That is not always the case.

When shopping for dedicated hosting or a dedicated server, there are many factors that should come into play.  You want to look at the support team behind it, the number of services you get, the ratio of “good deals” in comparison to the price you are paying.  Simply picking the cheapest one will not do.

The price argument can only take you so far.  I would be happy to pay a little more if it means I am going to get a little ‘bit better of a service from it.  Now you shouldn’t go for the most expensive dedicated plan you find either.  More money doesn’t always equal more service.

When all is said and done, prices are definitely not the only factor you should be looking at when it comes to dedicated web hosting.  There are a lot of factors that come into play so price should not be the only thing you look at. 

There are a lot of message board or forum scripts out there, which are the best of the best?  Well here are a few of my favorites.

Vanilla – Vanilla is a unique forum script from Lussumo.com. It is an open-source, standards-compliant, multi-lingual, fully extensible discussion forum for the Web. Instead of focusing on categories, it focuses more on the conversations and recent threads that are being talked about at any given time. Adding themes, styles and add-ons you can create a different looking place to host all of your conversations in no time at all.

SMF – Simple Machines Forum, SMF in short, is a free, professional grade software package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes. Its powerful custom made template engine puts you in full control of the lay-out of your message board and with our unique SSI – or Server Side Includes – function you can let your forum and your website interact with each other.

phpBB – phpBB is one of the most widely used open source forum solutions to date. It has an easy to use administration panel and a really simple (and user friendly) installation process that allows you to get up and running with your own forums in minutes.

There are others out there too, such as vBulletin and MyBB but I feel the three above are the best of the best.  The best thing about dedicated hosting is you should have enough man power to run any number of the scripts with no issues at all.

Looking to start up your own forum on a dedicated server?  Be sure to check out these previous posts filled with tons of advice and tips.

1. Dedicated Server Hosting (by Project)

You’re thinking of ordering a brand new, shiny dedicated server. You’ve got your domain name, you’ve chosen a reliable dedicated hosting provider like Lunarpages, and you’ve found the best dedicated hosting coupon available. So…now what?

2. Importance & Advantages of Control Panels

As two of the most popular and powerful control panels for dedicated server hosting on the market, cPanel and Plesk can support a wide variety of scripts, programs, installations, and server requirements. It is almost essential for every new dedicated webmaster that you choose to install some kind of control panel on your dedicated server, because it will help automate the process of installing scripts and deploying them properly. If you choose to work with SSH/Shell access, you will have to memorize and use shell commands. For an advanced webmaster, this is perfectly fine, but if you’re new to the dedicated hosting realm, there are many advantages to using a control panel on your dedicated server.

3. Fantastico Web Hosting

CPanel is arguably the most powerful control panel on the planet when it comes to dedicated server hosting. This is why it’s also the most popular choice for webmasters these days. If you’re unfamiliar with cPanel’s web hosting technology, you should definitely research this amazing control panel before you add it to your dedicated server. But cPanel works with a variety of really cool programs, not the least of which is the Fantastico Script Library.

4. Forum Scripts Perfect for Dedicated Hosting

When it comes to dedicated hosting, getting a forum up and running shouldn’t be a hard task at all.  Here are a few alternatives to pick from when trying to decide which forum script might be best for your dedicated account.

Webmasters don’t have to use WordPress to host a blog or family/personal website. Many professional webmasters are using WordPress to run fully functional websites, as there are thousands of free WordPress plugins that will assist in helping webmasters make the most of their WordPress web hosting site.

Here are a few more advanced WordPress plugins for webmasters who need that extra edge.

WP Super Cache
Need to relieve some of the load off your dedicated web server? By using this free WordPress plugin, you can generate static HTML files automatically, easing the load on your server instantly and without hassle.

NextGen Gallery
Creating a photo gallery using WordPress doesn’t have to be rocket science. In fact, this plugin will easily and efficiently help you create a professional image gallery in minutes. Create sortable albums, unzip massive files, add watermarks to protect your work, incorporate a slideshow or widgets, and more.

cformsII
Using contact forms on your WordPress website is now easy and efficient with this WordPress plugin. It allows you to manage and maintain contact forms in a highly flexible and customizable interface.

WP E-Commerce
In the past, it’s always been difficult to configure a WordPress website to look and feel like a real online shopping portal, but with this free plugin, you’re no longer confined to a blog! Now you can sell products and services (digital or tangible) with ease.

We have spoken before about how WordPress MU is best saved for a dedicated hosting account.  However, we have not before gone over how simple it is to get WordPress MU up and running on your dedicated server.

Step one would be to download the needed files from the WordPress MU web site.  They can be found at http://mu.wordpress.org.  next, you will want to unzip the files into your web directory.  It will create a folder called wordpress-mu-version.  You can change the name of this folder now to anything you need (most people change it to wpmu). 

If you have not done so already, be sure you have enabled mod-rewrite on the account you are uploading the files to.

Next, open that location (yourdomain.com/wpmu/) in the web browser and follow the on screen instructions.  Many important details can be found inside of the README.txt file that is included with the WordPress MU installation. 

