vBulletin is a semi-resource intensive web application. It uses MySQL, PHP and of course Apache (or other httpd server) technology to dynamically serve up pages and allow for user input. After vBulletin has been installed, especially if you are on shared hosting you’ll need to optimize some settings and configuration files to get the most from it with out getting shut down.

First, we strongly do not agree with hosting forums on shared hosting to begin with. They simply were not meant to handle the load it puts on servers and many hosting companies will give you more head ache than what its worth when your site starts getting busy. We suggest you use a good VPS provider, such as InMotion Web Hosting.

1. Move your attachments from the database into the file system. Database storage of attachments can lead to login I/O times, and increased load. Having attachments in the file system will free a lot of resources up that would be required from database attachments. You can change this setting in the adminCP under Attachments -> Attachment Storage Type

2. Move vBulletin avatars, profile pictures, and signature pictures to the file system as well. You can change this in the vBulletin admin control panel under “Avatars -> User Picture Storage Type”

3. Increase your posts cached life span to 90. Under vBulletin Options -> Server Settings and Optimization Options

4. Move your CSS to file sheets. This will not only help performance but also search engine optimization. vBulletin Options -> Style and Language Options -> Store CSS As File Sheets.

5. Make use of the vBulletin robots.txt to prevent spiders from going crazy on irrelevant pages.

6. Disable No Cache Headers & Remove Redirection Messages. This will cut down on page hits and can be turned off under the Cookies and HTTP Headers Options section.

7. Disable features from guests such as member list, member profiles, search, who’s online, and viewing social groups. These can all be controled from the “Unregistered/Not Logged In” usergroup.

8. Run PHP5 and MySQL5. Using the latest version of server software can play a huge role in decreasing server loads. If you’re on shared hosting this option may not be available to you, but if you’re on hosting that is still using end of life software, you may consider looking else where anyway.

9. Remove any modifications that your forum is currently not using. Also do not install modifications just to install them. Make sure the modification brings a feature to your forums that your users must have.

10. Disable other features your forum does not make use of. Some features of vBulletin go unoticed or without much use and can be disabled without anyone noticing to help optimize vBulletin.

11. Run repair and optimize tables from the maintenance section once a month. Reclaim some lost disk space and over head from your vBulletin database to speed up your server.

12. Ensure that you aren’t updating view counts immediately for attachments, threads, or posts. Having these done once per hour via a cron job (already configured in vBulletin by default) can save your site from being over loaded at once.

Once you’ve got your vBulletin optimized for everyone you should then open your forums to the public. Don’t risk beign shut down because you’re hitting the max server load for your shared account on a unoptimized vBulletin. You can also get our Professional vBulletin Maintenance package to ensure your forum is running in top shape with the latest updates.