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  1. #1

    Recommendation

    Greetings,

    After reading through several threads (thanks to the search button ) I feel that I know the answer but would appreciate some final feedback before I make my decision.

    I am currently looking for hosting for a site whose primary purpose will be to operate a forum (i.e. phpbb, mybb, vbulletin, etc). This forum will be available 10% to the public (non registered) and 90% to registered members only with posting restricted to members only.

    My main concern is making sure that I have an appropriate amount of storage, bandwith, etc. as forums can get resource intensive when they start to take off (which I am anticipating in approx. one year.

    I've looked at a lot of shared hosting plans as an initial setup to get things going and know that I can upgrade as demand requires. However, I have also seen some decent semi-dedicated plans that may be a better starting point?

    Initially, I am looking to spend (if possible) no more than approx. $15.00 per month for the first year as I am working with limited capital currently.

    Any suggestions that anyone is able to provide on the above needs, including recommendations on a hosting company will be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you for your time.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    You should take a shared plan somewhere (but do not spend that much! 5$ to 10$/month are more than enough to start a new forum) and upgrade to a more performing solution (a shared account with more resources, a semi-dedicated account, a vps....) when your host starts complain about your usage
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  3. #3
    Join Date
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    I agree with the above, for now, any reliable host with powerful servers should be able to host your forum until it becomes really resource intensive. You can probably find a host really good hosting company under $10. After you have chosen the company use the search to look for company's reputation.
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  4. #4
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    Initially, I am looking to spend (if possible) no more than approx. $15.00 per month for the first year as I am working with limited capital currently.
    Then a true semi-dedicated service is out of your reach. $15 is only a few dollars above entry level shared hosting, but even that should suffice while you're starting. Your budget must fluctuate with the rate of success, so if you don't have funds ready, focus on getting the forum to a self sustaining state fast. I would call that state $0.5+ per GB of data transfer used.

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    You may be able to get your monthly fees discounted if you are able to order a year or more up front - it will save you money in the long run but I'd only do it if the host is able to offer a solid upgrade path (so that you don't have to try getting a refund if you need to upgrade).

    You really should start with as small of a plan as you can and then grow as you need so that you're not spending money for something you don't need up front.
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  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Theoretically, normal shared hosting should suit you fine as long as the board isn't heavily modified (chat scripts, etc). Most providers will additionally give you a 30-day money back guarantee.

    How many users/hits do you get a day currently? Why are you changing providers? Are they saying the load is too much?
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  7. #7
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    I read $150/month at first and I was wondering why everybody else mentioned $15/mo lol

    forums are pretty hard to grow (coming from a guy that has owned and managed one for more than 3 years) so you could just go with a small shared host as others have said - $5-$10 per month would do you more than enough. Don't fall for the unlimited space or bandwidth offers - you'll just be disappointed later on when you find more people joining and using the search function - they'll start getting sql errors about "too many connections" and it gets annoying especially with unlimited providers since they limit almost everything else.

    forums also don't grow in size too quickly unless people start attaching stuff like crazy so disk space of more than 1-3gb shouldn't be needed - and bandwidth you could go with 10-30gb of bandwidth to start off. Just my 5 cents here, I tried to not repeat what other's said too much

    good luck finding something.

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by jd1395mw1598 View Post
    My main concern is making sure that I have an appropriate amount of storage, bandwith, etc. as forums can get resource intensive when they start to take off (which I am anticipating in approx. one year.
    If your forum takes off, you can worry about upgrading then. For now, keep your expenses down. You'll do just fine on a good shared host.

  9. #9
    Thank you everyone for your input. I couldn't have asked for better responses! I feel confident in what I need and now just have to find a good hosting company.

    Thanks again everyone!

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    Sounds like you may consider a host that offers VPS's, for the future. So when you do get more resource intensive you can easily migrate over.
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  11. #11
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    That's correct. Its best to get started with a shared hosting account with a host who offers growth plan to upgrade to VPS when you start hitting roof on shared servers.

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  12. #12
    Do most reputable hosting companies apply a credit towards your new rate when you upgrade? i.e. I purchase a 2 year plan on a shared hosting and after one year need to upgrade to VPS, etc. Does the remaining 1 year that I had already paid for get applied to the new rate for VPS (or whatever I upgrade to)?

  13. #13
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    Usually yes (at least we do) but it's better if you ask before purchasing
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    -> No cheap stuff, we provide only professional hosting on powerful machines <-> Speed and responsiveness are first priority! <-

  14. #14
    One thing I forgot to ask, would it be beneficial to get a dedicated IP and SSL right away?

    Thanks again everyone.

  15. #15
    Join Date
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    Well, assuming you're only looking for hosting a forum I don't see much of a reason to have a SSL cert unless you plan on handling any sort of payments or transactions through your website or if you would like to simply provide secure logins for your users. Otherwise, I'm just curious; what other purposes would you need a SSL cert?

  16. #16
    Primarily for secure logins for users as at this time I don't anticipate any handling of payments/transactions.

    what are your thoughts on getting a dedicated ip?

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