Free hosting, in my opinion, doesn't seem to be a good choice. I mean, unless your site is way low on traffic - there could be problems! Also, if your site has even more than that - say a VPS level - then, surely free hosting won't cut it!
Anyway, there is such a thing as "ad-supported free hosting". That's kind of like what Pro-Boards does. However, though, who wants ads, especially those of other people, on their site?
Its not bad to give you a taste of how hosting works, but I agree its better to go with someone who takes care of hosting or shove out a little money for your own.
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It makes sense to go with free hosting when you've just started up, it's a good way to test the water, see if your niche attracts attention, but when your site is getting more traffic and more members, it seems a lot more logical to switch into paid hosting, although, in fairness, not everyone has the capacity to do so.
The only "free" hosting I used was at very first on a friend's basement PC on 56k modem!! Yes, my first site in 1997. It blew up quite fast and I moved to paid hosting after a few months. 😎
The only "free" hosting I used was at very first on a friend's basement PC on 56k modem!! Yes, my first site in 1997. It blew up quite fast and I moved to paid hosting after a few months. 😎
To be honest, a lot of people are quite happy with ad-supported hosting. To justify the ads, they (the hosting companies) have to keep it fast (good up-time etc.). Anyway, one such fan club is at Forum Promotion. Many of the members like Pro-Boards, Forumotion, and used to like ZetaBoards.
To be honest, a lot of people are quite happy with ad-supported hosting. To justify the ads, they (the hosting companies) have to keep it fast (good up-time etc.). Anyway, one such fan club is at Forum Promotion. Many of the members like Pro-Boards, Forumotion, and used to like ZetaBoards.
I hate Zetaboards. lol I've been a member of several forums that used it, and they were all crap. I've used ProBoards; you have very limited options there.
I pay $54.99 a month for a fully dedicated server and I can run as many sites/domains as I want and have complete control over all aspects of everything. Love it.
To be honest, a lot of people are quite happy with ad-supported hosting. To justify the ads, they (the hosting companies) have to keep it fast (good up-time etc.). Anyway, one such fan club is at Forum Promotion. Many of the members like Pro-Boards, Forumotion, and used to like ZetaBoards.
I hate Zetaboards. lol I've been a member of several forums that used it, and they were all crap. I've used ProBoards; you have very limited options there.
To be fair, though, Proboards has everything you need if you're looking to just run a general chatting forum, which is what many use it for.
I didn't like it mainly because of the ads and I wanted more control over the look and features. It sufficed for a little bit. 😎
I think a lot of owners are not web development hobbyists - but that's fine.
To be honest, a lot of people are quite happy with ad-supported hosting. To justify the ads, they (the hosting companies) have to keep it fast (good up-time etc.). Anyway, one such fan club is at Forum Promotion. Many of the members like Pro-Boards, Forumotion, and used to like ZetaBoards.
I hate Zetaboards. lol I've been a member of several forums that used it, and they were all crap. I've used ProBoards; you have very limited options there.
I pay $54.99 a month for a fully dedicated server and I can run as many sites/domains as I want and have complete control over all aspects of everything. Love it.
I'm on VPS now - considering a server. I wonder how much better it is.
It's noticeably faster! You never get slowdowns during "busy" hours, as VPS is still shared, you just get more resources. Dedicated is the definitely the way to go if you can afford it.
If I have a forum, how long will it be before I need to get better hosting?
If I have a forum, how long will it be before I need to get better hosting?
Depends on what hosting you start with. I was on "shared" for years with a fairly small forum. But as it grows, you'll need better. It's a matter of how big/busy your site gets.
Free hosting is a good way to "test the water" so to speak. Some people may not want to fork over the money for a community, only to have it fail and watch their money go down the toilet. Some people will use free hosting to ensure that their community is going somewhere before forking over any money (and finding out they'd wasted it). You can always switch over to paid hosting after using the free hosting for a while.
True, but my site (originally hosted in a friend's basement) quickly blew up, and $10 a month was easily affordable (1997). I now pay $54.99 a month, but it is wicked fast with tonnes of resources.
I used Proboards, and I hated it. You can't make your own backups and you're seriously limited on what you can do. I'm on Envesko now, and having ip problems at the moment, but love them otherwise.