Forum hosting
Forum hosting, without the parts you do not need
Forum software wants five things from a host: PHP, MySQL, email that arrives, cron, and file access. Traxio provides all five on one plan at £0.99 a month, free for the first 30 days.
What a forum needs from its host
The list is short, and every item on it is a thing communities actually get stuck on.
PHP, at a version you choose
Forum packages are specific about PHP, and older mods can be fussy. Switch between 7.4 and 8.3 per domain in DirectAdmin rather than filing a ticket.
A database you control
Everything — posts, members, permissions, private messages — is in MySQL. Real access with phpMyAdmin is what makes backups, imports and moves possible.
Outbound email that arrives
A forum sends far more mail than a normal site: verifications, password resets, topic subscriptions. A mailbox on your own domain plus SPF and DKIM in the DNS editor is the difference between working and silently landing in spam.
Cron jobs
Pruning old topics, sending digests, clearing caches, running scheduled tasks — most forum software assumes it can schedule work.
File access
Themes, mods, plugins and language packs are files. FTP, SFTP and a browser file manager mean you install them yourself, immediately.
Bandwidth for logged-in members
Forum members load a lot of pages per visit compared with a brochure site's visitors. 100GB a month here is tens of thousands of visits for a typical forum.
Shared hosting is the right shape for a forum
There is a persistent belief that forums need something beefier than shared hosting. For a large board that is true; for the community you are about to start it is not. Forum software is ordinary PHP talking to an ordinary database, which is exactly the workload shared hosting is designed for, and NVMe storage does more for a forum's page load than extra CPU would.
What genuinely does need more than shared hosting is anything built on Node.js, Docker, websockets or a long-running process. That is why Discourse is not an option here — or on any shared host — while MyBB, phpBB and SMF install in a couple of minutes.
What to look for in a forum host
Whether or not you host here, these are the questions worth asking, because the answers vary a lot between providers who all advertise “forum hosting”:
- Can you export everything? Files and a full database dump, whenever you want, without asking support. If not, your community is a hostage.
- Who owns the address? A forum on someone's subdomain loses its search results, links and bookmarks the day you move.
- Does mail work properly? Ask specifically about SPF and DKIM. Broken registration email is the most common reason a new forum never gets going.
- Are the limits published? “Unlimited” with a fair-use clause is a limit you have not been told.
- What is the renewal price? Not the first-year price. The renewal.
- What does support actually cover? Most hosts, including this one, cover the server rather than your forum software.
The software, and what each is for
| Software | Best for | Install | Learning curve |
|---|---|---|---|
| MyBB | A first forum, general communities | One click | Gentle |
| phpBB | Large boards, heavy moderation | One click | Moderate |
| SMF | Fine-grained permissions | One click | Moderate |
| Flarum | A modern, chat-like feel | Manual (Composer, SSH) | Steep; not documented here |
| Discourse | Not supported — it needs Docker and a server of its own, not shared hosting. | ||
One plan, one price
The same hosting account Traxio.co.uk sells, described for people running a forum. One plan, no tiers, no upsell.
30 days free
Traxio Free Start
Free for 30 days, then £0.99/month
Start your forum freeNo card required to start · No setup fee · Bring your own domain
- 3GB NVMe SSD storageRoom for your forum software, its database, member uploads and attachments.
- 100GB bandwidth per monthTens of thousands of visits a month for a typical forum — plenty for a new or growing community.
- DirectAdmin control panelThe real thing: file manager, DNS editor, databases, email, cron, PHP switching.
- Free SSL certificate (auto-renewing)Members will not register on a forum the browser marks as insecure.
- Softaculous one-click installerMyBB, phpBB and SMF install from a form — no manual database setup.
- PHP 7.4 – 8.3, switchableMatch whichever version your forum software recommends, per domain.
- MySQL / MariaDB databaseOne included — what one forum needs — with phpMyAdmin for backups and imports.
- FTP & file manager accessUpload themes, mods and plugins, or edit a template in the browser.
- Email on your domainOne email account included, for registration and notification mail from you@yourforum.com.
- Cron jobsScheduled pruning, digests and maintenance tasks forum packages expect.
- AI-assisted help deskKnowledgebase first, then the help desk: AI replies, and a person steps in when a request is escalated.
- Add-ons if you need themExtra email accounts, domains, databases or FTP accounts are £0.99 each, once. More disk is £0.99/month per 5GB; more bandwidth £0.99/month per 50GB. All add-ons
Full technical specification: DirectAdmin hosting on Traxio.co.uk.
Forum hosting questions
What does forum hosting need that ordinary hosting does not?
Very little, technically — a forum is PHP and MySQL, which is what shared hosting was built for. What it needs more of than a brochure site is reliable outbound email, cron jobs, database access for backups and imports, and enough bandwidth for logged-in members who load a lot of pages per visit.
Is shared hosting powerful enough to run a forum?
For a new or small-to-medium community, yes. Forum software spends most of its time querying a database, and NVMe storage helps that more than raw CPU. The practical limits here are storage for attachments and how busy the forum is at peak times, rather than processing power.
Can I host more than one forum on one account?
Yes. Several small communities can share the account and its 3GB and 100GB limits, on subdomains or extra domains. Each forum needs its own database: one is included, and extra databases and domains are £0.99 each, once.
Do I get access to the database?
Yes — MySQL/MariaDB with phpMyAdmin. You can export the whole forum, import an existing one, and run the occasional repair query without asking anyone.
Will my forum's URLs be search-engine friendly?
That is down to your forum software rather than the host, and all three one-click options support it. You have .htaccess access here, which is what the rewrite rules need.
Can I keep my existing forum's design when I move?
Yes. Themes are files and templates, so they move with everything else. Check the theme supports the PHP version you switch to — that, not the host, is what usually breaks an older theme.
Put your forum somewhere you control
Free for 30 days, then £0.99 a month. Export it whenever you like.
Start your forum free Free forum hosting explained
Free for 30 days with no card details required. Then £0.99/month if you choose to continue.