As some of you know, our server Firecraft has recently gone public.
As a result of all of the things we've learned bringing Firecraft to this point, we made this blog.

Here are a few tips for other server owners.

1) Make the server fun and engaging
A lot of players forget that their server needs to actually be fun. Think of how a new player would play your server; the experience when playing the server; how players would like it. Don't just be a server, be 'the server.

2) Have a good amount of mature, professional, and sensible staff.
How many times have you been on a server where the staff did not fit this description? How did this effect your experience? Non-sensical staff are the root of most server problems. Also, too many staff members can lead to favoritism and corruption, while too few will lead to an unstable community.

3) Have an engaging and interesting experience.
The experience is a culmination of everything that happens on your server. It is what keeps people attached to your server. If you want to establish a regular playerbase, make sure to provide things to do and goals to strive for. Respond to what your users want.

4) Make sure that your community is not overrun by noobs, trolls, and hackers.
This is important, because no matter how nice your server is, it will not attract players if the community is out of hand.

5) Set up your server in a logical layout to provide maximum variety.
It is human nature to default to boredom and quitting when not presented with new things to do. Having variation on your server makes your players come back time and time again.

6) Use plugins effectively and seamlessly.
Many servers attempt to wow newcomers by presenting a lot of plugins. However, having so many disorganized, plugins drastically diminish quality and confuses new players. If you must have a lot of plugins, create an easily accessible tutorial for new players to read. On the other hand, you must be sure not to have so few plugins that there is nothing to do. Additionally, investing in custom plugins is a must for any major server.

7) Focus on originality and ingenuity.
Don't just be a server, be "the server". Don't settle for a little when you can have more, and never stop improving your server.

8) Provide a good enough hosting solution or dedicated server for your server to cope with.
Here's another thing that will override all other good intentions if not taken seriously: you should aim to provide a lag free environment. To do this, divide your player count by 10 and then add 0.2 per plugin your server has. That's the amount of RAM in GB your server should have, and most Minecraft server providers let you select the amount of RAM you want for your server. Also, never go below 4GB of RAM, or expect a lot of lag.

9) Be careful with how you manage chat and ranks.
You don't want your users to be blasted with information in the chat window. Keep things on the low, with enough information to be beneficial but not enough to spam the space. Keeping things calm in the chat window can have a surprisingly positive effect on your server, both with the community and experience.

10) Do not expect a lot of donations at first.
It takes a long time to get a steady cash flow. While it is true that servers cannot function without donations, often you have to spend money for your server to make money off it.

I hope that these 10 points will help your aspiring server reach its maximum potential. If you have any questions, feel free to post them here, in the comment section.

More blogs to come soon!