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Website Hosting for a Membership Site

by Cynthia Mosher
27 replies
I am getting ready to launch a membership site and realize that my server can probably not carry the weight of it. I have the membership site set as a a subdirectory within my main site. It will run my membership site script, a forum, and custom features that also run off MySQL databases. My main site is on a shared server. It has a forum using a MySQL database and my current plan can only handle so many concurrent users. Per Pair, my hosting company:

"Databases on shared database servers are limited to 20 concurrent connections. There is unfortunately no flexibility available there as it is a server-wide and not database-specific setting instituted to maintain the health of the database servers. You are permitted to have as many concurrent connections as you wish on a dedicated hosting plan."

My current cost is $49 a month. Going dedicated on Pair pushes the cost to $279 a month plus a $150 setup fee. Is that the average? Does anyone have a good host to recommend that will give me a dedicated server and unlimited concurrent connections at a good price?
#hosting #membership #site #website
  • Profile picture of the author magicmarcus
    are you going to host video?
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  • Profile picture of the author rondo
    For around the same price ($50) you can get a managed VPS (Virtual private server) plan, which is your own private section of a server.

    Or, if you really think you need a dedicated server you can get a good one for around $150 per month.

    Andrew
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  • Profile picture of the author Cynthia Mosher
    No, no videos.

    I'm just not sure what I need to meet the demand at launch and the membership. I want to avoid a crash of course but have no idea how to tell what I do need.

    The folks at Liquid Web suggested the basic Storm 2 GB here: https://www.stormondemand.com/cloud-hosting

    That's what I'm paying now but I wonder if it is enough.
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    • Profile picture of the author magicmarcus
      i would get a dedicated server.

      if you are worried about that much traffic - don't worry about price... im sure you can make that up.

      far to many times people shoot themselves in the foot over an extra $100 a month when in actuallity its a drop in the bucket.

      worry about marketing instead you can make up the extra $100
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  • Profile picture of the author Cynthia Mosher
    Wise advice. Thank you.

    I'm still not sure what I need and if the Storm 2GB is enough. Do I try it and see and adjust according to my need? Shoot for something bigger? Or, would it be best to place both sites on their own separate servers rather than nesting my membership site as a subdirectory? Maybe a Storm 2 GB for each? Or a Storm 2 GB for my current site and a Storm 4 GB for my membership site?
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  • Profile picture of the author sidpoudyal
    Cynthia Mosher,

    No, that is not average. Wow! Yeah, you definitely want to shop around because you can do WAY better than that. Sorry, not willing to give up my host but you can check out the deals at burst.net, I used them in the past and even their shared hosting should be able to take care of your needs. Haven't used them in a while though so don't just take my word for it.

    Best of luck,
    Sid Poudyal
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  • Profile picture of the author Cynthia Mosher
    What makes a VPS a better step? I'm not sure I know the difference between a VPS and a dedicated server.
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  • Profile picture of the author Hemang Shah
    Originally Posted by Cynthia Mosher View Post

    My current cost is $49 a month. Going dedicated on Pair pushes the cost to $279 a month plus a $150 setup fee. Is that the average? Does anyone have a good host to recommend that will give me a dedicated server and unlimited concurrent connections at a good price?
    - If shared hosting is not enough, you can try with VPS. Inbetween solution neither shared nor dedicated. However, if you are having lots of traffic, even VPS will put you in the same troubles soon.

    Regarding your dedicated server price, I must say "LOL" :rolleyes:

    If you want to buy dedicated server WITHOUT any setup fee and at best price, you should check here:

    ch-center[dot]com

    Ch Dedicated Atom
     Intel® Atom™ 330
    1GB DDR2
    160GB
    Bandwidth Unmetered
    Up to 5 IP Alocated IP
    2Mbps International...
    Free OS Install
    No Activation Fee
    Free reinstallation...

    Euro 33/month

    You can tell me your exact configuration and I will tell you which server will be best for you.

    You can contact ch-center and inform them that you are suggested by "Hemang Shah" and you will be given preferential treat.

    If you still have questions, feel free to ask me.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kim Standerline
    She doesn't need a dedicated server for a membership site, just a bigger slice from her host.

    A reseller account would do it easily and should cost about $25 per month

    Kim
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  • Profile picture of the author Cynthia Mosher
    Would that sort of set up allow me unlimited concurrent connections, Kim?
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  • Profile picture of the author Cynthia Mosher
    I'm with Pair right now, which has a pretty good reputation. I planned to go with a well known, established hosting company with a good reputation. Of course I'll pay more money for that. But I expect to get great customer service, full server management, and proven uptime.

    Do many of you go with smaller reseller accounts instead of the bigger, well know hosting companies?
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Grant
    I can recommend you to my host. It's a tiny operation, but the support is second to none and I get the best prices on my VPS. Haven't found anything even comparable.

    Currently, I have the following:

    2.4ghz dedicated CPU
    2048MB dedicated RAM
    4096MB burstable RAM
    90GB HD
    1500GB Transfer
    100MBIT connection
    100% managed

    $33/month.
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  • Profile picture of the author rondo
    A reseller account is still in a shared environment, but VPS provides your own allocated resources.
    Advantages of choosing VPS hosting - Web Hosting Diary


    Andrew
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim_Carter
    I run two membership sites on a shared server (Hostgator Business). All video downloads. No issue at all.

    Are you expecting thousands of members? I have well over 200 all coming on at once when I announce download time. No problem.

    Not sure you actually need more than a shared server.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary Rambo
    I would have to ask the same question as Tim did above. As I understand it, concurrent connections would only be a problem if you had 25 people click on the same link exactly at the same time and then it would only be a problem for a second or two.

    Here's some info straight from hostgator.

    MySQL connection limits, processor limits

    HostGator allows a maximum of 25 simultaneous MySQL connections per cPanel on shared servers. This limit can be raised for VPS and dedicated servers.

    The 25 simultaneous database connections should be sufficient. Most database connections open and close within a fraction of a second. A forum with 500 active members will rarely hit this 25 simultaneous connections.

    Hope that helps some.

    Gary
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    • Profile picture of the author Cynthia Mosher
      My site's forum is not all that active so I'm really not sure why I'd have a server crash and it be blamed on exceeding the 20 concurrent connections limit. But the new membership site will surely be using the database quite a bit since the entire site's functionality will be through the MySQL databases. I have about 4500 people on my prelaunch list. I'm hoping to get 5-10% of that number as actual subscribers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Patient-X
    You just need a larger hosting account ! Don't worry about getting a server or anything like that you wont need it and it will just be an added expense.

    Also did you say that you spend $50 a month on hosting ???
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    • Profile picture of the author Cynthia Mosher
      Actually $43.95. I pay $28.95 a month for the shared sserver account. But I pay an additional $10 a month for a secure server for receiving credit card payments and $1 a month for Dedicated IP Domain Hosting which I have 5 of. So $43.95.
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