about Hosts, servers, and setting up

[interlooper]

Hi,

I am planning to set up a new website with attendant forum, dedicated to a single hobby. I don't think the world will come stampeding to my website/forum in a short while, although I won't object -or maybe I will... I estimate a few hundred registrations/members at most over the first few months.

I have a few Q's to which I'd be very grateful for any A's or pointers/suggestions.

I am at present hosting another small website with InMotion Hosting on their basic Linux-based shared hosting package, and they provide MySQL installation. Would anyone consider them to be an adequate hosting provider for a small XF forum? Any stories to share?

Mention the words "programming" or "code" or "administration" and I tend to get the hives. But I've browsed around and am thinking of acquiring a couple of skins that I particularly like. Should I bravely attempt to install and configure them myself?

Would it be prudent to not publish or go live until I've kinda ironed out all the kinks?

Should I be worried about attacks, hacks and the like, and would a plain vanilla install of XF be fairly robust in this regard? Or do I need to beef up security, asks the paranoid and mildly embarrassed newbie?

 

[Paul B]

I can't offer any advice on the host, I am not familiar with them.

Installing styles is very simple and does not require any specialist knowledge.

There are no known security issues with XenForo.

 

[.Rolex]

For starters shared hosting is fine. However, eventually if your board gets large enough you will need to switch to a VPS and later a Dedi. Luckily it's no longer 2005 where VPS/Dedi's cost you an arm and a leg. Personally, I absolutely hate shared hosting. With shared hosting you're vulnerable to shells, DDoS attacks on other 'local' websites, and of course you have limited control. If you don't mind getting your feet wet I would recommend to get a starter VPS for 10-20 bucks a month and become acquainted with Linux sooner than later. Honestly, it's not as intimidating as you may think and before you know it you'll be a pro!

Just my two cents

 

[Drae]

A lot of peeople who use XenForo make the mistake of getting a shared server with PHP5.2 - this results in a message that says database error, or a blank screen. So make sure to ask that the server you are placed on has PHP5.3 or higher (if there is a higher).

 

[Mike Edge]

However, eventually if your board gets large enough you will need to switch to a VPS and later a Dedi.

Very incorrect information. I host over a dozen 1 million - 7 million post clients via my shared hosting services. Funny thing is, majority of them have moved to me from dedicated servers and have stated we out perform their old dedi. The old "you need to upgrade to a VPS" scam is nothing then a hoax for webhosts to make more money. Instead of moving to a VPS, move to a host that doesn't oversell servers by 2 billion percent.

 

[.Rolex]

Very incorrect information. I host over a dozen 1 million - 7 million post clients via my shared hosting services. Funny thing is, majority of them have moved to me from dedicated servers and have stated we out perform their old dedi. The old "you need to upgrade to a VPS" scam is nothing then a hoax for webhosts to make more money. Instead of moving to a VPS, move to a host that doesn't oversell servers by 2 billion percent.

It seems you take a different approach compared to traditional hosts. Tradional hosts oversell shared servers so they can warrant cheap packages, hence why you usually have to upgrade to a VPS for access to more resources. I mean we are talking about InMotion hosting here. Your service on the other hand is the exception. Of course sites would perform well on a non-oversold server as again you have access to more resources. Also I'm sure your webservers are more optimized.

I don't mean to argue, hope that clears that up.

 

[interlooper]

Much thanks for all your replies!

@.Rolex thanks for the heads-up on the security aspect of hosting a forum on a shared server. I suppose going with a provider who only focuses on forum hosting like @Mike Edge may mitigate this concern.

@Drae I will find out about the PHP version- thanks for the tip!

 

[Mike Edge]

I will find out about the PHP version- thanks for the tip!

Make a file in notepad called myphp.php and add to it.

<?php


phpinfo();

?>

save and upload it. Open the file in a browser and you will see all your PHP info.

 

[WSWD]

Very incorrect information. I host over a dozen 1 million - 7 million post clients via my shared hosting services. Funny thing is, majority of them have moved to me from dedicated servers and have stated we out perform their old dedi. The old "you need to upgrade to a VPS" scam is nothing then a hoax for webhosts to make more money. Instead of moving to a VPS, move to a host that doesn't oversell servers by 2 billion percent.

Well...a VPS definitely serves its purpose. For one, you can compile custom modules, your own OS, custmize the OS, etc. You can choose what (if any) control panel you want to run, etc. There's no hoax involved with having your own environment to run things, that can be customized to the nth degree. That's the biggest reason to use a VPS vs. shared hosting. So me personally, I would spend $30/mo. on a VPS over $30/mo. on shared hosting any day of the week.

What people also fail to understand is that from a resource perspective, there is no difference having a VPS node with 10 people than having a shared hosting node with 10 people. Assuming the same hardware, the experience should be identical. The problem is, as you say, massive overselling with a lot of shared hosts.

The dedicated server ugprade myth is a simple one. People go from 8-16+ drive VPS nodes to a single drive dedicated box and wonder why their site is slower. They don't understand that a comparable dedicated box is going to very easily run $300-400+ a month. Spend that money though, and it will/should spank whatever shared/VPS box the site was on previously.