Minecraft is an extremely popular game with millions of daily players, as well as producing hours of online content for players to watch and learn from.
While it started out as a single-player game, Minecraft has expanded into a multiplier world either through LAN hosting or online servers.
These online servers are how some players exclusively play Minecraft and with the rapid increase in SMP servers, more and more players are looking to see how they can participate in one or even start their own.
There are many ways to set up an online server, and there are many types to choose from. Getting into the world of starting your own server is a lot harder than simply joining one, but it is a very rewarding experience.
You are able to create a unique server that is filled with lots of players who are each having fun experiences.
In this article, we cover some tips you can use to start up your own Minecraft server. These tips apply to both big and small servers and can even help those who already have a server setup but want ways to manage it better.
Manage Your Resources
In order to set up a Minecraft server, you will need a lot of physical resources.
If you are running a server by yourself, you will need a good computer with RAM to spare that you can leave constantly on. The amount of RAM you allocate to your server can greatly change how well your server runs.
For small servers like one with 10 players, you will only need around 2 gigabytes to handle the server. However, the larger the server gets the more RAM will be needed.
There are professional services that offer to host your Minecraft servers. They will charge a monthly or annual fee but will handle the running of your physical server. Their prices usually vary based on how much RAM you need, so you will need to know exactly what you need before enquiring about their services.
A professional hosting service will keep the server running and troubleshoot any needs you may have. They will offer customer service for your server and may even off expansion services for when your server gets too large for the amount of RAM you have. They will also back up your server so that way you know that nothing will ever get lost.
Learn From Other Servers
There are many successful Minecraft servers out there, with each of them doing something different or innovating the game in some way. These servers aren’t just there for you to play on, but also a useful learning resource for those who want to start up their own server.
These larger servers are success stories on what you should do, try to mimic these when starting your own server. Of course, nothing is perfect and these successful servers could have flaws that you want to get rid of in your own server.
It is also a good idea to look at the unsuccessful servers, and find out what they did wrong so that you don’t make the same mistakes.
You are able to go on Minecraft server admin boards and ask for help or advice from people who have already made servers.
Sit down and actually do your research before creating a server, learn from others so that way you go into it with the best possible strategy.
It is also a good idea to plan out the future of your server, both the positive and negative outcomes that could arise. Expect the unexpected and make sure you have a solid plan to tackle everything.
You will want to plan the internals of your server, as well as how to externally run it. What will people do on your server and how can you stand out in the saturated market of Minecrafter servers?
Have Other Administrators
You don’t have to run a server alone and in fact, it is not recommended to do so. Moderating a whole server is a full-time job, especially when more people join it. Since servers are online 24/7, it means that during those hours that you are asleep, at school, or at work, your server is completely unmoderated.
This is why it is a good idea to hire administrators, these are players that have more power on the server and have access to tools to help other players.
These admins should be players that you trust not to abuse the power you gave them. Especially for larger servers, admins are a must.
When you have multiple admins, it is a good idea to open a Discord chat with all of them so that they can easily communicate with each other.
Remember that admins are volunteers, if they are working hard they deserve your praise or maybe even a nice gift.
Utilize Plug-Ins
Plug-ins are a great way to customize your server to make it a better experience for people to play on.
They can add content to the game, reduce any latency, or improve general performance. Depending on how you are hosting your server, plug-ins can be easily implemented into your server.
Minecraft server boards frequently recommend useful plug-ins to each other so it is a good idea to check on them frequently.
Take Things Slow
Your Minecraft server will not become an overnight success and that is okay. You need time to establish a functional server and work out all of the problems before a lot of people start joining it. Your server will develop at its own pace, you just need to give it the attention to do so.
It may take some trial and error to create the server that you want. You may discover that you need more RAM than you initially thought or that you need a lot more admins in order to successfully run it.
If you are lucky, you may find your server expanding faster than you thought it would, at this point you will need to upgrade your resources and consider adding new content to your server to keep it fresh and interesting.
Once you have established a working server, then you can start adding different mod packs to make your server stand out more to the masses.
Final Thoughts
Whether you are planning on making a huge server that will appeal to many people or a smaller one for just your friends, hopefully, this guide will help you manage your server better.
Before creating a server, you should know exactly what you want so that you can budget your time and money for it correctly.
The ultimate goal for your server is to create a community where every player is having fun. Administrators can help to keep the environment non-toxic and having updated resources can reduce lag on the server.
The best way to build up your server is to get it a good reputation as a functional server that people are genuinely enjoying. Having 10 super loyal players is better than having 100 players who had a bad time and stopped playing after an hour. Soon, word will get around that your server is a good place to play and more people will join it.
If you are new to creating a Minecraft server, it is a good idea to learn some coding and mod commands for different aspects of the game. Minecraft is very user-friendly but you need to know the basics to get the full experience of being a server owner.
