Moving from Shared Hosting to Modern Platforms

Shared hosting served the web for decades. But modern platforms offer better performance, simpler management, and often cost less.

This guide explains why and how to make the switch.

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The Problem with Shared Hosting

When you're on shared hosting (GoDaddy, Bluehost, HostGator, etc.):

Performance Issues

Issue

Cause

Slow load times

Shared resources, far servers

Inconsistent speed

Noisy neighbors

Poor TTFB

Overcrowded servers

No edge caching

Single data center

Management Burden

• cPanel complexity

• Manual updates

• Plugin conflicts

• Security patches

• Backup management

Cost Reality

"$2.95/month" becomes:

• $12-20/month after promo

• Plus SSL certificates

• Plus backup service

• Plus email

• Plus caching plugin

Real cost: $20-40/month for adequate WordPress hosting.

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Modern Platform Benefits

Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages

Feature

Modern Platforms

Deploy from Git

✅ Automatic

Global CDN

✅ Included

SSL	✅ Free, automatic

Scaling

✅ Automatic

Preview deployments

✅ Every PR

Rollback

✅ Instant

Uptime

✅ 99.99%+

Performance Comparison

Metric

Shared Hosting

Modern Platform

TTFB

200-1000ms

10-50ms

Global speed

Varies by distance

Consistent

Concurrent users

Limited

Unlimited

Uptime

99.9% claimed

99.99%+ actual

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Platform Options

Vercel

Best for: Next.js sites, React apps

Free tier:

• Unlimited personal projects

• 100GB bandwidth/month

• Serverless functions

• Edge functions

Pros:

• Best Next.js support (they make it)

• Excellent DX

• Fast deployments

• Great preview URLs

Paid: $20/month for teams

Netlify

Best for: Static sites, Jamstack

Free tier:

• 100GB bandwidth/month

• 125k serverless function calls

• Forms handling

• Split testing

Pros:

• Great for any static site

• Built-in forms

• Edge functions

• Identity features

Paid: $19/month for Pro

Cloudflare Pages

Best for: Maximum free tier, global performance

Free tier:

• Unlimited bandwidth

• 500 builds/month

• Unlimited sites

• Workers integration

Pros:

• Truly unlimited bandwidth

• Cloudflare CDN (fastest)

• Free R2 storage

• Workers for backend

Paid: Workers costs for heavy backend usage

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What You Need to Change

Moving from shared hosting means changing your stack:

Website Type

Before (WordPress on shared hosting):

• PHP + MySQL

• Plugins for everything

• Theme files

• Database queries

After (Static site on modern platform):

• HTML/CSS/JavaScript

• Pre-built pages

• Components

• No database

Building Sites

Before:

1. Build in WordPress admin

2. Save → live immediately

3. Everything dynamic

After:

1. Build in code/content files

2. Push to Git → build → deploy

3. Mostly static, dynamic as needed

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Migration Path

Option 1: Convert to Static Site

Best for content sites (blogs, marketing):

1. Export WordPress content using our tool

2. Choose framework: Next.js, Astro, Hugo

3. Rebuild: Convert content, recreate design

4. Deploy: Push to Vercel/Netlify

5. Point domain: Update DNS

Option 2: Use Headless WordPress

Keep WordPress for content, modern frontend:

1. Keep WordPress on cheap hosting

2. Build frontend: Next.js fetching from WordPress API

3. Deploy frontend: On Vercel/Netlify

4. Content updates: Edit in WordPress → Rebuild

Option 3: Different Website Builder

For non-developers:

1. Choose builder: Webflow, Framer, Ghost

2. Recreate site

3. Migrate content

4. Point domain

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Step-by-Step: Vercel Deployment

1. Create Static Site

npx create-next-app@latest my-site
cd my-site

2. Add Content

Create content/ folder with Markdown files.

3. Push to GitHub

git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial"
git remote add origin https://github.com/you/repo.git
git push -u origin main

4. Connect Vercel

1. Go to vercel.com

2. Import your GitHub repo

3. Click Deploy

5. Update Domain

In Vercel dashboard:

1. Settings → Domains

2. Add your domain

3. Update DNS at registrar:

- A record: 76.76.21.21

- CNAME: cname.vercel-dns.com

Done. Your site is now on the edge globally.

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Handling Dynamic Features

Contact Forms

Use form services:

• Formspree

• Netlify Forms (if on Netlify)

• Web3Forms

  
  
  Send

Comments

Use third-party:

• Giscus (GitHub-based)

• Disqus

• Custom with Supabase

Search

Use:

• Algolia

• Pagefind (static search)

• Fuse.js (client-side)

E-commerce

• Snipcart (add to any site)

• Shopify Buy Button

• Stripe Checkout

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Cost Comparison

Shared Hosting Reality

Item	Monthly Cost

Hosting (after promo)

$15-20

Premium plugins

$5-10

Backups

$2-5

CDN/Security

$5-20

Total

$27-55

Modern Platform

Item	Monthly Cost

Hosting (free tier)

$0

Form service

$0 (free tier)

Image CDN

$0 (free tier)

Total

$0

Yes, many sites can run entirely on free tiers.

When You Pay

• Team features needed

• High traffic (100k+ visitors)

• Backend requirements

• Commercial terms

Even then: $20/month for Vercel Pro vs $30-50 for equivalent managed WordPress.

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What You Lose

Be honest about trade-offs:

Feature

Shared WP

Static Site

Admin login for edits

✅

❌ (use CMS)

Instant publish

✅

1-2 min build

Plugins for everything

✅

❌

Non-technical editing

✅

Depends

E-commerce built-in

✅

Integrate separately

Solutions

Non-technical editing: Use Sanity, Contentful, or Tina

E-commerce: Use Shopify, Snipcart, or Lemon Squeezy

Dynamic features: Serverless functions, third-party services

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Real-World Performance

Before (Shared Hosting + WordPress)

Lighthouse Performance: 45
LCP: 4.2s
TTFB: 850ms
Total Size: 3.2MB

After (Next.js on Vercel)

Lighthouse Performance: 98
LCP: 0.8s
TTFB: 40ms
Total Size: 450KB

This isn't theoretical—this is typical.

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FAQ

Q: Is this actually free?

Yes. Vercel, Netlify, and Cloudflare Pages all have generous free tiers. Most personal and small business sites never exceed them. Compare hosting platforms →

Q: What about email?

Modern platforms don't include email. Use:

• Google Workspace ($6/mo)

• Zoho Mail (free tier)

• Fastmail ($5/mo)

Q: Can I keep my domain?

Yes. You're just pointing it to a new server. Learn about DNS →

Q: Do I need to learn to code?

For static sites from scratch, yes. But there are no-code options:

• Webflow: Visual builder on modern hosting

• Ghost: Blog platform

• Framer: Design tool + hosting

Q: What's the learning curve like?

Most developers can get productive with Next.js or Astro within a few weeks.

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Conclusion

Moving from shared hosting to modern platforms offers:

• ✅ Better performance - Edge delivery vs single server

• ✅ Less maintenance - No updates, backups, security patches

• ✅ Lower cost - Often free

• ✅ Better workflow - Git-based, preview URLs, instant rollback

The trade-off is learning a new approach. But for most sites, the benefits far outweigh the learning curve.

Related guides:

• Deploy to Vercel Guide

• Web Hosting Explained for Beginners

• JAMstack Explained for WordPress Users

Start your migration with our free export tool →