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[Beginner] Need help about hosting for a forum/community

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HummingSoul

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12
2013
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Hello guys,

I want to create a new community and I need some help.

This is a good start but I need more detailed information and answers.

First of all, why do I want to create a new community? I do not want to earn money, so I do not want any advertisements on my site. Ok, but there are millions of communities and forums. Yes, but not for me. There aren't any forums like this elsewhise I would not be here.
Everywhere you can find a forum for mainstream topics but my topic and hobby is a unique one. Really unique. I searched a long time for such a forum/community but I could not find any. So, I thought I start one, just for a pleasure. But I want to make it good, it should last for years. So that is why I am here. The fundaments should be done well in my opinion.

Can you help and explain me the basics of what I need to do? It is not like that I can not search and read, but it is faster and better to ask on a forum than to think up everything by your own. Don't forget that I am a beginner with no experience and knowledge.

It is usefull to know that my forum/community will have illegal content (music, pdf) which will be about 20% of the content. But not popular content. Like chinese music from the 20´s or academical books from the last centuries. It will be an academical forum. I, myself want to upload things, too. So I will use uploaded or rapidshare as the owner of the site. That is why I want to make it right because I guess this could make it dangerous.

So my first questions to you:

1. Where should I register the domain (cheap of course)? And which extensions should I avoid? .com? .net?

2. I still did not understand the difference between VPN, VPS, dedicated, shared, and so on. I want to be safe. What do I need and where I can get it for cheap?

3. I live in Europe so I want to avoid the european servers and of course the american ones. I thought about Russia, is it ok?

4. How can I backup my site/forum?

5. Which forum software offers the most (plugins)? I want to have a modern looking forum, I thought about vbulletin but it is really expensive. And I want all the modern stuff like login via facebook account, twitter account and so on. Want to have a customized look. What do you suggest?

The content is not a problem. Money is a problem but I guess I will not need much money to set up a forum. The only thing about I worry is this server thing. Where and how.

Can you help me?

With kind regards.
 
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12 comments
.info is the cheapest domain you can get Godaddy has them for $3

For you since you are just starting out shared hosting is all you need go with Altus Host they are a little more than most other host get the Bronze package

Mybb is 100% free forum software they have a decent amount of skins templates and plugins mods

Do not go with any host here on WJ your forum will be down a lot since a lot of host from here are getting attacked
 
Thank you for your reply.

To be honest .info is not what I want. I want a regular one but of course if it is safe.

Why shared hosting? Can you tell me the differences? Or anyone else?

The servers of Altus hosting are in the Netherlands. I guess this is not very safe for me.
 
HummingSoul said:
Thank you for your reply.

To be honest .info is not what I want. I want a regular one but of course if it is safe.

Why shared hosting? Can you tell me the differences? Or anyone else?

The servers of Altus hosting are in the Netherlands. I guess this is not very safe for me.
Click to expand...

Get a .com domain which is top level and make sure every other tld are available and so you can bought other once you become big. And also to avoid conflict.

And for hosting go with hawkhost they are good and they have many big forum running with them.

And altushost is way too costly and it is for warez site which only needs offshore .

And for forum script if you are serious in forum then paid is best which is ipb and for free mybb is good .

I have exp in web field more than 8 years . You can go with my decision and you will be star soon.

Then all upto you. Choose wise and rise big.


Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
 
DJBoutit is very right with his prediction.

.info is the cheapest domain name... or else u can go for .Org somewhat on the same rate... just check with go daddy.

Shared hosting is better ... if you don't have a lot of load on your server http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_web_hosting_service

Personally I love hostgator as they are the best in business.... but if you wanna go for russian services I say try Altus host as they are dependable...

Regular backup are taken by server companies or you can subscribe for a backup service which will do it for you periodically.

As for ForumScript.... u get a lot of them these days..... and with C-panels you can quick install them... try couple of them initial and then settle for one...
lgta456.png



Just looked at filegrasper's opinion and that too looks solid....
 
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Thanks for replying.

filegrasper said:
And altushost is way too costly and it is for warez site which only needs offshore .

I have exp in web field more than 8 years . You can go with my decision and you will be star soon.
Click to expand...

