Joined: Mar 2023
Posts: 14
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I am running a small closed group community. Although it is opened to others to see and join. Still now we have a very few hundred hand selected members.
Looking for a host which will be reliable in terms of customers support. If ticket system, chat system both are available then better.
Should provide SSL and other protections. Since, we have couple of hundred members so it can be said that the daily visitors limit will be under 1k. And pageviews will be around 5k.
My problem is that I am new to this. And all I see is very sketchy reviews which are paid I am guessing.
I am currently on a free server.
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 691
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Your requirements are pretty normal. So, any decent good host shall do. Which I am worried about is that your site is a forum. Which can grow fast very quickly and you have to be prepared for it. Now, a shared hosting package will get the job done. But in the future you may have to avail high end services such as VPS or Dedicated server hosting.
You are very correct on reviews here. Yes, internet is flooded with paid reviews. And it is extremely hard to find genuine reviews among them.
Majority of the hostings do provide ticket and chat so that won't be any problem. SSL on the other hand is the least of any worry. Go with Let'sEncrypt type of services, they are free and very easy to use. For this type of closed community you don't need much of any protection.
Also, you are based from which country?
Overall good hosts will be Knownhost, A2hosting, Siteground shared hosting (although it will be an expensive one), inMotion all are good options.
Whatever you do. Take proper backups. You can also use cron jobs for it. And have a copy of the site in your local machine. And do your study on your own. Choose a service which is reachable and also reasonable. If you are not happy with them then feel free to move on after 4-6 months.
Joined: Mar 2023
Posts: 14
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I am from US.
Checked a2,knownhost and others. A2 really looks good for us. But there are also a very bad reviews about them. Someone today just recommended me LiquidWeb. Is that good? Haven't checked it though
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 691
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LW is one of the best available hosting service on the market now. But it is costly. And also I am not sure that they provide shared hosting setup.
Coming to a2. They are totally fine host. But they suffered a setback a couple of years ago. So, some people are still afraid. If you ask me, disaster can happen. They recovered in a good way so that's well.
Joined: Mar 2023
Posts: 14
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(03-29-2023, 04:51 AM)mediadrug Wrote: LW is one of the best available hosting service on the market now. But it is costly. And also I am not sure that they provide shared hosting setup.
Coming to a2. They are totally fine host. But they suffered a setback a couple of years ago. So, some people are still afraid. If you ask me, disaster can happen. They recovered in a good way so that's well.
Here is the thing that I wanted to talk to you about. I asked around some other forums as well. And nobody in them asked to go for a shared hosting. They all recommended to go for a VPS to say the least.
They keep suggesting that since I am running a community complex things needs to be installed every now and then. So, freedom is needed even if it's limited.
I am running the site for almost a year now. Nothing is required which are not expected.
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 415
Likes Received: 289
@
frank_donovan I am assuming that you are talking about large hosting boards? Yes, they have tendency to suggest such things.
Hell !! They will suggest a VPS for a simple wordpress blog. Saying that it will not have enough resources in a shared hosting and other what not. The boards are pretty good. But suggestions they make are often far from connected to the real ground it may seem. You know Why? Because they sell hosting and it's their job.
Although yours is a community. Still for this much a good reliable shared hosting will do (you will need a premium shared hosting though). Choose anyone. @
mediadrug suggested you very well.
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 90
Likes Received: 7
@
frank_donovan Also feel free to check out ChemiCloud and also NameHero.
Yes, some might argue with it. But their shared hosting is very specific, good and reliable. Now, specific how you may ask. Check their offers they exactly say which plan can bear how much traffic.
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 866
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(03-28-2023, 04:57 AM)mediadrug Wrote: Overall good hosts will be Knownhost, A2hosting, Siteground shared hosting (although it will be an expensive one), inMotion all are good options.
I agree all these are good. But I personally don't recommend inMotion. I have tried their VPS, it was terrible.
Shared hostings could be a different story though.
Joined: Mar 2023
Posts: 14
Likes Received: 2
So, far I am looking into Namisilo or Namecheap as a registrar.
And for hosting a2 and Knownhost are really looking for me. Anyway, thanks for the replies.
Joined: Jul 2023
Posts: 14
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For a community of a couple of hundred members, consider hosting providers offering reliable performance and scalability. SiteGround, Bluehost, and A2 Hosting provide excellent shared hosting options with robust support and scalability. For more control and flexibility, Vultr or DigitalOcean can offer VPS solutions to manage growing needs effectively.
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