~Beginning~    

Want to learn a few tips/tricks to run your Minecraft server and make it successful? I got the guide for you! You may choose to follow some of these tips, but I do not garuntee that your server will be successful. I constantly see the same mistakes done over and over again but server owners. Now to start off we first have to define what successful means to you. This is going to be a bumpy ride!


   

~What Does Successful Mean To You?~

     What does successful mean to you? I can think of a couple. One of the meaning could be, I only want a few players on my server and to be able to pay the server bills. Another meaning might be, I want to have a large player base, 100 or more players, and to earn more than what the server needs to run. I final meaning I could think of, I want a fair amount of players just to have fun with them and keeping the server alive would be helpful. Now these definitions are just a few I could think of, but think of one your own. What does term successful mean to you and how could you put it in play on your server? Next I'm going to talk about the many mistakes server owners make that turn players away.
   

~Mistakes~

      A big mistake that I see server owners do is that they don't keep the server original. I constantly see the same type of server over and over again. Some of the biggest servers out there got to where they are today because they thought of a new idea of what servers could be. It doesn't hurt you to be different! Another mistake is that some owners don't have fun on their server. If you don't enjoy it, then why should others? Also, server owners need to choose staff carefully. In my experience, I've joined way to many servers crowded with staff. The best way in choosing staff is picking from loyal players on your server. Some owners need to learn how to do things themselves. Simple things like setting up permissions or a configuration files should be pretty straight forward, right? Sometimes those "helpers" can destory your server, but usually this isn't the case. Server owners just get to lazy to do it themselves.  Finally, some owners don't use a good enough hardware to host the server. Player complain and leave. If you don't have time to do them, then just wait. It's not like your server has to do this at a certain time. Now let us go on about correcting our mistakes. 

~Corrections~     

     Now on to correcting our mistakes. First off, you can get rid of that ungodly amount of staff members. If you trust the member, keep them. Otherwise judge them by how productive they are. We don't want a staff member that just sits on the server AFK (Away From Keyboard) taking up player slots and memory. Another correction is to make a new concept for your server form it being a minigame to a pair of flying boots in survival. Make something that hasn't been done, even if it reqiures a plugin developer. Another correction is to fix how server owners advertise your server. I don't think," Join this AWESOME server <Ip>," is going to  attract many players. Be more formal in advertising. For example, "Been looking for a server with a great community but haven't been able to find one? At <Server Name> we have a great community that enjoys new players. We have <List What The Server Has>! To join; use the IP provided: <Ip>" This is a more formal way of getting your server out to players. Next, figure out how to do things for your server on your own! It would be more satisfying if you figured it out than having someone do it for you. If they do it for you, it's not really your server any more. It's theirs! Finally, you should have fun one your server. If you enjoy the server, others might to. This is a good way to start a good community on the server. Just don't let the ban hammer take control of you, but don't be afraid to use it!


     

~End~

     In the end, you can make your server successful by correcting mistakes made on the server and seeing what players are looking for. Ask others to tell you how to do something or search the internet. You should find many answers on there. Just remember, enjoy your server and have fun making it! Hopefully your server gets lots of fans.





~Author's Note~

     Please note that this isn't a guide! This blog was made to hint at parts of a server that could be better. I constantly see the same old thing over and over again. I want to see more creativity and originality put into servers. Try to get a custom plugin, if you can! Just don't make the same old thing and expect to be successful.