I have a few domains and some space available on a we server that I have had for ages but never really used. Its mainly meant for website hosting and it works pretty well for WordPress and similar services.
Could I host any self posted programs on such a server and what should I search for when researching options?
I can set up a database and upload files to the ftp server but i dont believe that i have a C panel or can run ssh.
I have a similar shared hosting account that unfortunately is tied up with my main domain. It has fairly generous storage and okay pricing — but it doesn’t offer SSH access so I have to go elsewhere to install a lot of the more interesting apps.
I did manage to run Nextcloud for almost a decade, although the host wasn’t optimal by the end. Instead I’m hosting Baïkal for my calendar and contacts syncing needs. That is very suited for a shared hosting environment.
I was also wondering if i could host something others could enjoy. I looked at lemmy instance, and invidious but it seemed like they need more access than i can give them
Yeah, unfortunately a lot of developers make their releases exclusively for server admins rather than tenants. I’m sure it’s a lot easier for them, plus times have just run away from shared hosting but I sort of wish for the ease of a 5-minute, browser based install like Wordpress’.
Edited to add: Depending on your host and whether Nextcloud will run on it, there’s a chance to offer your family simple file sharing? Otherwise basic bookmarking sites like Shaarli will run on shared php hosting as well.
It’s not exactly industrial grade social media but micro services can be fun as well. Otherwise you can customize Wordpress quite a lot beyond just blogging.
If this is a “shared hosting” type of server (LAMP stack), you can usually run PHP applications (assuming they are pre-packaged and don’t need composer install or similar during the install process). Check awesome-selfhosted.net/platforms/php.html
If you can work from the command line (and assuming you have a linux server) then SSH is simple – really all it does is give you a secure connection to the command line. You should get familiar with it because if something goes wrong with your server that may be the only way you can connect to it.
Next you need tools to transfer files to the server. While wget is useful for grabbing stuff from other web servers, while something like scp can get you to any host that also accepts ssh. I use this all the time to transfer files between home and work. Or you might set up an sFTP service to accept a GUI connection from a client like FileZilla.
As for what you can put on your web server… Well if you install php then you can run any php code. If you write javascript code then the web browser interprets that, so nothing to add to your server, but NodeJS code would require some installation. You also want to take some time to learn about security practices. For example if you have pages that use a database, an attacker can write a URL to gain access to your server if the code simply accepts any random input. There’s not really any limit to what can be run, but some things (like the php example) require you to install more components on your server.
Alternatively, there are also functional services you can run that have nothing to do with web pages. For example, a caldav service would allow you to host your own calendar that can be shared between multiple people or locations. Or maybe you want to start up a chat server like IRC or Matrix? Maybe you want to start a Mosquitto server for your personal IoT content? Think of it this way – literally anything and everything that makes the internet run is something you can host yourself.
I just bought some shared web server space that allows me to upload files through ftp and create databases. Also i can choose PHP version. I believe that’s about it. No ssh option
I’m curious what you’ve heard, this is the first recommendation I’ve seen against filezilla? You certainly have to get the server side set up right for it to work, and plain FTP is a security risk, but otherwise am I missing something?
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