Hosted or self-hosted?
The first thing to decide is who runs the computer your site lives on. This page is for whoever is making that choice for the choir. The software is the same either way: the same admin panel, the same public pages, the same member portal.
The two ways to have a site
Hosted means we run it. You sign up at the account portal, pick a web address, and your site is working a minute later. We keep it running, keep it up to date and look after the email it sends. There are three plans: Free, Starter and Premium.
Self-hosted means you run it. You, or someone technical who helps your choir, install the software on a server you rent or on your own Cloudflare account, and keep it running and backed up. There are two editions: the Community edition, which is free and needs a licence key (also free), and the Standard edition, which we install and support for you and which you arrange by contacting sales. The Standard edition comes with six months of technical support, which can be extended, and updates guaranteed for 12 months.
How they compare
| A site we host | A site you run yourself | |
|---|---|---|
| Who installs it | Nobody. It is ready when you sign up. | You, on a server with Node.js or Docker, or on Cloudflare Workers. With the Standard edition, we do. |
| Day-to-day upkeep | Ours: the server, the database and outgoing email. | Yours: the server, the database, file storage, backups and an email-sending service. |
| New versions | We install them. There is nothing to do. | The admin panel tells you when one is out. Some installations can install it with one click; others are updated by hand. |
| What you can use | Depends on the plan. Free is the public website. Starter adds the member portal, email to members and your own domain name. Premium adds ticket sales and donor records. | Everything in the software. There are no plans. |
| Card payments | Available on the Premium plan, into your choir's own Stripe account. | Not available in version 1.6.12. You can still sell tickets that are free or paid for on arrival, and record gifts you receive in other ways. |
| A style sheet of your own (CSS) | Not available. | Available to a Site Admin. |
| "Powered by Choir Master CMS" link in the footer | Always shown on Free and Starter. On Premium you may switch it off. | Always shown on the Community edition. The Standard edition may switch it off. |
| Help from a person | See Get help. | The Community edition comes without support. The Standard edition includes technical support for six months, which can be extended. |
| Cost | See the pricing page. | The Community edition is free; you pay for your own server and email service. The Standard edition is a one-time fee. |
Prices are on the pricing page at choirmastercms.com/#plans. For every difference, feature by feature, see Plans and editions compared and Hosted and self-hosted: what is different.
Which should we choose?
Choose a site we host if nobody in the choir wants to look after a server. That is most choirs. You can begin on the Free plan and move up when you need more.
Choose to run it yourself if you have someone comfortable with servers who will still be around next year, and you want everything on your own equipment or your own Cloudflare account.
You are not locked in. Moving between a hosted site and your own server explains what moving involves.
Where each one starts
- We host your site: go to Start a site we host. For what each plan includes, see What each plan includes.
- You run it yourself: go to Start a site you run yourself. For the two editions, see Community and Standard editions.
If you would like to look around before deciding, Look around the demo site shows a complete site for an imaginary choir.