Well, my site will have warez content. That is why I try to be carefull.
I do not want to become a star soon. I do not want to earn money or get a big community. I just want a place for me and the people who have the same interests. Thats all. And that means we will share some old music and old books.
You say .com domain is the best. I agree. But isn't it too risky for boards with warez content?
But with one thing you are right I guess. Paid softwares are better than the free ones. Maybe I should look for IPB even if it is not really cheap.


bluefirepro said:
Shared hosting is better ... if you don't have a lot of load on your server http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_web_hosting_service
Click to expand...
But good for a site with a little bit not-mainstream warez?


Personally I love hostgator as they are the best in business.... but if you wanna go for russian services I say try Altus host as they are dependable...
Click to expand...
But when I go on their website and click on a package it shows me the location of Netherlands, not Russia. Am I wrong?

Regular backup are taken by server companies or you can subscribe for a backup service which will do it for you periodically.
Click to expand...
The host should take backups of course but to be sure I want to backup, too. Like every week or something. Is it possible? And how?

And for the forum software. Are the free ones equally modern to the paid ones? Because the free ones look really old and not so much updated.
 
So my first questions to you:

1. Where should I register the domain (cheap of course)? And which extensions should I avoid? .com? .net?

You can try godaddy? Since its warez, you also want a provider which includes WHOIS privacy protection

2. I still did not understand the difference between VPN, VPS, dedicated, shared, and so on. I want to be safe. What do I need and where I can get it for cheap?

You need is Shared hosting, VPN is something quite different. As your site grows here how you will move: Shared > VPS > Dedicated server
Since you say you don't have any knowledge, I guess you should be sticking with shared hosting.

3. I live in Europe so I want to avoid the european servers and of course the american ones. I thought about Russia, is it ok?

American servers? HELL NO. American servers are only good for legal content. You can try NL or RO, even though in Europe, they still have individual policies which shouldn't affect you just because you are a European.

4. How can I backup my site/forum?

You can go to cpanel > backup function OR use this automatic tool: Comcure
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGR-i3W6xq4[/ame]
I have myself created that tutorial :P

5. Which forum software offers the most (plugins)? I want to have a modern looking forum, I thought about vbulletin but it is really expensive. And I want all the modern stuff like login via facebook account, twitter account and so on. Want to have a customized look. What do you suggest?[/B]

Regarding vBulleting, you can get a nulled script, most NL providers who permit warez also allow nulled scripts. If you want free ones, you can go for phpbb, even they have several plugings but not as many as vbulletin.

The content is not a problem. Money is a problem but I guess I will not need much money to set up a forum. The only thing about I worry is this server thing. Where and how.

As discussed you certainly don't need a server, and a shared hosting should cost you less than $5/mo

If you need more help then feel free to PM me ;)
 
1. Where should I register the domain (cheap of course)? And which extensions should I avoid? .com? .net?

GoDaddy and NameCheap are good, solid companies. You can find coupon codes to get a discount on your domain.

Typically, people go for a .com domain.

2. I still did not understand the difference between VPN, VPS, dedicated, shared, and so on. I want to be safe. What do I need and where I can get it for cheap?

Depending on what your site is going to be about and how much traffic it generates, you can choose between these.

Shared Hosting
Shared Hosting is very similar to living in an Apartment Complex. All residents are in the same location and must share the available resources with everyone - such as the pool, parking lot, and play ground. In shared hosting, all accounts (sites) must share the available resources with all the other accounts on the server - such as CPU time, memory, and disk space.

VPS Hosting
VPS Hosting includes our 256M, 512M, and 1024M VPS Hosting Plans. VPS Hosting is similar to owning a Condo. While you still share things on the property, you are ultimately responsible for maintaining your own property and repairs inside the condo. There is also significantly less residents per building and assigned parking. On a Virtual Private Server, you are allotted resources that are not shared by everyone. The over all CPU time and memory are shared across all accounts on the machine, but at the same time portions of those resources are always dedicated to each account.

Dedicated Hosting
Dedicated Hosting can be compared to owning a house. You are allowed and have access to all resources available on the machine. No one else's account resides on the machine (your house) and would not be capable of tapping into your resources.

Source: InMotionHosting

3. I live in Europe so I want to avoid the european servers and of course the american ones. I thought about Russia, is it ok?

From the sound of it, you want to go offshore, right?

Russia would be okay for that.

4. How can I backup my site/forum?

Depending on the software you use, some have built in back-up options, and there are also control panels that allow you to perform backups of your entire directory and databases.

