Managing a Minecraft Server can be quite hard if you're inexperienced, there are just so many concepts essential to be understood if you hope to host a community in your server, such as plugin configurations, different server.jar files, using ViaVersion to let players from the latest versions join, setting up a Server Network... but thankfully practice makes perfect and you will eventually succeed.
To help you with this, today we've evaluated some skills and compiled some tools on this list that can help both new and old server owners. If you like this content feel free to take a look at our knowledge base for new guides to help you manage your server more efficiently.
What skills do I need to know to manage my Minecraft Server?
The set of skills needed to manage a Minecraft server varies depending on your final goal, but we're going to classify them into 3 general roles: Building, Development, and Content Planning.
Good structures and buildings are pleasant to see and can be a distinctive point of your server, that's why all popular servers have their own massive structures in the lobbies and their own custom maps. So a really creative Builder who knows how to use tools like WorldEdit is essential.
Plugins will require configuration to work and you need to keep an eye on any bug or incompatibility between plugins, configure the network, and roll updates. That's why you need a Developer with knowledge of Java and JSON to maintain a server. And if you want to advertise a website for your server then Web Development skills are also required.
And of course Content Planning, how would you expect players to be interested in your server if there's nothing to do, you need someone to plan events for your server and to decide on good features for your modalities. A passionate gamer could fill this role properly, but creativity and writing skills are also a huge plus.
This is just a mere indication of the general areas to cover if you want to get started, but there are other areas you might want to keep an eye on such as Moderation Tools to keep order on the server. A person could indeed fill the 3 positions if needed, but it's always highly recommended to find a team of people specialized in each area, this will help to produce better results and save much time.
Server Data Analytics: Analyse
Analyse is a great tool to visualize some of the stats and data from your server such as the amount of new players, the average session time, the platforms they're using to join, the countries they're from, etc. Analyse also keeps a profile for each player where you can check their unique stats such as country, referrer, and total playtime; and you can even track Events from the plugins on the server.
This tool could be used to collect and analyze information from the server, plan for the future accordingly, improve any lacking areas, and provide results for the benefit of your community, for example, opening a server in a demanded location.
You can start using Analyse today by clicking here.
Monetization: Tebex
Huge servers can cost a lot of money to maintain per month, you need to pay for the hosting, and depending on the size you may also need to cover the staff team salaries and plugin license fees. This could be unsustainable in the long run for you so a monetization tool is required and the standard for any big server.
Tebex (also known as Buycraft) is the perfect monetization tool and platform to use on your server, You'll be able to create packages for in-game content (such as ranks or items) and sell them, which as a result can help you cover fully or partially the upkeep fees of the server, and perhaps even make a profit.
Iceline Hosting is an official partner of Tebex, so if you use this link you'll get 30 days of Tebex premium for free! You can also read our guide to learn how to get started with Tebex in your minecraft server.
Game Hosting Provider: Iceline Hosting
Locally hosted servers are a good option to start, but the standard for all minecraft communities is guaranteeing the server is online 24/7, For this, you can purchase a Game Hosting Plan from Providers like Iceline Hosting.
Most providers will give you access to a custom game panel with options to manage your server easily, Iceline Hosting's Custom Game Panel features a File Manager, a Plugins Installer, Modpacks available with a 1-click install, SFTP access, Sub-Users, Cloud Backups, 1-click Location Transfers, Minecraft Version Changer.
With these features, starting a new server has never been this easy! check our available plans here. We also have Game VPS plans available for more experienced users.
In-Game Server Plugins
Aside from the external tools and panels, there are multiple in-game plugins available for your server to help you manage some of the aspects of your community as well.
Group Manager: LuckPerms
You need a plugin to manage user groups and permissions from other plugins, this way you can set specific commands to be available for all the players as default and create your own options like a VIP group with additional benefits available for purchase with Tebex, Staff groups with moderation commands to sanction players, and Builders with access to Creative and WorldEdit, and LuckPerms is the best plugin for that.
LuckPerms is an intuitive and easy-to-use plugin for permissions and group management, completely free and updated through the years and with multiple features like a real-time web editor. We have a guide covering the setup process which you can read here.
Moderation Tools: EssentialsX
Minecraft Vanilla comes with some default commands to moderate players but this has much room for improvement, thankfully there are multiple plugins to do so, and while it is not entirely oriented for moderation EssentialsX is still quite a good option to use.
EssentialsX adds a whole bunch of new commands for your server with moderation tools included, thanks to this you could send players to the Jail or Mute them so they can't use the chat for a specified amount of time, it also improves the vanilla moderation commands and adds abbreviations. We also have a guide covering the installation process so feel free to give it a look!
And with that, we've reached the end of this blog, we hope this information has introduced you further into Server Management. If you have any questions feel free to contact us through a ticket, or through our Live chat for any Sales questions.
