From dedicated server to hosted community

[PJN]

I'm looking for some hosting advice; maybe someone can tell me if the following idea is sensible or stupid. :)

At the moment, I have a dedicated server for my site. I got it because I was offered a good deal and because I could afford it okay. Now money is a little tighter and the dedicated server seems too big for my site, so I'm wondering if I should shift to IPB's hosting. My site is small and I don't really need a large server, but how do I estimate how many active users I have on average? I have a tiny number of active members most days but a lot of people (guests/visitors) read the site, so I can go from as little as 20 users to 150. I could try to move to IPB's hosting to reduce my costs but I'm aware that people usually move to dedicated hosting, not away from it.

Any thoughts?

[SKDown]

ipb hosting is one of the best as well as the most expensive of all. if your considering something cheap try some popular webhosting services.

[AndyF]

The X online users is calculated over a two day rolling period if its any help :) , I do not think if you spiked at say 120 visitors for a short time it would matter too much, although the specifics for how many and how often I am not aware of.

As you say you go from 20 to 150, how about trying a Plus 40 or Super 65 ?

You can upgrade / downgrade quite easily. :)

http://www.invisionpower.com/hosting/select_package.php


It may be best to ask this question in a support ticket so a sales advisor / hosting technician can assist you with their recommended choice given your community, plus they will know for sure if spikes are a problem (I do not think they would be but I cannot be sure) :)

[AndyF]

ipb hosting is one of the best as well as the most expensive of all. if your considering something cheap try some popular webhosting services.

Ultimately, you get what you pay for ;) , the shared hosting is quite fast and very reliable, and the servers are not overloaded with too many accounts.

[Gaffney]

150 users, even if a site was getting that constantly I wouldn't go above $20. I get 70-90 constantly and I can hit 700 peak and I only pay $10.

The performance is also very good, but you have to look carefully, the biggest hosts aren't always the best and the fastest aren't always the most reliable.