';
   
   
   ...
   
   
   $app = require_once __DIR__.'/../bootstrap/app.php';`
   
   
   to
   
   
   `require __DIR__.'/../laravel50/bootstrap/autoload.php';
   
   
   ...
   
   
   $app = require_once __DIR__.'/../laravel50/bootstrap/app.php';`

8. Set your .htaccess file configuration according to your website domain and URL settings.
9. Open PHPMYADMIN, create a new database for your application and migrate all tables for the application you would like to use.

These are the steps to follow when deploying a Laravel application on shared hosting. Sometimes, you will taste success, but in most cases, all your efforts will go in vain. The case may be you are unable to find a suitable PHP version to support your Laravel application. Or you will end up with a 500 error.

How Does Shared Hosting Negatively Impact Laravel Applications

Shared hosting, while budget-friendly, poses significant challenges for Laravel applications due to inherent limitations.

Your website’s security and performance are critical for a Laravel application to work smoothly. And shared hosting compromises both of these aspects. Here are a few examples of how shared hosting negatively affects your Laravel apps:

1. Multiple Sites Hosted on a Single Server

In shared hosting, multiple websites – apart from your own – share the same server. This causes sluggishness and makes your sites vulnerable to security issues.

2. Bandwidth & Disk Space

Shared hosting offers limited bandwidth and disk space on a server, causing scalability and speed issues.

3. Lack of Admin Access

Limited administrative access restricts your ability to perform necessary tasks and install custom software.

4. System Crashes

When a server is loaded with more websites, the activity increases, and the process of searching gets slower. So, sharing the host server for numerous websites welcomes crashes and speed issues.

5. Security

Hackers are out there looking for easy prey, and shared hosting makes your sites vulnerable to their attacks. To save your website from the evil eyes of hackers, you must opt for a dedicated managed hosting service instead of shared hosting.

6. Server Performance and Response Time

Unexpected web traffic can affect the server’s limited bandwidth resources on shared hosting, resulting in a slow response or loading time. Almost every Laravel app deployed on shared hosting experiences the 500 error because of server performance.

You Might Also Like: Ultimate Laravel Performance Optimization Guide

7. Downtime Issues

Imagine your Laravel app, the heart of your digital business, suddenly going offline – no, you definitely don’t want that. Shared hosting, where multiple websites share the same server, can lead to resource contention and unexpected downtime.

8. Data Loss Risks

In a shared environment, the risk of data loss is higher due to factors like accidental deletions or server crashes. Imagine losing months of valuable data – a nightmare scenario that can significantly set your business back.

9. SSH or Command Terminal

Most developers remain highly critical of the Laravel app deployment via FTP. Shared hosting providers often restrict or disable SSH access, limiting your control over your app’s configuration. This can be a major pain point for developers who need to perform specific tasks or automate processes.

10. Cron Jobs

If you use a shared hosting service, you will find scheduling Cron Jobs extremely difficult. This holds for Laravel-based applications as well, as you will be unable to set task scheduling functionality on shared hosting websites

11. Multiple Database Services

Shared hosting environments may also impose limitations on the use of multiple databases or specific database configurations, which can be restrictive for Laravel applications that rely on complex database setups.

You Might Also Like: PHP Migration is Easy With This Guide

Why Should You Use Cloud Hosting for Laravel? (Shared Hosting Alternative)

Cloud hosting involves outsourcing computing and storage resources to a service provider. And Managed cloud hosting solutions like Cloudways let you easily deploy Laravel to your server via Git or SSH terminal in just a few clicks, backed by excellent web security features.

Benefits of Cloud Hosting for Laravel Apps

The future is cloud, and is the recommended solution for all your Laravel needs. Here are some of the benefits of using cloud hosting for Laravel apps:

Reliability

Cloud hosting offers reliability by using . dedicated virtual cloud servers instead of shared ones. So, even if one server goes offline, your site remains available as resources are pulled from a network of servers.

Scalability

Cloud servers provide on-demand scalability, so if a website experiences a spike in traffic or needs additional resources, cloud hosting allows for quick access to those resources, unlike shared hosting.

