How Do You Decide To Go Self-Hosted?

Hey guys!

So I've been toying with an RP site idea. I don't even know if it would work yet or if I will ever actually put it 'online' as it were, but I keep toying with the idea of putting it on self-hosted software (Xenforo).

So, when you're first starting up a site and you're considering self-hosting, do you decide to wait and do it on a free forum software then move it all over (Jcink would be ideal for this I guess), or do you bite the bullet and dive straight in, even though the idea itself may not work in the long run?

We started on a subdomain of our main domain. We had the space, the time, the inspiration, but we also knew that there was a slim chance that we'd be disappointed or become bored with the idea. Which is why we waited about half a year before we got a new domain for our site.

Basically, I'd say that if you feel positive about the idea, and you can't let it go, it is a good indication you'd stick with it. Go for short term hosting, and see if you ride out the forst year. You can then decide to renew or not. Just having your own domain and space can be useful for other things than your new idea. You may want to move an existing forum to self hosted, or use the space for a wiki or a personal homepage. Combine your idea with other practical uses for a self hosted package.

If our site ever does die down, then I think I'd always keep the domain, and find another use for it. Yeah, I am basically saying 'go for it' if the money is not an issue

Pretty much ditto daenelia. I'm not hurting for funds so that paying a few bucks for hosting will hurt me. Even if the site went belly-up three months after opening, it's still hardly going to break the bank if I've paid for a year of hosting.

Now, if I was living paycheck-to-paycheck, this would probably be another matter entirely. I'd probably be more inclined to start on a free site and move to something self-hosted afterward if the site was really working after, say, six months or so. Some people might get lost in the migration, but them's the breaks.

We pay for a server for various reasons, so adding my roleplaying forums is not a big deal.

I host my other multitudes of sites already so self-hosting my RPs is fine with me. I prefer self-hosting because I get all of the control instead of just partial control and I am a domain junky. I will buy a domain before the RP is even successful. I can use it for something eventually and it was ten bucks.

I didn't jump straight into self-hosting, after all if its a new site are you willing to pay for a year plus of hosting when you're site may die after two months?

On forum based roleplays I started off on free (avidgamers and acornrack) then I moved and was a member of a pippyback hosted site. I then asked someone if I could have pippybackhosting for a new site of my own and I was with them for over a year before deciding to start up my own host :]

I don't think it's something you should jump into straight away unless you are 100% sure.

I got pretty lucky overall. Tally was started from the remnants of a former board I ran, and run on Invisionfree for two years before I was bought Invision Power Services Hosting for my birthday about four years ago.

We had to buy the database off Invisionfree to move, which can be a bit of a hassle, so if you're looking to go for IPB 3.3.x I do recommend JCink over IF. Simply because you'll have access to your database. Check out the conversion features of the software you're looking at - some won't translate well from a free provider to self-hosting. Even if you go from Invisionfree/JCink to IPB, you'll need to get IPS to modify the database structure so that it imports correctly (as I found out when we converted RPG-D... -___-).

If you have the hosting anyway, go for it. If you don't, and are unsure as to whether you want to spend the money, think about how you will move the site from free to hosted. That's going to be your biggest challenge overall.

If you can afford it easily, go for it.
As others have said, you can use your hosting for anything, not just a single forum.

I like to self host because of the control over my creative product and the freedom it gives me, without others deciding on TOS, layout etc. It is also convenient to have a place to have other smaller sites through subdomains etc.

Nobody can tell you if you can afford it or not, but it doesn't have to break the bank if you have a regular income if you make wise choices, like using open source and a stable but simple provider. Don't pay for what you don't need. Other technical solutions are usually available.