Now all you have to do is login and make sure all the files and folders are working correctly.  You have successfully installed WordPress MU.

Everybod loves WordPress, and it is an amazing way for experienced web professional and those new to dedicated server hosting to manage their website(s). One reason WordPress web hosting has become so incredibly popular is because of the extensive plugin directory that allows you to add advanced features with ease to your WordPress website!

I’d like to share some of the best and most valuable WordPress plugins for your dedicated server. All the plugins mentioned are 100% free and designed with new webmasters in mind!

WP Super Edit
This amazing plugin allows for added functionality to your normal WordPress font and style toolbar. Similar to Microsoft Word, WordPress has always made it easy to add italics, bold, bulletpoints, or indents to any post, but WP Super Edit takes that a step further.

All In One SEO Pack
SEO can be tiresome and troubling to new website owners, but it doesn’t have to be. Simply install the All in One SEO Pack and your META tags will be automatically generated for every post and entry, and your titles will be optimized without stress as well. Or, you can choose to fine tune the plugin and add your own tags and titles as you see fit.

Add to Any Share/Save/Bookmark Button
Want your visitors to be able to instantly add your posts to their favorite RSS Feed readers? Well, now you don’t have to hassle with HTML code, because AddtoAny does it for you. Simply install the plugin and your readers can add their favorite posts to their RSS readers without hassle.

MyCaptcha
Everybody hates Spam, but everybody loves MyCaptcha, because it helps you avoid unwanted comments on your WordPress blog. Simply install the plugin and choose from a variety of lovely designs that display a random series of letters and/or numbers that your commenters must enter before their comment goes into your blog.

Before somebody sets out to purchase a dedicated hosting account, they have to be able to make the case for doing so.

Joe wants to start up a YouTube-like web site, but is not sure if dedicated hosting will do the trick.  In this situation, dedicated hosting may be his best bet, because this way he would be able to get all of the additional server features needed to compress the video on the server side without having to run into any issues with server resources.

Jill has a successful store on a shared hosting account, but is quickly out growing it.  A dedicated hosting server could offer her a wider boundary – to where she could extend her store further without having to worry about the limitations of her hosting account.

As you can see, there are many different cases that can be made for dedicated hosting these days.  You have to weigh in all your options, and the greatest of them all might be that dedicated hosting leaves a wider boundary so that you can develop your web site as you see fit.

SSL (secure socket layer) Certificates are designed to keep your website files protected, but a lot of ecommerce webmasters require something even more secure in order to accept monetary transactions via their websites.

So when is it time to get a pro SSL certificate and when is it okay to have just a basic shared SSL?

Shared SSLs

• These are good for personal or business websites that do not require an active ecommerce website. So if you are not planning to take credit card payments directly on your website through a merchant gateway, you can use a shared SSL just fine.
• Shared SSLs are just that – shared! So know that you are sharing a secure space with multiple users. The IP address for this certificate will be shared among most likely very different websites. Some customers fear being associated with an adult website or moneymaking scheme in this way, so they opt to upgrade. Most customers will never have to worry about this.
• If you are using PayPal to receive payments or referring your customers to a website outside of your own for payment, you do not need a pro SSL.
• If you purchase a dedicated server hosting plan, you only have the option of purchasing a pro SSL since your server isn’t ‘shared’ with anyone else.

Pro SSLs

• Pro SSL certificates are best for websites that require ecommerce payments to be made directly through their websites.
• If you are working with a payment gateway to take payments through your website, more than likely you will be required to purchase a pro SSL.
• Pro SSL certificates secure all transactions made on your website and ensure your customers feel safe about their purchases.
• On a dedicated web hosting account, you must purchase a pro SSL, as shared SSLs are not an option.

Choosing a domain name for your new dedicated server website can be a big challenge to any webmaster. For one, choosing the actual name itself is hard, because you want to pick something that is short and concise, suits your website’s message and purpose, and one that is easy to remember and not easy to misspell!

But after you’ve chosen the appropriate name, you’ll need to decide on the extension: i.e. should you go with a .com, .net, .biz, .ca, or any of the other extensions out there?

This is an easy decision for most webmasters, as .com and .net are the most popular Western choices. If you are in the UK, you’ll probably want .co.uk, whereas if you’re in Mexico you’d likely choose .com.mx if not .com.

But if the 1st choice is already taken, your secondary extension should depend more on what your business is about than anything else.

For example, if you are running an educational or nonprofit organization, you’d be more likely to take a .org than someone who is running an adult website. Here are a couple tips about each of the popular extensions:

.com – the most popular and most common choice. Alternatives for other countries include .co.uk and .com.mx.

.net – the 2nd most popular and common choice, though less professional than .com. A good choice for business and personal websites.

.org – mainly used for organizations and nonprofits but commonly used as an alternative for .com or .net when those choices are not available.

.info/.biz/.name – slightly unpopular choices for less professional websites. These are alright if you really want to keep the domain name of your choice but it isn’t available in .com or .net, but .info, .biz, and .name do not read professional like the others.