Cron on shared hosting without the shell_exec

[mb_manager]

Hi 

Trying to set up cron tasks in a shared host. 
the shell_exec is disable, so my question is:
Is there another way around this?
And if not, what are the issues to expect in the shop by not having cron running?
Will it work? Or it's better to look for alternatives? 

Thanks

[JLHC]

Are you using Magento 1.x or 2.x? 

For Magento 1.x some users edit their cron file manually to remove the requirement but you may still face issues down the road that may require Shell or SSH access. 

For Magento 2.x, you can't do much without Shell access at all so it is very important. 

And no, your Magento store will not operate properly without the Cron Jobs being setup. 

I highly suggest that you check with your hosting provider on whether they can enable it and if they can't, it may be best to seek out alternatives as it is quite unreasonable to not allow you to enable Shell access in this day and age. 

[Robert Rand]

You can see examples of what functions Cron Jobs help with in a Magento 2 site by reviewing the bullet points at the top of the page here: https://devdocs.magento.com/guides/v2.3/config-guide/cli/config-cli-subcommands-cron.html

This includes basic functionality, like sending transactional e-mails, such as e-mails customers receive after an order is placed or shipped. It also includes Catalog Price Rules (discounts/promotions), sitemaps, and ReIndexing. You can't truly operate a Magento 2 site without cron jobs being active. I'd agree with JLHC, either your host needs to be able to support your needs, or you need a new host... preferably one that focuses on supporting Magento.

Best of luck!

[mb_manager]

forgot to mention that is magento 2

Thanks for the replies 

[JLHC]

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@mb_manager wrote:

forgot to mention that is magento 2

Thanks for the replies 

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If it's Magento 2 you definitely cannot work without Shell access. 

Like I mentioned if your hosting provider isn't able to provide access to you, you will have to consider an alternative and as Robert mentioned it's recommended to go with a provider who's focused on Magento so that the environment is setup properly and they can assist you if you face any issues. 

[mb_manager]

Thanks

Is there a way to place the website just as a catalog ( no sales ), while we find a alternative?
 

[Tarandeep Singh]

@mb_manager 

You do not have SSH access or you do not have enough access to run shell_exec() command?

Even you are on shared host you get SSH access and should be able to set the cron. If you don't then hosting provider helps you in setting the same. Other way to configure the cron is using the cPanel. If you have cPanel access then it possibly be having the option to configure the cron.

However, if you are using shell_exec to run a script then possibly you may not get the access. That is for security of server. You need to shed more light on what you are looking for and need more help with.

[Robert Rand]

From my perspective, it would take more work to hide all of Magento's cart and checkout functionality, than to move to a Magento-optimized hosting environment. So, yes, it's possible to operate in a catalog-only capacity while you investigate solutions with your current web host, but I don't personally think that it would be worth the effort. Magento is built as an eCommerce software, not a catalog software, so it takes some tooling to make it act in a true catalog-only capacity without confusing or frustrating consumers.