Simple and easy to understand

As long as players feel welcome and are kept occupied, you should be good to go!

RPG, real life, and kind of that are unique, i mean something that you will work on for a lot at least 2 week) and of course, a website that it awesome.

Be about the game first, don't fuss over donations. If players like the server, and can donate, they'll donate. If you really need funding, get yourself some adverts on the website.

Don't have a website? That's a key factor, having your own site gives you pulling power. You can have a forum, where users can converse - and by doing that you get their email addresses so you can start sending out newsletters to remind people you exist.

Almost every server I have seen
FACTIONS!
MINIGAMES!
SURIVIVAL GAIMS!
ZOMBEH SURVIVAL!
PLVP!
1 FREEH RANK!
VEREH EXPENSIVE DONATIONS!

Me: No

Ive recently joined this minecraft server that had like easily 500 or more people on everyday and I was kind of being nosy so I asked some people why they get on and all and most of them said because of hunger games and SKIN COMPETITIONS. I had no clue that everyone liked that so just thought I would through that out there to help some people. If you are going to host a skin competition give the 1st 2nd and 3rd place prizes but give the first the best prize and as well it can be money. If you thing there skin is good put a green block of wool in front of them. If you think it is not so good put a red block in front of them. And make there be rounds so you don't eliminate everyone at once. More people = more rounds. Make the rounds get harder and harder like eliminate fewer people and be more precise about your picks. BTW I am still working on my server but it will be called MidKnightCraft I am not yet giving out the IP but I will soon.

One thing that I think makes a server good is an application that new players have to fill out correctly in three tries in order to have access to more than one of the worlds and commands. This is an easy way to keep undesirables out of your server unless by chance the person is actually smart and can read but most people are too lazy to read and don't even see that they have to do that so they ask questions such as "Why can't I build anything in (blah blah world)."

Wow, 6660 views! Thats a lot!

for me really the setup and most of all the staff and the community.

i like going to creative servers where the staff in general are open and nice people. another thing that makes creative servers more interesting to me is the fact that you can easily go to other players to see what they are making and just chat about building/anything that comes to mind.

that is also why i dont like pvp servers in general because everytime i think i have a good setup my base gets raided. i guess i am more a builder then a fighter

Fun survival with loads of cool minigames,protection plugins,in game cash,no over powered donor ranks,nice landscape,good staff and good shop.

Yeowners has to be patient, yeah

Don't focus on donations! {don't hassle players/nag them}

Thanks, you helped a lot macgarthur. actually I made a project post with the map of the server with a little contest (download the map, build in it, best builder wins something (in the server not in real life)). because I installed forge and some mods on the server, I put them in the download to. but at least 20 people tried to connect to the server but they didn't make it because they didn't install the mods. I could had now 20+ players in the server every day. I will try to get my server 24\7 (until July it will be). but do you have any way to get people listen to instructions? (there is a README file in the download).
and by "get the server hosted" do you mean a paid hosting? because I don't have a lot of budget for this.

A good server for me has a nice staff,has a nice landscape(like random holes aren't everywhere and you don't have to go far out just to get wood) and have some house protection,lastly something interesting that makes the server different and unique.

And what if I'm hosting my server from my personal PC and the server is not 24/7?
I have currently two staff members-me and my friend. we both live in GMT +2 (Israel for short) and we have 60 slots. I never had the server full so I don't know if it would be laggy (12 GB RAM).
The bottom line- Do you have any advices for a non 24/7 server?

Matty__994Staff:

- Very nice staff members
- Staff members who know the rules
- Staff members who have been on the server for a long time
- Mature staff members who know how to type grammatically correct
- Owners who know what they are doing
- Only hire people you trust and people who have been on for a while. A lot of beggers like to grief!
- Owners who play with players
- Staff who can replant some saplings here and there
- No pay for staff

Features:

- A range of things to do besides just survival/creative
- Properly setup plugins
- Groups
- No random text (&k)
- Minigames
- Diversity (This one is the MOST important. People play on servers that are DIFFERENT and not the same as everybody else's servers)
- Useful plugins
- Lots of plugins
- Multiple worlds
- Don't make it pay to win
- Don't overuse color

Minigames:

- Custom minigames
- An unpopular, well-coded minigame
- More than 5 minigames (preferably)
- PvP and MobArena like plugins

Permissions/Ranks:

- Properly setup ranks
- No flashy prefixes, keep it simple and professional
- Donor ranks (People like to gain new powers if they grow fond of the server)
- 1 month, 3 month, 1 year and lifetime Donor rank packages (This way people do not feel like they NEED to play on the server because they have put money into it

Buildings:

- Make professional buildings
- Make spawn actually look nice
- Make cities
- Don't use random blocks (Block of Redstone, Stone, etc)

Couldn't have said it any better, plus that is exactly how you would describe my server lol.

Yeah, true!

Originality. Thats it.

http://www.planetminecraft.com/blog/how-to-make-a-good-server-from-a-players-pov/
UnceCrafter's blog post

Staff:

- Very nice staff members
- Staff members who know the rules
- Staff members who have been on the server for a long time
- Mature staff members who know how to type grammatically correct
- Owners who know what they are doing
- Only hire people you trust and people who have been on for a while. A lot of beggers like to grief!
- Owners who play with players
- Staff who can replant some saplings here and there
- No pay for staff

Features:

- A range of things to do besides just survival/creative
- Properly setup plugins
- Groups
- No random text (&k)
- Minigames
- Diversity (This one is the MOST important. People play on servers that are DIFFERENT and not the same as everybody else's servers)
- Useful plugins
- Lots of plugins
- Multiple worlds
- Don't make it pay to win
- Don't overuse color

Minigames:

