Who is the Simplest Rails hoster?

Hi Chris,

Chris wrote:

I want some hosting that is very easy to setup, i.e. I don't want to dedicate a lot of time to it.

I can recommend a2hosting.com. I've been using them now for just over a month and have been very happy with them. Beyond loading the app, there was no setup required on my shared hosting plan. They're cheap. And their response on service tickets has been super.

hth, Bill

Hi Chris,

Chris wrote:

Bill Walton wrote:

I can recommend a2hosting.com. I've been using them now for just over a month and have been very happy with them. Beyond loading the app, there was

What steps are required to load the app?

1) Gen the app with 'rails appname'. (You'll do this just like you would in development. I develop on WinXP and so use a command window. For accessing my hosted app I use PuTTY).

2) Move your app into the directory structure you just created. (I just used the File Manager in their cpanel app. That's the simplest way, but there are probably faster tool-based ways.)

3) Edit/ copy your config/database.yml. Then edit config/environment.rb and remove the comment on the line (in my file it's line 5): #ENV['RAILS_ENV'] ||= 'production' to move your app into production mode. (The File Manager in their cpanel app has an editor so you can either edit the files in-place, or edit the one on your development system and then upload it.)

4) Create your database. (I used the MySQL and phpadmin tools in their cpanel app. I'm not using migrations yet and the tool they suppoly made it really easy just to upload and run my existing script).

That'll get you up and running. The next couple of items are optional

5) Create a support ticket and tell them "when a visitor types 'www.mysite.com', here's the file I want to serve". (The default settings for your site will send browsers looking for an index file in the public_html directory. That's probably not what you'll want, depending on your app and where in the directory structure you gen it. I tried the symbolic link solution their documentation illustrated but the url that left me using to access the app didn't suit me. I filed a support ticket to get some help, told them what I suggest above, and they just made it happen. Much easier than figuring out route mappings, sym links, etc. Call me lazy :wink: )

6) If you want to serve your site using Mongrel (you do), create a support ticket and tell them. Check the Knowledge Base first. There's a couple of things they'll need to know from you to set up Mongrel correctly. The Knowledge Base will tell you what those things are, so you'll be ready.

hth, Bill