B2 Evolution
Hosting
Install B2 Evolution in one click on our fast, reliable UK web hosting. Fully managed with free SSL, daily backups, and dedicated expert support.
What is B2 Evolution?
b2evolution is an open-source PHP blogging and content management platform first released in 2003. It descends from the same b2/cafelog codebase that WordPress was originally forked from, but b2evolution went its own way and added multi-blog support, photoblogs, file management, and a built-in collection system before WordPress had any of those features. It is licensed under the GPL.
The platform runs on PHP and MySQL, supports skinned templates, threaded comments, RSS feeds, and a permission model that distinguishes blog owners, editors, contributors, and registered visitors. b2evolution has had stable releases through to the early 2020s.
It has never matched WordPress on plug-in choice or theme selection. Where it shines is in the multi-blog and photoblog niches, both of which are bundled in core rather than added through plug-ins. The 365i one-click installer includes b2evolution for owners who prefer this approach to running several blogs from one install, and for the small but loyal user base who chose b2evolution years ago and have stayed put.
365i’s editorial review of B2 Evolution
b2evolution is the road not taken. WordPress and b2evolution both grew out of the same b2/cafelog codebase in 2003, and for a few years it genuinely looked like b2evolution might be the better-engineered option. Multi-blog from day one, photoblog support baked in, a proper permission system, decent skinning. WordPress won the popularity contest, b2evolution stayed niche, and here we are.
Most of the b2evolution sites I've hosted over the years are run by photographers, family-history archivists, and the occasional small academic department who want several distinct blogs under one admin without paying for WordPress Multisite plugins or running separate installs. For that specific use case, b2evolution is still genuinely good. The multi-blog model is cleaner than WordPress Multisite and the photoblog template handles galleries with less faff than installing yet another WordPress plug-in.
What's annoying is the small community. If you hit an obscure bug, you're often on your own or waiting for the developer to look at the forum. Plug-in choice is thin compared to WordPress. Themes look dated unless you're prepared to do your own CSS work. And the admin UI, while logical, has a 2010 aesthetic that takes some getting used to if you came from WordPress.
"b2evolution loses on plug-in count and wins on architecture. If you want to run six blogs from one install in 2026 without paying for WordPress Multisite plugins, b2evolution is genuinely a better choice. For everything else, pick WordPress."
Mark McNeece, Founder, 365i Hosting
On hosting: b2evolution is happy on PHP 8.1 and 8.3, runs comfortably on our shared hosting from £5.99/mo, and rarely uses more than 128MB of memory even with several blogs in one install. The MySQL footprint is small. We've never seen a b2evolution site exhaust unlimited LVE resources, and traffic-handling is fine on our autoscaling cloud platform without thinking about it. Cron is needed for scheduled posts and email digests, and our cron support handles that without extra work.
One practical tip: b2evolution's file uploads default to a single shared folder, which can become messy after a few years. We'd recommend reorganising into per-blog folders during initial setup. Also, the cache directories want write permission and tend to grow, so include them in your daily backup but consider clearing them quarterly.
If you want to try b2evolution, install it through the one-click installer, run through the initial multi-blog wizard, and skin it with a community theme rather than the default. Give it a fortnight of writing and see if the admin sticks for you. If it does, you've picked a quietly capable platform. If not, we'll migrate you to WordPress free of charge.
Why Host B2 Evolution with 365i?
Our web hosting is built for PHP applications like B2 Evolution. Every plan includes everything you need to launch and grow.
One-Click Installation
Install B2 Evolution with a single click from your control panel. No manual configuration, no FTP uploads, no database setup.
Free SSL Certificate
Every site gets a free SSL certificate, automatically configured and renewed. Keep your B2 Evolution installation secure from day one.
99.9% Uptime Guarantee
Enterprise-grade data centres in the UK, US & Asia with redundant power, cooling, and network connectivity. Backed by our uptime SLA.
Daily Backups
Automatic daily backups with easy one-click restore. Your B2 Evolution data is always safe and recoverable.
7-Day Expert Support
UK-based hosting specialists available 7 days a week including evenings, weekends, and bank holidays. Real people, real help.
SSD Storage
All plans run on fast SSD storage for snappy page loads and responsive admin panels. B2 Evolution performs at its best.
Where B2 Evolution Fits
Best for
Photographers, family-history archivists, and small departments who want several distinct blogs under one admin install. Multi-blog and photoblog use cases where WordPress Multisite would feel like overkill, and where the owner values a tighter permission model over plug-in choice.
Watch for
Plug-in choice is thin, theme selection is small, and the community is much smaller than WordPress, so obscure problems can sit on a forum unanswered. Default file-upload structure becomes messy after a few years. Migration to WordPress later is doable but not trivial because the database schemas differ.
Web Hosting for B2 Evolution
Get B2 Evolution up and running in minutes with our fast, reliable web hosting. Every plan includes one-click installation, free SSL, UK, US & Asia data centres, and dedicated expert support.
