Installation on bluehost cloud server?

Installation Hosting
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I currently have a shared hosting account with Bluehost. I’d like to install Discourse, and understand I need at least the VPN account:

bluehost.png1257×757 50 KB

Is a Bluehost Cloud account an option?
http://cloud.bluehost.com/products/cloud-sites

I know I can use Digital Ocean, but I’d rather not have yet another account to deal with.

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I think their Technologies can support Discourse (https://www.bluehost.com/vps), Bluehost VPS price is more expensive than Vulr, Digital Ocean, Upcloud when compare about the features

I found a similar topic, Bluehost Cloud Server

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Did you see this post specifically about the cloud servers? (Edit: the same post @Nam_Nguyen referred to)

I’d still avoid the cheaper cloud plans because they don’t have a dedicated IP address. This makes them more expensive.

What I least like about Bluehost is that the best prices usually require a long-term commitment.

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I did see that topic, but it looked like it was just a suggestion. Was curious if anyone had actually tried it since that post in 2015.

I’m paying $5/mo for Bluehost to host my site (paid a year in advance), so paying an additional $10 to upgrade to the VPN option would be the same as Digital Ocean. If I can do it for the same price without having 2 hosts to deal with, I’d prefer that.

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Oh, now I see what you’re saying with the Bluehost pricing. It’s $15/mo if I pay for 3 years in advance. No bueno.

The cloud option with the dedicated IP is $20.95/mo for 12 mo. Would it be better to just keep Discourse separate on Digital Ocean and leave my website as-is?

Thanks, y’all. It’s been about 15 years since I did any web development so things have changed a lot and I’m feeling a bit rusty.

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I used to use Blue Host for Wordpress hosting and they were very good at providing everything I needed for that including domain name registration and the like. So I can see why you’d want to only have to deal with one hosting service.

It looks like you’re going to have to spend at least $20 a month at Blue Host. So if you only need $10 Digital Ocean plan then are you prepared to pay the difference just to have one hosting account. At $20 and above it is worth trialling both services to see how they perform. Hopefully someone with real knowledge of the two services will post to help you.

On paper with the promotional pricing you seem to get quite a lot at Blue Host. But if you are risk averse, then I’d see Digital Ocean as a much less risky option:

  • You know Discourse runs there.
  • There are many other Discourse sites using Digital Ocean and I’m not sure if any use Blue Host.
  • If there is a bad problem and you have to shift to another hosting service you only pay a month ahead at Digital Ocean versus a year (or more) at Blue Host.

You should also be aware that the Blue Host renewal prices are normally a lot higher. So if you only sign up for one year then the renewal price hits you a lot earlier, e.g. their chart says the Cloud Business Pro account has a three year promotion price of $15.95 but the renewal price is probably the $25.99 they show. Then, if you only take a one year commitment the renewal price will be even higher again. But you probably won’t have to pay that because before you have to renew Blue Host is likely to offer you a promotional price to renew with them.

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Thank you, great answer. That’s what I’ll do, appreciate your time!

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Next question - I’m working my way thru the install… Can I use my bluehost email server or should I use something different?

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That would be something you’d need to check with Bluehost about. Some hosting providers don’t allow large volumes of e-mail through their services.

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Thanks for the reply. I think I’ll do sparkpost since it’s free and
recommended.

Y’all are the best. Appreciate all the help.

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