Hi, are there any hosting where with one click you can install Discourse (like Cloudron, Digital Ocean, Bitnami etc) but which cost maximum $ 3 per month?
With Cloudron you must have a VPS with a minimum of 20GB of space and then in any case you must manage the part on security of the server, patches, updates of the operating system etc., right?
Is there a solution that you can use Discourse, modifying it as you want (for example being able to install all the various plugins), without worrying about hackers entering the server if you forget an open door and for a maximum of $3/month?
We can’t offer any support or assistance with any third-party ‘one click’ installations. They use unsupported installation methods which have historically had a habit of breaking horribly somewhere down the line. Free community-based support is available for the standard install, which usually takes less than 30 minutes. It may appear pretty daunting, but as long as you step through it carefully and follow the recommendations it’s very straightforward.
Please note that some of the really cheap VPS services don’t offer the correct type of virtualization or dedicated resources, which can cause issues especially when installing docker. Most companies pro-rate their billing though, so you can experiment with several over a period of days or weeks, and still only spend a few dollars for the whole thing.
The cheapest server from DigitalOcean is $5, maintenance for those is pretty minimal. DigitalOcean are recommended due to the ease with which Discourse can be installed into their environment. Other companies such as Amazon (AWS) and Google have more complex network setups, and will require you learn a number of other concepts before you can get up and running.
Most Discourse updates can be done from the browser, with only the occasional need to connect via SSH and update from there.
Server security isn’t that challenging, you can use ufw to secure any non-Discourse/SSH ports and reduce the attach surface of your machine.
Resources to do all of the above exist here on meta. Providing you install in a supported way, and in an environment where Discourse will run we can help you with any basic configuration problems.
