Shared plans are when your hosting provider has many websites on one server. Shared hosting plans are usually the inexpensive option because you share hosting space with numerous websites. Shared hosting differentiates their websites through one of two methods: IP-based – Where a dedicated IP identifies the website. This is different from dedicated server hosting. Name-based – Where a unique hostname identifies the website. These are typically the most popular offerings by web hosting companies because of how inexpensive they are. Small businesses with low web traffic benefit heavily from the savings from shared plans.