Chapter 1, How to host your Bitcoin (or altcoin) faucet.
Setting up and running a faucet has many parts, but you need to start somewhere. So without further ado, let's start with "somewhere".
Like I mentioned earlier, this blog series will be written by a n0ob for other n0obs. Currently I only have experience with one host myself and that is 000webhost.com. This is a free hosting service and before you start scoffing at this, hear me out. Free hosts are usually less than great and they come with limitations, but 000webhost.com is actually not that bad. For someone starting out with a faucet, you get a free host which means keeping your overhead low. It doesn't get lower than free...
They provide you with plenty of space for a faucet and you can run two separate webpages independently of each other. You have SQL databases and can run PHP among other things. In fact, I haven't truly encountered much limitations this far, even speed has been pretty good (at least on my end). But yes, once your faucet is starting to attract larger numbers of visitors you will outgrow this host. At this point you can either choose the easy way out and sign up for a premium account or go shopping for another hosting service. I'll mention a few from the top of my head...
Bluehost is a huge host provider, most people who consider setting up a faucet has probably already seen Bluehost mentioned in one way or another. They are a solid company with fair prices and they have many different hosting solutions depending on your needs. You will almost certainly find something that suits you here. From what I understand it's supposed to be very easy to set up your site with Bluehost.
InMotion is not nearly as well known but don't let that trick you. From what I understand they are a premium provider with a solid reputation. Their speed is top notch, they have a very good kit for setting your site up and supposedly their support is a well oiled machine with stellar reviews. They have services to fit any needs.
A2 Hosting is another less well known provider with a truly fantastic reputation. If you want speed A2 is the speed king of web hosts. They are not the cheapest but you get a super fast host. I have only heard good things about A2 and they have a full range of different packages that will meet any needs you can throw at them.
iPage is a big and well known provider. Among the hosts that I mention here, iPage is the cheapest of the bunch. At the time that I'm writing this you can get hosting from $1.99 a month. Good reputation and a perfect solution if you're on a budget. The only caveat is probably their speed. There isn't really anything wrong with their speed but it's not comparable with the other hosts who are to be considered more like speed daemons of web hosting.
To finish up this short list of hosting providers, Dreamhost is the one who other hosts measure themselves against. Probably the priciest option in the bunch but you can't go wrong with Dreamhost. They are well known, veterans in the business, have a stellar reputation, great customer service, top class speed and so on. In short, I have yet to find anyone having anything bad to say about them. Dreamhost will take very good care of you.
This is what I have found when I researched a host for my faucet. I have yet to sign with a paid host but I believe any one of these will provide great service. Most of them have introductory offers that will give you really good rates for the first term. As with all great offers, there is usually a catch and this is not any different. Once your first term is up and you want to continue your partnership, you will be expected to pay normal rates. These normal rates are often very different from your introductory offer. So, do yourself a favor, take a peak at the regular rates as well, this way you'll be better prepared for the future.
And to wrap this chapter up, a few words on domains. Freenom will help you set up a domain completely free of charge. Free domains might not be flashy or impressive but they are free. Some advertisers demand a paid domain from their publishers but not everyone. All of the mentioned hosts can set you up with a paid domain and many will have offers that include a domain for free when you sign up for web hosting.
Some goodies to look forward to: Monetizing your faucet, picking the right faucet script and coding resources among other things.
Until next time, remember to upvote this post.