The past couple of days i’ve been bugged with an idea. I saw a new hosting company come around called “EcVPS”. They offer VPS plans for very low, and extremely affordable prices. I know that there has always been a gap between shared hosting, which is as low as $3/month, to the next step for a blog / site, the VPS hosting starting at $10-15/month. I know that many people decide to go on with it, and in my opinion they make a very good decision. But there are always people that are not comfortable administering their own boxes. Then they have two options, stick with shared or pay extra for managed hosting. Fortunately, nowadays, hosting is not expensive, even managed. But, still, jumping from $40 a year to, more or less, $120, is something that boggles.

The math

And here is my idea. The second plan from the company i mentioned above, can easily host a few pretty busy sites. Not big, but busy. Why not team up together 10 people and form a “neighborhood”, which, will cost much less and be more effective? Before going on, do the math for a second. Choosing 10 people is not random. It’s a number that, that kind of VPS can hold, and it’s a year’s pay, with the money for a month. If 10 people where to buy that, they would have to pay each almost $19. And that’s for a year. Moreover, that machine will host 10 people, not 400-600, which is the case in shared hosting. I know that there is a major difference in hardware but still, the trade-off makes it better.

The pros

Let’s think about the pros for a second.

• The obvious, for $19 you get a year’s hosting on a good plan with very few “neighbors”.
• You get to know who else is hosting with you and have a more personal touch with them. If something is glitchy you will go like “Oh, Peter is doing well today!” instead of “What fucker is eating up my resources??” (i know there is also the possibility of “That fucker Peter again!”).
• The case where resources will be glitchy is something i think will be rare or not happen at all. If they do, i will be an e-mail away.
• You will know the actual person behind the server management (that’s me for now) and you will be able to communicate better.
• You need something installed? Just ask that same person (i said that’s me 😉 ).
• The management i do includes, daily backups, statistics from the server and other “goodies”.
• Since it’s going to be like a “family” of WordPress blogs the server will be configured to handle WordPress better. I know this is not original, but it’s on a smaller scale.
• Those 10 bloggers will form some sort of small “family” where one helps out another.

The Cons

Well there is one major. It has not been done, nor tested. The only “guarantee” is that i say it can work out. Of course, there is a possibility i am wrong. Worst case scenario? Those $19 down the drain. In that dreadful situation i will certainly not leave anyone behind, and i will most definitely help migrate / keep alive etc. But i doubt there will be a need.

What’s in it for me?

Well, the only thing i expect to gain is experience setting up server(s) on a medium scale and trying to meet everyone’s needs. I have done that before but as an employee, not as a freelancer. I have setup my own server but there i can be sloppy 😉 And to be honest, i won’t even make affiliate marketing money. I hate those kind of “tricks” where i say “what a great service that is” although i don’t like it just to make money. I really do think this can work. My only hope is that there is a chance down the road that any of those “family” members, when looking for some freelancing help on plugins / PHP etc will come knocking my door. Of course, if some think i did a good work and want to donate that will be cool as well 😉

What’s next?

Well, i know that the whole thing sounds risky. But, as i said, the worst case scenario is $19 wasted dollars. Think about the best case scenario though. Yearly, quality hosting for that money.

To make a long story short, if anyone finds this interesting, and wants to be part of the first (if there is to be one) neighborhood, just leave a comment saying you are interested. If i get the 10 people i am looking for, we will go on with it.

Thoughts

Well, these kind of ideas pop into my head all the time. In most cases i don’t even bother starting to implement. This time i think it’s worth a shot. Also, i kind of believe that this is a situation where none will be interested or too many at once. I am really curious to see if anyone else thinks is interesting enough…