How to list your Minecraft server and get more players
A server with no players is a lonely place, and the first ten players are the hardest to find. These things work, roughly in the order you should do them.
1. Be easy to join
If joining takes more than a minute, people leave. Give a short address, say which version to use, and make it work without a whitelist. If you want Bedrock players too, add crossplay, see Bedrock players on a Java server.
2. Describe it in one line
A listing needs a line that tells a stranger what is different about your server. "A cosy survival world with land claims and a map" beats "best server". Add categories such as survival, creative or minigames so people searching can find you.
3. Get on a server list
Server lists are where people who want a new server go. Each shows your name, player count, version and a vote button. Saryno's server list takes every server hosted on Saryno by default: open the Server list tab of your server to write the line, pick categories and add a Discord or website. Servers hosted elsewhere can be added too, once you prove ownership by putting a code in the message of the day.
4. Votes
Players vote for a server once a day, and the most voted rise to the top of the list. The big reason to ask for votes is a reward: the list can send each vote to your server, and a plugin such as VotingPlugin or SuperbVote gives the voter an item or some money. Switch on the vote receiver in the Server list tab and choose the prizes.
5. Give players a home on the web
A community page with announcements, a forum, rules and an application form turns visitors into members. It also shows up in search results, which a Discord server does not.
6. Keep them
Players come back for people, not for features. A few habits help:
- A welcome message and a clear first goal.
- Events at fixed times, announced ahead.
- Quick answers to questions, and fair rules written down.
- Stable performance: lag sends players away, see how to fix lag.
What not to do
Do not buy fake votes or players. Lists remove servers for it, and real players notice an empty server with a high count.