So you’re ready to create a social networking community with SocialEngine. To start, you need a server. Already have one? Great! Don’t have one? No sweat. It’s as simple as signing up with a company like Arvixe who offers optimized servers configured for SocialEngine. Arvixe is not your only option either. Really, any server that meets our requirements is capable of running SocialEngine. Check out hosting providers like HostUpon and SiteGround as well.
When shopping for a server, the choices are shared hosting servers, virtual private servers, and dedicated servers. Which one to choose? For optimal performance we recommend starting with a dedicated server, but you can certainly start smaller with shared hosting or a VPS, and upgrade as the resource demand grows. Using the CDN storage feature as your storage system allows you to store content externally which frees up server resources. A dynamic application like SocialEngine requires more resources than static content websites due to the amount of activity generated by members in the social network. For more detailed explanations as well as performance tips, check out this support article!
Next is installation! This tutorial guides you through the necessary steps so you can perform the installation yourself. Otherwise, we offer a $30 installation service you can purchase to have our staff perform the install, or if you’ve gone with Arvixe, they’ll install SocialEngine for you. Since SocialEngine runs out of the box, you’re good to go at this point! Use the Admin Panel to configure your settings, and build your social network!
Looking to bounce questions off other SocialEngine users? Visit these unofficial forums, SocialEngineCamp and SocialEngine Base!
