Server requirements for Joomla
Joomla has very basic requirements. All you need is a server with at least PHP 4.3 and MySQL 4.0. Joomla recommends, and I agree with, that you have PHP 5.2, MySQL 4.1 or higher and Apache 2.2 or IIS 7. In the next release, MySQL 4.1.2 or higher will be required.

I personally recommend that you stay away from IIS, also known as Windows hosting, as a server because URL rewriting does not work nearly as well, and you may run into several other small issues. Support for the Apache web server is much better.

While you can run Joomla on a server with PHP4, it is no longer supported by the PHP project so is considered insecure. If you notice your server running PHP4 you will want to contact your host and ask about their plans to upgrade. In upcoming versions of Joomla they will be removing support for PHP4 as well, to introduce better functions to help the software run faster.

You will also want to be sure you’re on a server with Apache 2.2. Both PHP and Apache agree that both run best when running PHP5 and Apache 2.2.

Who has these covered?
The majority of hosts will cover the server software requirements. The software, however, is but a very small portion of what needs to be covered. Your host should be running high-powered, enterprise-grade hardware. This includes at least 2 CPUs with 4 cores each (8 cores total), hard drives in RAID10 configuration and 8 GB of RAM. RAID10 hard drives offer not only the fastest speeds but the greatest redundancy in the case of hardware failure.

Many hosts who run this type of hardware still do a disservice to your site but overselling their servers. This causes your site to be slower than it should be. You can get around this by finding a host with a no overselling guarantee. Finding a host with a no overselling guarantee can greatly increase the probability that your site will run as quickly as it should.

How to tell if the server is as good as it could be
If you are curious how your server stacks up we recommend running your site through the Joomla performance grader. After it runs you will want to scroll all the way down to the “Grades” section. The number you’re interested in is the Generation Time. This is the amount of time that it takes for your server to generate the actual HTML code for your site. The number you want to see is .3-.5 seconds for most sites. I’ve seen sites that took 5 seconds to load on big name overseller webhosts take under .3 seconds to load, with no other changes, at BuyHTTP Joomla hosting.

Other bonuses to look for
Some hosting companies have a lot of experience with Joomla and can offer extended support for it as a part of your hosting plan. If you are not a highly experienced user you want want to find a host like this.

Some hosts now even have large knowledgebases and flash tutorial libraries that cover most Joomla topics. These can help you save time by not even needing to submit a support ticket, and if you’re a visual learner the flash tutorials show you exactly how to accomplish tasks.

The feature that most people forget about, until they need it, is a real backup system. And in hosting it’s a matter of when you’ll need it, not if.. The majority of hosts just setup the default backup system that comes with the control panel. This setup often includes just leaving backups on a second drive in the server. This is a disaster waiting to happen, and makes recovering a single lost file a nightmare. Along with keeping backups in a remote datacenter, good hosts will offer what’s known as continuous data protection (CDP) backups. CDP creates several backups of your site each day. You can restore your entire site, a single file, or anything in between. You can also choose from several different restore points for each file. When you mess up your templates index.php file you don’t want to have to download a week-old cPanel backup, extract it, find your file and upload it. Using CDP there is a web-based interface where all you need to do is click a few buttons and your files are restored.

So which company fits these?
Most hosts will get you part of the way, and if you’re a Joomla expert you may not care as much about the extended support for Joomla. Two of the harder items to find will be the no overselling guarantee and the CDP backups, but, in my opinion, those are two of the more important things.

One company that does have all of these points covered is BuyHTTP. They have been a Joomla web host for several years. BuyHTTP also offers the no overselling guarantee with the enterprise-grade servers, the large knowledgebase and many flash tutorials covering Joomla.

#1: Change the admin username

The first step you should take is changing your admin username. First you will need to login to cPanel (or your hosts control panel) and go to phpMyAdmin (or any other database editor), . In your Joomla database edit the jos_users (your prefix may be different) and find user id 62, that is the user you are trying to edit.. Change the username to anything other than “admin”. At this point very few hack attempts will work since most just try the default admin username, this involves less coding on their end.

#2: You need a better password

Next you’ll want to make sure your admin password is sufficiently difficult to guess. A good password is at least 8 characters (12 is better) and is a mix of all kinds of characters.

#3: Use .htaccess protection

Using .htaccess directory protection you can add an additional login box before a user even sees the Joomla admin login form. BuyHTTP’s Joomla hosting accounts are protected by a firewall that automatically blocks would-be hackers after 5 failed login attempts. .htaccess protection can be enabled by logging in to cPanel (or your hosts control panel) and clicking the Password Protect a Directory button. You will then want to select the “public_html/administrator” folder and add your list of users who you want to have access.

These few, easy steps will exponentially increase the security of your Joomla installation.