Webserver/Wordpress - what hardware?

satanicguardian · 7 Jan 2014 at 14:08

Hi guys, I have been looking for the last few weeks to move my website, currently hosted on office 365/sharepoint online, to a proper wordpress version.

I would preferably like to host it myself because, alongside this I have a few other sites that need hosting and my misses needs a place for her art website.

I'm guessing I'll need a microserver of some description (if someone could suggest what I may need that would be great).

Also, how would I go about setting this server up to run as FTP and host a website, I've seen various guides but a lot are fairly outdated, I'd probably run server as server 2008 r2 as I already have the software.

I am totally new to this kind of venture, but if anyone knows how I get started with this kind of project, I would be very appreciative of the assistance!

Confused · 7 Jan 2014 at 14:10

Don't host it yourself, get a proper company to do it, for example:

http://www.vidahost.com

antijoke · 7 Jan 2014 at 14:10

This needs to go in the HTML section, but am I right in thinking you want a box at home that will store and run a website?

Why not just use a web hosting provider like Vidahost?

Mynight · 7 Jan 2014 at 14:13

You can repurpose an old pc. I presume the sites aren't high traffic?

I would also look into whether your broadband T&Cs allow you to run a server. (I presume home bb).

Look into lamp its completely free and installing Wordpress is a simple few clicks. Assuming you don't have a fixed ip you'll need to use a service that redirects your URL to a dynamic IP address.

It can be more hassle than its worth.

Also I would post in the server area as its not really general discussion.

dirtychinchilla · 7 Jan 2014 at 14:14

As they've said, why host it yourself?

hargi · 7 Jan 2014 at 14:15

If your totally new to this then I would recommend Vidahost to.
The hosting and domains cost isnt that much and In my opinion is worth it. they will back up your site, so if anything goes wrong then it can be restored with in 5 mins.
Also if you host yourself then you will need something like a static IP or do some stuff to make it think its a static IP. The server will need to be on 24/7 ( what if you have a powercut?) also you will have to think about your bandwidth.

pitchfork · 7 Jan 2014 at 14:49

You could probably get away with an old desktop repurposed, the kind of volume you'll be able to host at home I'm assuming you don't get very much usage on your website?

Personally I'd recommend either get some hosting or consider virtual server/ colocation.

Deleted member 77746 · 7 Jan 2014 at 14:52

tsohost or vidahost.

If you wanted to play about just use a virtual machine.

satanicguardian · 7 Jan 2014 at 15:08

Ahh that Vidahost looks handy and easier

can I still install wordpress onto it? If so, any idea how?

Mynight · 7 Jan 2014 at 15:10

Once you get into cpanel scroll to the plugins (normally at the bottom) click wordpress and then restore your current site to it.

However just to throw another idea out there. Have a look athttp://www.eleven2.com/

Been using them for just under a year very solid, had 5 minutes downtime in total. O and should add their customer service is brilliant!

satanicguardian · 7 Jan 2014 at 16:00

Mynight said:
Once you get into cpanel scroll to the plugins (normally at the bottom) click wordpress and then restore your current site to it.

However just to throw another idea out there. Have a look athttp://www.eleven2.com/

Been using them for just under a year very solid had, 5 minutes downtime in total. O and should add their customer service is brilliant!

I have to recreate my site from scratch probably, it's really terrible anyway!
Am I right in saying WP has templates I can build from? I'm currently playing with WP maintaining my day job coimpanies' website

Mynight · 7 Jan 2014 at 16:22

Wordpress has thousands of them.

After you've installed the plugin (if it doesn't contain a template you like already) just find one you like download it and then upload it (or ftp) to the wordpress templates directory on your server "/wp-content/themes/".

Easy as pie.

satanicguardian · 7 Jan 2014 at 16:44

Mynight said:
Wordpress has thousands of them.

After you've installed the plugin (if it doesn't contain a template you like already) just find one you like download it and then upload it (or ftp) to the wordpress templates directory on your server "/wp-content/themes/".

Easy as pie.

Sounds easy enough, but I'll probably end up flailing around and screwing it up for a while, I'm pretty rubbish with webservers and ftp

Thanks for the help guys!

antijoke · 7 Jan 2014 at 16:45

Mynight said:
Wordpress has thousands of them.

After you've installed the plugin (if it doesn't contain a template you like already) just find one you like download it and then upload it (or ftp) to the wordpress templates directory on your server "/wp-content/themes/".

Easy as pie.

It's even easier than that, you can browse themes to download through the admin area or once you download your theme in a zip format just login to your admin area and click appearance -> install themes and choose the zip file.

Mynight · 7 Jan 2014 at 16:46

Arrgh having never used wordpress I didn't realize that option existed. No excuse for screwing it up then

It all comes with a learning curve

I'm sure someone can help you if you get stuck.

Narj · 7 Jan 2014 at 16:46

I use a VPS from Linode. Having complete control over the box means I can use it for other stuff like Vent etc...

satanicguardian · 7 Jan 2014 at 17:02

Narj said:
I use a VPS from Linode. Having complete control over the box means I can use it for other stuff like Vent etc...

That's a pretty good idea, what kinda costing is that compared to just vidahost?

visibleman · 7 Jan 2014 at 18:03

Narj said:
I use a VPS from Linode. Having complete control over the box means I can use it for other stuff like Vent etc...

Unmanaged providers (there are cheaper, and arguably better, providers than Linode) are fine if you know what you're doing, happy to keep the box running, and in most cases, able to deal with implementing a backup solution; otherwise it's just not worth the hassle and headaches.

In this case, it sounds like a managed service from Tsohost, Vidahost or similar would be better suited to Satanicguardian.

mtalk · 8 Jan 2014 at 03:29

you dont need much to host wordpress and get FTP account & email account, any shared linux hosting provider will offer you one click auto installer for wordpress with unlimited database, email accounts and FTP accounts you can take a look at :
http://www.webhost.UK.Net
or
http://www.Rshosting.Com
or
http://www.webhostingUK.Com

all are pretty good providers with good support ask for your requirements and select the one that helps you the best.

good luck and happy new year.

abbotsmike · 9 Jan 2014 at 13:00

I wouldn't bother hosting a site when decent speed hosting is so cheap and reliable. Let someone else expose their hardware to the internet! They'll also have a vastly better upload speed than you.