Unlimited Web Hosting – Is it really unlimited?

Written by: Hosting Coupons on May 24, 2014

Web hosting is a competitive industry, and as a result, hosting providers are always looking to offer plans that compete on both price and features. ‘Unlimited’ web hosting is a popular package offered by most major web hosts these days to meet the growing demand for sites using lots of images and videos, but we ask the question – Is unlimited web hosting really unlimited?

The answer isn’t as simple as it may seem, and there’s no solid yes or no answer to this. If everyone used ‘unlimited’ space, it simply wouldn’t be viable.

Is the storage space really unlimited?

There will usually be a clause in the terms and conditions which states that the unlimited storage space must only be used for website files – so you can’t upload a large mass of images and videos which are not related to your website.

If you have a large amount of files you’d like to upload to the web via your unlimited hosting account, you’d be best asking this question to your web host, or looking at the terms and conditions or Acceptable Use Policy for each.

Is your hosting plan limited by bandwidth instead?

Even if you are able to use unlimited disk space, you may find that your bandwidth is heavily restricted as a result.

This will mean even though you might have unlimited storage, you can only upload a small number of files each month. This could be compared to having a massive storage tank, with only a small pipe to feed in, limiting the amount of water that can pass through over a set period of time.

 

Here are a few extracts from Acceptable Use Policies of popular web hosts:

123-reg.com

“Any file you store on the Server will be reachable via a hyperlink from a page.”

“Abuse of an “unlimited” service (e.g. bandwidth or hosting) to the extent that it detrimentally affects other customers’ services will be treated in the same manner, such abuse to be assessed and decided upon at 123-reg’s sole discretion. We ask customers who intend to use high volumes of data to first discuss their requirements with our Support Team.”

DreamHost.com

“With the exception of DreamHost Dedicated Server products, the customer agrees to make use of DreamHost Web Hosting servers primarily for the purpose of hosting a website, and associated email functions. Data uploaded must be primarily for this purpose. DreamHost Web Hosting servers are not intended as a data backup or archiving service.”

HeartInternet.uk

“1.2 The Hosting Services allow you ‘unlimited’ server space for normal routine “non-file-distribution” web usage. For websites that allow downloading of video, audio or other files we reserve the right to impose a bandwidth limit of twenty-five (25) gigabytes (26,843,545,600 bytes) per calendar month. Non-file-distribution usage will remain unaffected by any limit imposed on downloading of video, audio or other files.”

ProsePoint.net

“Bandwidth and disk storage is unlimited as long as:

• it is used as an integral part of your ProsePoint Express site,
• you are not intentionally abusing the service by using excessive bandwidth or disk storage,
• you are not violating our terms and conditions, and
• you are not impeding our capability to provide other users with the ProsePoint Express service.

In other words, if you are adding content (images, files, text etc) to your site and using the service in the way it is intended to be used, then we will not limit the amount of bandwidth and disk storage your site is consuming.”

 

As you can see, in almost every case hosts mention that files uploaded should only be for the use of the website. This means that using your unlimited shared hosting plan as a file archive for documents, images and videos wouldn’t usually be allowed.

If you had a website which truly needed an incredibly large amount of file storage space, you’d start to become limited in other ways, such as by bandwidth and processing power.

Generally though, the rule is as long as you don’t upload a large number of images and videos which are not part of your website, you should be okay. Use common sense; though check with your hosting provider first if you are in doubt.