- Custom minigames
- An unpopular, well-coded minigame
- More than 5 minigames (preferably)
- PvP and MobArena like plugins

Permissions/Ranks:

- Properly setup ranks
- No flashy prefixes, keep it simple and professional
- Donor ranks (People like to gain new powers if they grow fond of the server)
- 1 month, 3 month, 1 year and lifetime Donor rank packages (This way people do not feel like they NEED to play on the server because they have put money into it

Buildings:

- Make professional buildings
- Make spawn actually look nice
- Make cities
- Don't use random blocks (Block of Redstone, Stone, etc)

Well we aren't hating it, however why not think of something other than factions? Maybe make a custom plugins that lets you mix towny and factions? Maybe a Simpleclans and protectionstones? Thats a great mix tbh. We don't hate it, just saying that where ever you see, you always see faction servers. Why not something different? More variations of servers mean a better minecraft community, and right now there isn't much of a variation tbh. And what JamieDMilligan said. That it another way to get your server good. Try new things, take risks! Have some fun, cya hope this changed your view of factions

Why is everyone hating about Factions -_-
Every good server have Factions. How should players protect their build if theres no Factions? U dont want grief,raid and factions. Raids and griefs will happen for sure without Factions -_-

U ppls are wierd

You are all right man !

Quality staff and community as well as engaging content.

Staff that do neglect their server

Thank you, y'all!

Depends what kind of server. The ideal PVP/FACTIONS/SURVIVAL server will have these things(in my opinion): Peaceful option for factions; a seed with large and numerous land masses(exploration potential); occasional resets to keep the world from becoming marred and impossible to start out on; minigames(spleef, hunger games(DO IT RIGHT OR DON'T DO IT AT ALL), cops and robbers, etc.; a sky block world; a full shop!!!!!; MCMMO, jobs, no lockette(creates more need for factions and less random chests all over the friggin place); one, main spawn, no warps and such craziness; strongholds blocked from being claimed; mob arena +rewards(no mob drops); and active, kind Mods and Admins.
Regards,
Jason

an amazingly kind staff a good balance of plugins, no factions, raid or griefing and a custom terrain to give the server individuality

Plugin suggestion: MCMMO

Just ask your players, they know what they want!

Owner of FactionPlay

well first thing is alot of people like to make factions or towns

I think what makes a good server is either simplicity or orginality, take raiding servers for example, ok maybe people think they are fun, but please for the good of the minecraft community, don't make another one, they are so freaking overdone! If your server is original, then you are bound to go far.
Secondly, simplicity is VERY important, don't get loads of useless plugins and stuff, or people will be overwhelmed, just keep it simple: simplicity is beauty.
I need to shut up now, what do I know about servers? lol

simplicity. if its too hard for people to get around in your server, they arent likely to stay long. also, great amounts of assistance at the start. starting out on your own is more fulfilling, but is really hard. so help your players a little and have your spawn easy to navigate.

I just want a genuine server that's a no greif survival.
Also I hate having the server go D0N@T3 PL0X too much.

Here's just a list in what I think is important.
* A theme
* Your server needs to be special in some manner, lots of servers have factions and mcmmo, so why not make something different to draw in more players?
* A spawn that leaves a good impression to new-comers.
* Helpful staff that replies to most things besides dumb questions such as, (How do I get op??)
* Not much chat spamming with donation broadcasts, (Iv'e seen servers that had those in paragraphs every 2 minutes. If your going to try to get donations, make the server worthy so that other players think its a good server to donate for.
* Events, Minigames, things that will keep players not bored. Servers with only factions do get boring in some time.
* Lively community
* Try to maintain the server with absolute no lag (now this won't be possible because of connections however try your best), meaning tps is maxed out 20, block lag disappears, not much delay and etc.
* Try not to set to complicated rules. Most people won't read them. Only put like, Don't Spam, No cussing and etc.
* Good economy, this means balanced and all rationed out. By meaning that I mean, for example in the Adminshop they sell one diamond for 100, however the moneydrop plugin gives you 50 cash per mob kill. That will ruin your server.
* Give players a reason to play on the server, free obtainable ranks, like prison servers, or trying to get to the top of mcmmo and etc. If you are trying to find a way to give players free ranks without a hassle, try autorank.
* Less plugins mean less lag which is better. Only try to add plugins that players will use. I know several servers that has like 70 and + plugins but that won't make the server better.
* A good vote system with a good voting reward is good for servers as well. Check out cursecraft for an example. They give you coins (if i remember right) and with those you can buy creeper eggs, or cash or a whole ton of other stuff.
* Another thing about plugins, try to get unique plugins. The more unique and good your server is (meaning unique but no stupid plugins) the better it is.
* Do NOT advertise your server on different servers. I promise you it is the worse way to get players. Always try to bump / advertise your servers on minecraft server list sites such as planetminecraft. I can't promise you, however it is a better way to get a lot of players.

Sorry this might not be in relevant to this topic, but just saying for all those people who need help running a server and trying to make it good.

Lenny3214

ProGamingCrew

Lenny3214I hate it when i log in to an server and say Hi but no one answers they just talk to each other or if there is many players (150-200) on and i cant read everything cus everyone is typing.
It will be better if the chat is to fast to download an plugin that slows down the chat or to make chat rooms.

I made an server and i don't use factions cus i don't like it and we are currently building an spawn. I have no donation ranks cus i don't know where i keep the money, my parents don't let me use credit cards. I'm hosting the server on my computer so it is laggy sometimes.

And btw i can make you an gif to your server if you want.

Uhm can ypu make me a gif?

Yes, how do you want it?

Ill pm you

My host just offer a plugin for linking different servers with Portals.

Im in

Btw. Anyone want to start up a server with mé?