hosting types

[Whiskerfish]

Currently running 3.3.10 It is a motorcycle forum with @ 17,000 members. LOTs of pics (20,000 plus) and how too's etc etc. Problem is that the 30 plus FB pages for the same bikes has really crippled the traffic. My forum is now more of a reference for it's knowledge base.

In 09 I had to upgrade to a VPS to keep up with the bandwidth. Now I am facing the opposite issue. I am paying a lot for a big strong server that sees 3 or 4 users at a time. I feel like I am throwing away money.

How can I determine if I can realistically scale back down to a shared hosting server? Is there a magic metric or some standard that I can use to justify one way or another? I did not set up my site and moving it would be a MAJOR deal for me but if I can cut costs by a half or more than I would undertake it.

[danieltj]

Do you know how much bandwidth your site uses only a daily basis right now? If what you say is true regarding your forum having 3 to 4 users 'at a time' then you could easily move to shared hosting.

I won't suggest a web host because when it gets to the shared hosting level, they're all mostly the same and it comes down to preference really but if you're on a VPS getting as little traffic as you say you are, then absolutely move hosts and save the money.

It doesn't really matter on the size of your content in the sense that even if you do have 20K images, as long as you're not serving a large portion of those images on every single page you shouldn't run into any issues. Moving the site will be a pain, but once it's done it should make you better off from a financial sense of running the site.

[Whiskerfish]

This is from cpanel

bandwidth 18 August.jpg

[Kailey]

Most shared hosting offers "unlimited" traffic. This "unlimited" though usually amounts to a few TB per month. With the graph you posted, you'll never hit that. What you'll really pay for is the storage. Any idea how big your board is including attachments?

The company I host 3 sites with has a small VPS for $5 USD per month that gives you 30GB storage. I'm guessing that's total, so DB and files... I don't know since I have a pretty beefy VPS. I doubt you would hit that though. I've seen a board with over 40,000 attachments and the size was only about 5GB.

If you can post back your current server sepcs and how much storage you are using (DB and files), that puts you in a better position of what you really need.

[Whiskerfish]

Phtml is only about 14g but the entire package seems to take up 50+ I have not figured that out yet.

System information 18 August 2024.jpg

Processors.jpg

I am at 46G bandwidth so far for August. I had an issue with Bots early this month but have that shut down now so my BW is reflecting a accurate picture now. that 46 does include a FTP backup of the PHTML
Database size: 998.79 MiB
Number of posts: 811259
Number of attachments: 79794
Number of users: 17875

[thecoalman]

Generally speaking it's the amount of traffic you will get that is determination. Don't pay attention to the unlimited this or that, it's marketing gimmick. In the fine print will be phrases about CPU activity which is the real limitation. As I'm sure you are aware with VPS resources are specifically allocated and you can't exceeded them. If they are listing the allocated resources for shared hosting plan like they do for VPS/Dedicated I'd be more likely to go with that.

There is no magic number but If your site has low activity you shouldn't have any problem with shared hosting. There is other options as well, many hosts offer high powered shared hosting plans with VPS like specs. Make sure whoever you choose has option to upgrade into higher spec shared hosting. A lot of them don't and they will push you into VPS.

The company I host 3 sites with has a small VPS for $5 USD per month that gives you 30GB storage.

I'm assuming that is unmanaged VPS? And it wouldn't have WHM. Unless you are comfortable with configuring everything and don't need that lifeline from the host it's not an option for many people.

I'm guessing that's total, so DB and files...

It will also include the OS, apcahe, mysql, web hosting management tool like WHM etc. Anything installed is part of the disk size.

I've seen a board with over 40,000 attachments and the size was only about 5GB.

That's going to be all over the place dependent on the max image dimensions assuming most of your attachments are images. That number is pretty small so they must have small image dimensions.I have mine set at 2000 either side,with the thumb they are about 500KB per image.

[Whiskerfish]

I locked in a year ago for 24 months at just under $50 a month. Now they are bumping the rate up to 95 a month. That is what is pushing me toward rehosting. Site is run on donations. I have a query into the sales team asking if they are going to honor the remainder of my contract. Once I get that reply it will determine if I move this month or next year but either way I am fairly certain I am leaving them.

The current VPS was setup by my Tech guy when we were growing. 14-15 years ago we would routinely see 30-40 members on the site at once and our host was bombarding us with over use messages so we stepped up. Now we routinely see 3 or 4 members at a time. My Tech guy has since moved on to other adventures. I have been fortunate to be able to keep it going this long.

[Mick]

We cannot really recommend a host, but we do recommend that you visit WebHostingTalk.

[Whiskerfish]

Thank you

[AbuHossam]

.. given how slow your site is, you might be able to save some cash by switching to a shared hosting plan. Keep an eye on your server's usage and think about where your site might be going in the future. A traffic forecasting tool or a chat with your hosting provider could help you decide if it's time to downsize.