Performance & Security

Cloud hosting offers the best solutions for the performance and security of your Laravel apps .

With the ability to scale resources, applications maintain high performance.

Similarly, cloud hosting comes with more advanced security features like firewalls, IP whitelisting, etc.

Cloud Hosting Providers

Popular cloud hosting service providers include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google’s GCE hosting, and DigitalOcean (DO).

AWS offers its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) servers to handle computing services. Plus, it offers Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) and Amazon Glacier for storage. Google offers its Google Compute Engine (GCE) and Google Cloud Storage for enterprises. And Digital Ocean, Linode, and Vultr also provide reliable cloud hosting services for SMBs, digital agencies, and individuals.

All these cloud hosting platforms offer distinctive features and hosting plans. To run organizational operations more efficiently most companies are now turning to “managed” cloud hosting services to run their organizational operations efficiently.

Read More: Laravel Websites Hosted on Cloudways Loads Faster – Check Out The Benchmarks

Why Cloudways Laravel Hosting is the Right Choice

1. 1-Click Installation

Deploying a Laravel application on Cloudways is as easy as clicking a button. You can choose from a variety of cloud providers and server sizes to suit your needs.

2. Optimized Stack

Cloudways provides a pre-configured stack that is optimized for Laravel, including PHP, Nginx, Apache, and MySQL. This ensures that your application runs smoothly and efficiently.

3. Built-in Caches

Cloudways offers built-in caching solutions like Redis and Memcached to improve the performance of your Laravel application.

4. PHP 8 Ready

Cloudways supports the latest version of PHP, PHP 8, allowing you to leverage its new features and performance improvements for your Laravel projects.

5. Cloudflare

Cloudways integrates seamlessly with Cloudflare, providing a global content delivery network (CDN) that improves website speed, security, and SEO.

6. Git Integration

Cloudways integrates with Git, allowing you to easily deploy your Laravel applications from your Git repositories with a few clicks.

7. Enhanced Malware Detection

The add-on now uses more advanced algorithms and machine learning to detect the latest malware threats, even those that are difficult to identify using traditional methods. This saves you time and effort, and helps to ensure that your application is always running smoothly.

8. Backup and Restore on Cloudways

Cloudways automatically creates daily backups of your entire application environment, including code, databases, and configuration files. You can customize the retention policy for your backups to specify how long they should be stored.

How to Install Laravel on Cloudways

Launch Laravel 9 on Cloudways is super easy and is done in minutes by following the steps below:

• Sign up or log in to the Cloudways Platform.
  
• Click Launch Now to add a new server.
  
• Select your server and application.
• Select the cloud provider to deploy your Laravel application.
  
• Choose the Laravel server size based on your website traffic.
  
• Select your Server Location according to your preferred region.
• Click Launch Now to launch your server

There you go, you’ll have your Laravel 9 installed on Cloudways in minutes.

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What Do Community Experts Have to Say About Laravel on Cloudways?

Community experts generally have positive feedback about using Laravel on Cloudways. From the ease of deployment to robust performance and security features, here’s a closer look at what makes Cloudways a popular choice for Laravel developers

 

“ I do think solutions like Cloudways add value. I believe a lot of independent developers and small startups could benefit more from the offerings of cloud hosting than they do now, but struggle with the related complexity and expertise required.” ~ Matthew Turland.

 

“I think you do a great job with one-click install apps, because everything is contained inside the same server and easily manageable.” ~ Gabriela D’Avila , Data Engineer

“I absolutely do think Cloudways helps when it comes to developing PHP-based applications. Having a dashboard where you can manage whitelists, caching, cron jobs, domains, CDN, SMTP, staging management, among many, many other features” ~ John Bell, Senior PHP Developer at The Bigger Boat

Final Words

Developers and agencies are still using Laravel shared hosting services due to many reasons, mainly low client budgets or low security and backup requirements.

In this article, I have elaborated in detail on the disadvantages you face when you deploy the Laravel app on a shared hosting server. Instead, you must opt for a managed cloud hosting server foryour Laravel apps to reap the unprecedented benefits in the long run.