Hello DP members, Let's say I want to open up a forum, do I need to buy dedicated hosting or something? Or I can use shared hosting? I don't know how much traffic I'll get later, but no way compared to this forum.
Shared hosting is fine for starting. As you get more traffic you might need to upgrade to a semi/dedicated solution. Shared hosting should serve you well.
Im currently using shared hosting and its running just fine. Obviously you will need to upgrade as your forum grows, but shared hosting will be enough for now
I agree with JMDomains. I'm running a vbulletin forum on a shared hosting account with no issues. However once my forum becomes more popular I will have to move it to a VPS or Dedicated. Unless you are really sure your forum will be popular soon after launch in which case maybe you should start out with a VPS that way you don't have to move it so soon. Best of luck with your forum!
You should be fine using shared hosting when starting out a forum. Unless you are getting 1000+ visitors a day, then you would want to consider VPS or dedicated.
It all depends on the amount of traffic you will push right off the bat. If you are going to grow fast then I would recommend going with a VPS server from the begining. You can develop and design the forum site on your own dedicated space and resources. This would probably only cost $15-$20 for a reliable hosting company. I would avoid the "budget" or "too good to be true" deals and companies. Good thing about the VPS is that it would be able to grow with you as your site grows. Find a hosting company that will work with you and help you along. Don't just be a number and plan to them.
If the forum does not consume a lot of resources, then you can start with a shared hosting plan with out any problems and you could upgrade later once the forum grows.
i am just running my forum with shared hosting though but probably if i reach about 7K traffic or 10K, i'd probably change to dedicated.
Before creating a forum I hope you made sure there is enough potential audience for the theme you chose. There are so many forums on the net don't waste your time/money with one that already exists in 1,000+ copies.
Well my hosting services allow the option for vBulletin and other forum software to be installed/ and set up for you FREE of charge with ANY package. Just submit a ticket requesting a forum/ and choose from the software we offer to our clients
that is VERY true buddy, I am a forum owner myself, it is tough to make a successful forum, BUT once you succeed and get to a certain point, the forum them begins to make/ and maintain itself , via the community
Good to see you've been successful I work in that business for 4 years in one of the leading free forums hosting, and I must say very few forums manage to work for more than a year...very tough market.
You can start with a normal shared plan, that will also work with out issues. So, you cut your expenses as much as you can. Then, once you get good amount of visitors and members, shift to a VPS and then to a dedicated server. Step by step migration will cost you less. However, you need to be sure that there are not any issue at development side. Strengthen your security by always enabling CAPTCHA.
As suggested by everyone around, shared hosting should be fine. however, I would suggest getting a dedicated IP though.