Shared Hosting is a type of web hosting where multiple, generally hundreds, of websites runs on a single server within their own section. All the websites that are hosted on a shared platform shares a common Operating System and Hardware. In shared hosting the user don't have any control over the server OS and Hardware but do have their own control panel or FTP accounts.

Each website is allotted a certain amount of server resources, as provided by the hosting company. This is the most common and widely used method of providing web hosting service. In a shared server the user can get his desired features like number of email accounts, databases, domain hosting limit and type of OS, etc. at a very economical cost. 

The shared hosting is created by the server administrator using a control panel such as cPanel, Plesk Panel, Direct Admin, ISP Config, etc. or directly from the root access to the server and the domain is mapped to its hosting account via the IP address. The server administrator is responsible to install required softwares, scripts and the latest database patches. Since the parent server or the dedicated server is shared among the various users, shared hosting have certain limitations too. The website owner or the user can't control the server software and don't have direct access to the server. Further the server resources will also be allotted on the shared base among all the websites. Security aspect of the website is also questioned as the Operating System is also shared. So if there is any malicious website is found on the server it may infect other websites too. The server IP address is also same for all the websites but can be assigned on the requirement of the user.

Depending on the environment shared hosting have certain merits and demerits. Please have a look:

1. Server maintenance: In shared hosting since the user don't have access to the server he don't have to worry about the server maintenance and updates. The server administrator is himself involved in these activities. If seen economically then the price that you have paid for the hosting package includes charges for server maintenance too. On the other hand, this can be a demerit for user if he wants to have his own security level. In this case he will have to own a separate server like VPS or Dedicated Server.
2. Get what you want: When you are working on a shared platform you don't need to think for the complete server. Just take your share and start working. This sounds economically for the new-bees and for those who don't have very big or dynamic websites. On a shared server you are saving investments for the control panel, databases, OS and the hardware. But this saving may not seem good if your requirements increases.
3. Get start: For a new bee shared platform will be experience giving thing as the cost is less and will know in the long run as to what his needs will be. To start with the hosting industry shared hosting is good. Gradually you can increase your hosting platform and with some vendors you can get a desired hosting package as per you requirements with specific server resources.
4. Server Reliability and Usage: This aspect can be completely considered as a limitation of Shared Hosting. The hosting company may be the best in the industry or around you, but the server reliability is a second thing as the server is being used by the other user too. The server resources are also provided on limited base. Though the usage of the server resources can be 'unlimited' for you but its same for other users too.

After all shared hosting have certain merits and demerits, the equal importance is with choosing the good hosting package for your website and good hosting provider.