- 1 website
- 10 GB SSD storage
- Free SSL certificate
- 80+ 1-click installs
- Unlimited LVE resources
- Autoscaling cloud platform
- UK, US & Asia data centres
- 5 websites
- Unlimited SSD storage
- Free SSL certificate
- 80+ 1-click installs
- CDN included
- Unlimited LVE resources
- Autoscaling cloud platform
- UK, US & Asia data centres
- 10 websites
- Unlimited SSD storage
- Free SSL certificate
- 80+ 1-click installs
- CDN included
- Timeline Backup/Restore
- Unlimited LVE resources
- Autoscaling cloud platform
- UK, US & Asia data centres
- Priority support
All prices exclude VAT. No contract, cancel any time.
Need More Power for B2 Evolution?
For high-traffic sites, large catalogues, or mission-critical deployments, our fully managed cloud servers give B2 Evolution dedicated resources and enterprise-grade performance.
- Dedicated CPU, RAM & SSD storage
- 99.99% uptime SLA
- Fully managed by our team
- Choose 365i, AWS, or Google Cloud
Servers
Servers
Servers
A B2 Evolution case from our books
A regional family-history society in the South West joined us in 2024 with a four-blog b2evolution install they'd run since around 2009. They publish member research blogs, an events diary, an archive index, and a moderator-only working blog, and they run roughly 22,000 visits a month across the four. They were paying around £18/mo for a creaking VPS elsewhere and wanted to come down in cost.
We moved them to our shared hosting at £5.99/mo, set PHP to 8.1 (their themes hadn't been retested on 8.3 and we didn't want to break anything mid-migration), enabled cron for their scheduled posts, and reorganised the file uploads into per-blog folders so the moderator could find images later. We also set up a separate database backup retention specifically for their archive blog because the database holds the only digital copy of some transcribed records.
Migration took us around four working hours including DNS cutover. Site response time improved by roughly 41%, and the society saved about £150/yr on hosting.
What we would tell anyone in the same spot: b2evolution does not need a VPS for a four-blog setup with that traffic. Shared hosting on a properly tuned platform is plenty.
Anonymised at the client's request. Industry, scale, and timeline preserved.
What we look for in cms hosting
A content management system is a long-term tenant on your hosting, not a quick install. We tune for what CMSs actually do day to day: an opcache configured to survive plugin and theme upgrades, PHP memory at 256MB or higher because page builders chew through it, daily backups that include the uploads directory and not just the database, and free SSL enforced from day one. We also keep an honest opinion about which CMS suits which site and will tell you when something would run better elsewhere.
B2 Evolution Hosting FAQ
Common questions we hear from people running B2 Evolution on our hosting.
b2evolution runs on PHP 7.4 or later (PHP 8.1+ recommended) plus MySQL 5.7 or later. Our shared hosting includes PHP 8.3 by default with older versions selectable per site, MySQL 8, and 256MB PHP memory limit, all of which exceed b2evolution's requirements comfortably. Cron access is included, which b2evolution uses for scheduled posts and email digests. We've never had a b2evolution site need more than the standard shared plan resources.
Yes. b2evolution is in our application installer. The installer drops the files in place, creates the database, and walks you through the multi-blog setup wizard during first login. The default install gives you a single blog. To set up several blogs, follow the "create new collection" path inside admin after install. Total setup time is around 15 minutes for a multi-blog setup, less for a single-blog install.
b2evolution's multi-blog (collections) model is built into core, with proper per-blog permissions and skinning, and no plug-ins needed. WordPress Multisite needs setup work, often a paid plug-in for proper permission control, and adds operational complexity. For under 10 blogs in one install, b2evolution is cleaner. For genuinely large multisite deployments (50+ blogs, hundreds of users), WordPress Multisite has the edge on tooling and ecosystem support.
We support the hosting layer 7 days a week with evenings, weekends, and bank holidays covered. That includes PHP, MySQL, cron, SSL, email, DNS, file permissions, and migrations. We don't write custom b2evolution skins, debug your custom plug-ins, or rebuild your themes, that's development work. The b2evolution community forums are the right place for application-specific bugs. Datacentre infrastructure is monitored 24/7.
Yes, included free with our migration service. Send us your current host's FTP and database details and we'll move the whole install across, including all blogs in a multi-blog setup, plus media folders, plus user permissions. We'll test login on every blog before we cut DNS. Most b2evolution migrations take us between 2 and 6 working hours depending on how many blogs and how much media. We don't charge extra for older versions, but we may suggest upgrading to current b2evolution after the move.
b2evolution's permission model is one of its strengths and is fine for member-facing blogs once configured properly. Keep core, skins, and any plug-ins updated. Our hosting adds free SSL, daily backups, file-permission hardening, and platform-level WAF rules. We'd also suggest two-factor authentication on admin accounts via b2evolution's plug-in for it. If you're running a moderator-only blog with sensitive material, consider IP-restricting that specific blog's admin URL.
Ready to Host B2 Evolution?
Get started with B2 Evolution on our fast UK web hosting. One-click installation, free SSL, and dedicated expert support included.