Key facts
- Moodle 4.5 needs PHP 8.1 or newer; Moodle 5.0 needs PHP 8.2 or newer
- max_input_vars set to at least 5000, as Moodle requires
- moodledata folder kept outside the public web root
- Moodle cron run every minute from the server
- Required extensions such as intl, sodium, zip, gd, mbstring and xml enabled
- Small sites on the £1 a day + VAT plan; large or busy sites on a quoted managed VPS
Is the standard plan right for your Moodle?
Moodle can be anything from a handful of courses for a training company to a platform for thousands of students. We'll be honest about which you are.
- Fits dijitul Complete Hosting: a training provider, small school, club or business running courses for a modest number of learners, with only a few people active at the same time.
- Needs a quote: many simultaneous users, timed quizzes for whole year groups at once, large video libraries hosted on Moodle itself, or plugins that need Redis or a separate search server.
If you're not sure, tell us your rough numbers and we'll tell you straight. Bigger installs go on a managed VPS.
How we set Moodle up
- PHP version: per site, matched to your Moodle branch. Moodle 4.5 needs PHP 8.1 or newer; Moodle 5.0 needs PHP 8.2 or newer.
- PHP settings: max_input_vars of at least 5000, which Moodle's environment check insists on, plus suitable memory_limit, post_max_size and upload_max_filesize.
- Extensions: intl, sodium, zip, gd, mbstring, xml, curl, soap and the MySQL or MariaDB driver.
- moodledata: outside the web root, so uploaded files can't be reached directly by URL.
- Cron: admin/cli/cron.php run every minute as a Plesk scheduled task. Without it, forum emails, completions and backups stop working.
- Database: MySQL or MariaDB with utf8mb4, so emoji and all languages save correctly.
Moving an existing Moodle site
We copy the Moodle code, the moodledata folder and the database, then update config.php for the new paths and URL. If the address changes, Moodle's replace tool updates links in course content. We purge caches, check cron runs cleanly and test logins, enrolments and uploads on a temporary address before DNS switches. See website migration.
Older Moodle versions
Moodle 3.x sites are still common in training companies that set them up years ago. They need older PHP 7.x, which we can run per site in isolation where our platform supports it. Upgrading to a current Moodle usually has to happen in steps through intermediate versions, and plugins need checking at each step. We quote for this work. See legacy PHP hosting.
Backups and data protection
Learner records are personal data. Our daily server backups cover the code, moodledata and database, and Moodle's own course backups can run on top. Your data stays with a UK company. For more, see GDPR-compliant hosting and hosting for schools.
Plugins, themes and video
Most Moodle sites lean on a few add-on plugins: certificates, attendance, custom course formats or an H5P content library. Each plugin is released for specific Moodle versions, so before any move or upgrade we list them all and check each has a release for the target version. Plugins with no maintained version are the most common reason a Moodle upgrade stalls.
Video is the other thing to plan. Uploading lots of course video straight into Moodle quickly fills storage and backups. A better pattern is to host video on a dedicated video platform and embed it in courses, keeping Moodle lean and backups quick to restore. Themes based on Moodle's standard Boost theme upgrade most smoothly; heavily customised older themes may need rework.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Moodle hosting cost in the UK?
With dijitul, a small Moodle site for a modest number of learners fits dijitul Complete Hosting at £1 a day + VAT, including setup, cron, daily backups and migration. Larger sites with many simultaneous users or heavy media are quoted on a managed VPS, sized to the real load.
Can Moodle run on shared hosting?
A small Moodle site can, if the host allows cron every minute, max_input_vars of 5000 or more, a moodledata folder outside the web root and the required PHP extensions. Many budget hosts don't allow all of these. dijitul's Plesk hosting is set up for them.
Why is my Moodle cron not running?
Moodle needs admin/cli/cron.php to run every minute from the server. If it isn't scheduled, or the host limits cron frequency, emails, course completions and scheduled tasks stop. Check Site administration, Notifications for a cron warning. dijitul schedules Moodle cron in Plesk for you.
What PHP version does Moodle need?
Moodle 4.5 needs PHP 8.1 or newer and Moodle 5.0 needs PHP 8.2 or newer. Older Moodle 3.x versions need PHP 7.x. On dijitul hosting the PHP version is set per site in Plesk to match your Moodle branch.
How many users can a small Moodle site handle?
It depends more on how many people are active at the same moment than on total accounts. A site with a few hundred learners who log in at different times is very different from a class of 200 sitting a quiz together. Tell dijitul your numbers and we'll recommend the right setup.
Related
Set it up and forget about it
Managed hosting, Plesk, Cloudflare DNS, daily backups and your domain for £1 a day + VAT. We move your site for you.