5. Which forum software offers the most (plugins)? I want to have a modern looking forum, I thought about vbulletin but it is really expensive. And I want all the modern stuff like login via facebook account, twitter account and so on. Want to have a customized look. What do you suggest?

I love vBulletin so I would suggest that. IPB is another good forum software to use. But if you are on a budget, phpBB and SMF are good alternatives, although I'm not sure they have External Login abilities.
 
Guys, thank you for your kind help. I really appreciate it.

@bluefirepro

Thank you for that link. Nice source to look at.

@Yashraj

Thank you for your detailed help. I will keep it in my mind that I can pm you, thanks.

@Exel

Great quote. Now I understand the differences.


My next questions to you:

- You all suggested me a shared hosting. Ok, but are they safe and will I be anonymous? Like IP hiding or something? Of course nobody can be safe for 100% but as much as I can be would be great.

- Nulled vBulletin. Can I use all plugins and extensions for it even if it is nulled? That would be great. And if I do not care and my hoster does not care, they can not do much about it?

- Where I can pay with paysafecard? Altus, Hawkhost, Hostgator? Other suggestions? Which one is best for warez linking although I will not have much warez and just old stuff.

- Domain registration. You say goDaddy, namecheap or from what I found through searching is internetbs. Where can I pay with paysafecard? And more important: should I use my real name and private information for domain registration or fake one?
 
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- You all suggested me a shared hosting. Ok, but are they safe and will I be anonymous? Like IP hiding or something? Of course nobody can be safe for 100% but as much as I can be would be great.

I don't really think that much is required, offshore web hosting account is enough for warez purposes.

- Nulled vBulletin. Can I use all plugins and extensions for it even if it is nulled? That would be great. And if I do not care and my hoster does not care, they can not do much about it?

No they can't do much about it and yes you can use plugins in nulled theme. Only drawback is that most of the free/paid plugins are available on vbulletin's forum itself, for which registration requires active license, however there are other 3rd party sites where you can get them.

- Where I can pay with paysafecard? Altus, Hawkhost, Hostgator? Other suggestions?

No idea for this one but I doubt anyone will take it

- Domain registration. You say goDaddy, namecheap or from what I found through searching is internetbs. Where can I pay with paysafecard? And more important: should I use my real name and private information for domain registration or fake one?

Information used should "generally" be real.
 
HummingSoul said:
So my first questions to you:

1. Where should I register the domain (cheap of course)? And which extensions should I avoid? .com? .net?

2. I still did not understand the difference between VPN, VPS, dedicated, shared, and so on. I want to be safe. What do I need and where I can get it for cheap?

3. I live in Europe so I want to avoid the european servers and of course the american ones. I thought about Russia, is it ok?

4. How can I backup my site/forum?

5. Which forum software offers the most (plugins)? I want to have a modern looking forum, I thought about vbulletin but it is really expensive. And I want all the modern stuff like login via facebook account, twitter account and so on. Want to have a customized look. What do you suggest?
Click to expand...

Answers:

1. Godaddy is a cheap domain provider
2zso139.jpg


2. VPN is not a server, it is Virtual Private Network. Basically it's work as a proxy service!
Shared is one server which is shared to many customers.
Dedicated server is like your own private server but it's too costly! I don't think that you are able to afford One dedicated server!

For my opinion, As a starter you need just a shared hosting to start a site. Just because, Shared servers are very cheap.
Example of some shared server provider:

  • offshorewebspace.net
  • rapidtechhosting.com
But if you need a free host so, you can try some post to host services but i recommended paid service it's start from only 2 dollar.


Some Post to Host Example:

  • Speedywebz.com
  • Hostmafia.net
3. Yes! Russia provides Offshore so, you can ignore DMCA.
But please research first before you buy!
But i recommended Netherlands or Romania Servers because they are fast and they ignore DMCA completely!

4. If your host provide you cPanel controll panel then i just need to backup your files via ftp or cpanel and backup your database from myphpadmin which you found in your cPanel. For more information you need to contact your host or join me on GTalk or AIM.

5. I recomended to use vBulletin or IP.Board.
But if you think they are too expensive then you can use PHPBB3 or MYBB. They are completely free and very user friendly. And you can find those plugin for your forum on google.

I hope this information will help you!
For more information, add me on GTalk or AIM.
 
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