You have just completed all the website development work and are ready to take it online. You started to search for a hosting plan that will suit your website and budget. You know the system requirements for Bitrix websites are: Apache 2, MySQL 5, PHP 5 etc. And you see that there a lot hosting plan that meet these requirements. But is it enough to check the system requirements only?
The real answer is – “no”.
Here are several things you should care about:
Main system requirements
Sure, your hosting tariff should meet all the system requirements.
This means that Apache, PHP and MySQL should be installed on the server in appropriate versions.
Sometimes the PHP version can be changed directly in server settings. You need to use either the hosting control panel or edit the .htaccess file. This can be tricky but you can always check it and fix it before the installation.
Specific server settings
- Be sure that you have safe_mode turned off.
- Safe mode may interfere with file and image uploads.
- You need to check the open_basedir settings in your php.ini file and disable it.
Memory limits
It is recommended to have at least 64M of available memory. Hosters can show you this value in tariff specification, but the real value can be different, because some part of the memory can be used by running applications on server.
You can modify the memory_limit parameter in three ways:
- сhange it in the php.ini file (if possible);
- Set the php_value memory_limit to 64M in your .htaccess file; (if allowed)
- Locate PHP settings in dbconn.php or init.php files: ini_set('memory_limit', '64M');
Note that in some shared hosting environments, access to the PHP memory limit setting is restricted. If you cannot make the change yourself, please ask your hosting provider to adjust it for you, or look for a new host that allows more flexibility.
Permission issues
Some problems with hosting plans can be caused with incorrect permission settings.
You can create a file using the CMS or copy files via FTP and get a “500: Internal Server Error”. In this case, the system is restricted to run files created only by a specific user with a predefined permission level (chmod). For example, some shared hosting environments restrict permission to 755 for folders and 644 for files. The same goes for running files created under another user, e.g. an FTP user.
These problems can be avoided if you use only the web interface to unpack the distribution archive and install the product on server. We recommend using the BitrixInstall script for correct installation of the system.
Which tools to use?
So how can we check the hosting settings more effectively?
We recommend using the Bitrix Server Test script. This script can be downloaded from our website: Bitrix Server Test. The script should be located in root folder of your web-server and executed in the browser.
You will receive all the information about server software, system settings and so on. Scripts will calculate the real memory value available for use. These real values may differ from the values specified in hosting plan details.
How to measure the result?
Successful product installation is the best result that you can achieve. After installation, we recommend you use the tools in the Control Panel and see how the system works. Use the Site Check page to see if all the requirements are met.
Check the phpinfo() page for detailed analysis of settings.
And run the Performance Monitor to see if the system is fast enough.