Host-Hunters.com — Hosting Directory
An acquired legacy forum transformed into a community-driven hosting directory — where developers, agencies, and hobbyists find and compare web hosting services.
An Aged Forum with Good Bones
Host-Hunters.com had been a hosting-focused community forum for years before it went dormant. The domain had history, inbound links, and a name that still made sense — it just needed a new direction.
I acquired it in early 2025 with one goal: take the existing Xenforo infrastructure and pivot it from a forum to a structured directory, keeping the community layer alive while adding the discovery utility the hosting niche actually needed.
Why a Directory Makes More Sense
Hosting forums tend to die the same way — the conversations dry up, the moderators disappear, and the spam takes over. A directory has a different value proposition: it's useful whether there are ten visitors or ten thousand, and it compounds over time as listings accumulate.
XenAddon's Link Directory add-on gave a solid foundation for structured listings. Rather than rebuilding from scratch, the strategy was to repurpose existing infrastructure and layer the directory on top.
Every Corner of the Hosting Market
Shared Hosting
Entry-level hosting for websites, blogs, and small projects. The most-searched category in the hosting market.
VPS & Dedicated
Listings for virtual private servers and bare-metal dedicated hosts — for projects that have outgrown shared plans.
Game Servers
Minecraft, Valheim, Rust, and beyond. A dedicated category for the game server hosting segment.
Static Site Hosting
Netlify, Vercel, and alternatives — platforms built specifically for JAMstack and static deployments.
Discussion Forums
The original forum layer is still intact. Members can discuss providers, share experiences, and ask for recommendations.
Classifieds
A classifieds section for buying, selling, and trading hosting accounts, domains, and related services.
Built on Xenforo 2
Xenforo 2 was already installed and paid for. Rather than migrate to a different platform, the decision was to lean into its strengths — the Link Directory add-on for structured directory listings, a proven permission system, and a community layer that just works.
The forum structure maps naturally to a directory: categories become listing types, threads become discussion threads attached to listings, and the existing user system handles both contributors and moderators without any custom auth work.
Work in Progress
Host-Hunters is an ongoing rebuild. The current focus is on populating the directory with quality listings across all hosting categories, improving the submission experience, and building out the SEO structure.
The forum history is being preserved where relevant — old threads with genuine hosting recommendations have more signal than any freshly-seeded directory. The goal is to merge that historical context with a clean, modern discovery experience.
Find a Host. List Your Service. Join the Community.
Looking for a host?
Browse the directory or join the community to get a recommendation from someone who's been there.