Choosing the right proxy host is absolutely fundamental to a successful proxy site. The wrong host will leave you with horrific downtime, intermittent service and no support. The net is full of nightmare stories, so it really is a case of buyer beware. A poor proxy host will cost you money in lost revenue, even if it seems like you’re saving money. Follow our proxy hosting guide and you’ll avoid any problems with your host.

The most important thing to understand about proxies is that they use a lot of server resources. Some proxy scripts are better than others, and there modifications that can be made to improve things slightly. However, there is no escaping the fact that by their very nature proxies are resource intensive. This can lead to problems unless the right host and correct hosting plan are chosen.
There are three main options available to proxy webmasters:

Shared Hosting is the cheapest and most common type of hosting that you’ll find. As the name suggests, you ‘share’ space on the server with other peoples’ sites. Most of the ‘big name’ hosting companies (Hostgator, 1&1 etc) offer incredibly cheap plans that allow unlimited sites and unlimited bandwidth. However, most of these plans specifically prohibit any proxies to be hosted on their servers. This is because proxies will use too many resources and affect the other sites hosted on the server. Some hosts do allow shared proxy hosting, but most successful proxies will cause problems for the server. Shared hosting is certainly the cheapest option, but it is also the most problematic. Proxies can use a lot of bandwidth, CPU resources and RAM. Some firms or individuals are simply reselling space on shared servers, so it’s always important to find out what exactly you’re paying for. There are some reliable shared proxy hosts around, but don’t expect unlimited sites and unlimited bandwidth for $5. The more reliable shared proxy hosts will limit the number of proxies permitted per server, and this pushes the price up.

A Virtual Private Server (VPS) or Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS) is a form of hosting that is perfect for most proxy webmasters. It is more expensive than shared hosting, but considerably cheaper than a dedicated server. Essentially, VPS bridges the gap between shared hosting and dedicated servers. Hosting is shared, but the resources are split so sites run completely independently from other users’ sites. This allows users to run their own operating software, and to reboot their ‘portion’ of the server if necessary. This means that if your proxy hogs all the resources it will only affect your own sites – and nobody else on the server. The flip side to this is that your sites will never be offline or running slowly due to another person’s sites. VPS is therefore a great option for proxies, and starting prices are reasonable too ($20). This is the logical next step once your proxies inevitably outgrow the shared hosts, and offers you a considerable amount of control.