Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : Best hosting for XenForo forum

[sophie1204]

I'm looking for a new host for a forum that I'll be converting from vBulletin 3.8.2 to XenForo. I have about 3,000 members and 171,000 posts, and I'm interested in VPS. Any suggestions?

[gate2vn]

Can you pls tell us how many members online at the same time?

Thanks.

[Chris-WS]

Do you have any knowledge on linux systems? (in case that you are looking for a common cPanel VPS) because remember that this is a very different scenario, where of course you have more control, but also more responsibilities, so if you want to worry only about your forum, your members, etc, the best option is always looking for Managed options.

In that case I would suggest you HostDime, Hostgator, SpeedySparrow or just take a look to the VPS offers section! http://www.webhostingtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=104

Now talking about XenForo I'm pretty sure that almost any provider can handle it as any other script ;-)

[HostDime]

@Chris-WS thanks for the mention

@sophie1204 It seems you might need assistance with the migration and looking for a managed VPS provider maybe ideal

[sophie1204]

Originally Posted by gate2vn

Can you pls tell us how many members online at the same time?

Thanks.

I can have 50 members on and maybe 100 guests.

Originally Posted by HostDime

@sophie1204 It seems you might need assistance with the migration and looking for a managed VPS provider maybe ideal

I would definitely need help with the migration. I have no idea how to do it. Yes to managed VPS.

How can I tell one VPS host from another? How do I know who's good?

[HostDime]

This should help you get an idea http://xenforo.com/help/importing/

[fshagan]

I agree with Chris-WS, you should go with a managed VPS unless you are already a linux server admin. Your forum is too important to risk otherwise.

I always get slammed for this, but I'm a fan of more memory for database driven sites. I moved my SMF forum to a 1GB RAM VPS in order to convert it to IPboard, as I couldn't do the conversion on my shared host. The forum's less than half the size of yours, with 1700 members and 64,000 posts, most on-line at one time was 300, but I average about 30 -40 most of the time. Are your average concurrent users in the 80 - 100 range?

When I moved to the 1GB VPS, I was able to do the conversion, but it did peg the processor at 90% while it imported the attachments to the new software.

Concurrent users will give us a better idea of the resources you will need. As to managed VPS providers, we are only allowed to recommend those we have used. My VPS is at MDDHosting.com, and they are top notch, and I can recommend them.

When you get your short list of hosts you are considering, open a sales ticket with them, describe your forum (users, posts, concurrent users) and let them recommend which plan they think is best. This will help you establish how quickly they respond to requests, and you will get a feel for the host. I would recommend that you do not sign up for more than month-to-month at first.

[WebzPro]

If your are really looking for quality look at liquidweb.com. We do send our customers that out grow shared hosting their way and not a single one was unhappy. If you look at the bottom of this page you will find that LiquidWeb provides services for WHT.

[gate2vn]

With this statistic, a good shared hosting will be fine. Especially with a cluster hosting account. Don't need to go with VPS yet.

Originally Posted by sophie1204

I can have 50 members on and maybe 100 guests.

[yuan2477]

you can try a vps.it.s good.but it could be little diffcult .because you will install all app yourself

[Sparrow-Sean]

@Chris - Thanks for your recommendation to SpeedySparrow

If you are not sure how to manage the systems then definitely go the VPS Management route as the provider can further assist you in the transfer as well as the import of the databases from vBulletin to XenForo - normally the process is quite simple but always best to take backups just in case it does not go so well

[kpmedia]

Get a VPS.
I suggest looking at good VPS hosts, such as:
EuroVPS, Knownhost, Futurehosting, MDDHosting, Downtownhost.

[sophie1204]

Thanks for the feedback.

@gate2vn, I currently have a shared host, but everything I've been reading says that a managed vps is the way to go. Whether that's true or not, I have no idea.

How can I tell if someone is good? What questions should I ask them, before I make up my mind?

[Sparrow-Sean]

I'd start searching the companies you are interested in here on Webhostingtalk, check out some reviews, send the companies sales related questions and see how well they respond to your queries, how long it takes for them to address your ticket, how well they answered your questions, did they answer them with what you were looking for etc.

There are multiple ways to identify the good from the bad, a little research should help and usually does.

[sophie1204]

Thanks for your help.

I guess what I really want to know is what are the characteristics I should be looking for? I mean, other than price, I really don't know what differentiates one host from another. Any idea what I should be asking them to find out?