Hello,

I'm new to this forum.

I'm planning to create a website which will start pretty small, but gradually grow into a huge site with 1000 + pages. Most of the pages won't be very heavy though, probably not more than 20-40 k each.

What are my options?

I probably need something that allows me to increase my space and bandwith as my website grows bigger.

Does it require lot of work to change host after a while and move the entire site to another server?? I have no experience in that.

Do you think I could start with for example Lunarpages 500mb/20GB? There I could upgrade to 800MB/60GB when my website requires it. But what do I do when my website has grown to big for that too? Am I stuck ?

Would be happy for any advice..

Thanks,

Jakob

I'm sure Lunarpages would work with you on expanding to meet your needs.

I forgot to say that I'll probably add a forum to the site as well after a while...

Jakob

thanks for your quick reply..

ok, but what happens when It's grown too big for them too? Is it a huge project to change host/server?

Most hosting companys will allow you to upgrade through there packages as your site grows..

If they will not allow you to upgrade your plan as your site grows then i suggest that you do not sign up with them.

Originally posted by jakob
thanks for your quick reply..

ok, but what happens when It's grown too big for them too? Is it a huge project to change host/server?

Then it's time for a dedicated server.

dont' worry much. One step at a time. Get your web site up first and you will see. :)

Ok, but if I think that I need a dedicated server and find it more economical ? Is it possible to change? If yes, what kind of work is involved ?

Jakob

It will probably be quite a while before you actually need a dedicated server. The change over can be painless and when the time comes you should be able to do it with no downtime.
In the mean time you can do your research on server management or find a good managed server provider.

ok Michael, that sounds good.

Thanks a lot for your answers!

ev1servers.net is good for a budget and a big site. 99$ servers, can't beat that.

If he doesn't understand what would be involved with moving his sites to a dedicated server I really don't think he is in a position to be able to administer an unmanaged EV1 server.

If you are using CPanel then you can move to a dedicated server much easier than just about any other control panel. You might want to talk to whatever host you consider about that before you sign up with them. Then just take it one step at a time and grow with your site.

Oh and don't forget to have a little fun on the journey...;)

Find a reasonable server, buy it. As you grow, purchase another hard drive, then purchase more bandwith. Simple.

Originally posted by ImGeek
Find a reasonable server, buy it. As you grow, purchase another hard drive, then purchase more bandwith. Simple.


There you have it. Problem solved.:D

Michael, he could also try hostspace :D

Start off with a powerful shared hosting company. Many of them around. Be sure to choose the right one, the wrong ones will just cause you problems. You should be fine.

Experiment with the number of pages, see how much bandwidth is being used, etc.

Originally posted by MN-Robert
Michael, he could also try hostspace :D

Mwahahaha.
I wish I'd said that.:D

jakob, I'm sure you will find that a Hosting account will 250 - 500 MB of space and 5 - 10 GB of Data Transfer would do you fine -- for the next 2 or 3 years.

Although you don't mention any current site stats, your web pages will not take up a lot of space and, unless you have some extremely popular downloads and/or a Forum with a few thousand people -- of which 100's are active everyday -- your Data Transfer will not be that high either.

I would suggest you start with a Hosting package similar to what I mentioned above and keep track of stats. Actually, if you get a Cpanel Hosting account one of the Stats programs will keep track for you. ;)

After 3 - 6 months you will have some accurate figures to go by and be better able to forecast you Hosting requirements.

If you want to start cheap get a shared account alot of providers will let you upgrade, if the provide rafter a while says that they can no longer upgrade you then you can if you use cpanel make a complete backup of your site then swap it over to another server company this is not the hard if your domain name provider give you dynamic dns then it won't take long for your site to be back up if they don't it will take up to 4 days for your site to get back, but start small then upgrade

Some hosts offer both shared and dedicated hosting. If you're worried about the upgrades, such a company might be an alternative. When you get your site on-line, and hang out here, you will learn more about what is needed and what is involved in webhosting. Start small, then upgrade. Take one step at a time.

We are getting ready to sign up with Tek Advantage as from what I see, you have alot to offer Blue27. We are basically going to use it as a back-up to our main site in case it goes down but I may use you guys for another site or two as well. Excellent thread and the information is appreciated.

The number of pages should not really matter.. It depends on what sort of content you are providing. 500mb is a heck of allot of webpages. One of my websites has well over 1000 pages. Most of them are php scripts but none the less 1000 pages is a hell of allot of code! That website including a photo album with over 100 pics, a few small downloads, and some personal file storage. It still is only about 85mb.

With a 500mb plan you've got pleanty of space to grow into.

Host's who sell you web space then limit the number of files you can have are ripping you off.. Chances are you'll never get to use all your space without running over your file number limit unless you have several large files. I've been through this battle before with a former host for my club website.