Hosting from friends

[ZandraJoi]

Being on many forums, I also know of many people who do their own hosting & even offer it for free or a discounted price to others. Would you take hosting from one of your friends? Do you think there'd be a conflict of interest? Do you hope that if the friendship goes sour, that the deal would still stand?

 

[Aaron]

I would never take on hosting from a friend. If there's conflict what's stopping them cancelling the hosting account even if it's by accident in the rage of the moment sort of thing.

 

[Strawberry]

Can't grumble at mates rates! If I really trusted them and they were a really good friend then I probably would. I suppose there's always a risk of something going wrong, but that would say a lot more about them, their maturity and their stance on your friendship if they were to delete your forum or terminate your hosting.

 

[Tracy]

Temporary if needed yes... but relying on someone permanently... nope. You are at their mercy. If tomorrow they decide they can't afford the hardware/service and forget to tell you and then pull it down, unless you do regular offsite backups (which we ALL do religiously, right?) you are out of luck.... and I have seen that happen a time or two over the last decade.
We won't even get into personal interactions and the "getting mad" at each other. Just not really a great idea to me. At the cost of VPS's and shared hosting today, it's not much more than a couple of coffee's for most people.

 

[Arantor]

I have hosted with a company run by a friend of mine - but I made sure I paid the same as everyone else and that I didn't trade on our friendship because it wasn't worth it.

 

[Kale]

I would never take on hosting from a friend. If there's conflict what's stopping them cancelling the hosting account even if it's by accident in the rage of the moment sort of thing.

And if you go this route, please also ensure you can easily get and/or do backups of your forum/site. I do daily backups on mine just so I can have it on hand.

 

[Matt C.]

I would never let a friend host me. If something happened between us, then I would be worried about retaliation. Also, I want too much control.

 

[Cedric]

I feel that this is a very sensitive subject. If you're thinking about hosting your website on a friend's server, it's important to approach the situation with caution. While the idea of hosting from friends might seem appealing, there are several potential risks and downsides that you should consider.

First and foremost, if something goes wrong, hosting your website on a friend's server can create tension in your relationship. For example, if the server experiences downtime or if there are technical issues, it could cause problems between you and your friend. Additionally, if your friend doesn't have experience in web hosting, they may not be able to provide the technical support you need.

Another important factor to consider is security. If your friend's server is not properly secured, hosting your website on it could make it vulnerable to hacking attempts and data breaches. This could result in the loss of your website and any sensitive data you've stored on the server.

Lastly, hosting from a friend's server could limit your flexibility and control over your website. You may not have access to all of the features and resources you need to effectively manage and grow your website. Additionally, if you need to make changes or upgrades to your hosting plan, you may be limited by your friend's preferences and capabilities.

It might seem like a convenient and cost-effective option but carefully consider the potential risks and downsides. If you're serious about building a successful website, it's generally recommended to invest in a web hosting service that can provide the necessary support, security, and flexibility you need.

I would always offer it myself to my friends, but never would like to be in the hands of my friends.

 

[Ravenfreak]

Honestly I wouldn’t do so, you just never know if things can go sour and you end up losing your site. Of course you should be making backups of your sites just in case something happens, plus I wouldn’t want to rely on my friend for hosting. Now if one of my friends owned a hosting site, I would gladly support them by switching to their service and wouldn’t hesitate to pay the full price either.