If it’s mostly just the price that you’re not happy about with Evernote, have you considered using a Joplin Cloud subscription? That is presumably a lot cheaper and you wouldn’t have to do all the techy stuff as its fully hosted.
On another note, you mentioning that you’re not a tech did make me re-read your posts, and one thing in particular stood out:
shared @ Siteground
Maybe because it is shared hosting that might have something to do with the issue. Also I asked ChatGPT about a potential Joplin issue with Sitegeound Nextcloud hosting specifically getting a 403 error and it came up with a suggestion as well as suggested shared hosting might not be the best option with Joplin:
You said:
Siteground nextcloud issue joplin
ChatGPT said:
If you're having a Joplin + Nextcloud issue on SiteGround, this is a very common setup problem. SiteGround’s shared hosting has some limitations that often break Joplin sync.
Let’s narrow it down quickly 👇
Are you getting one of these errors?
❌ “Unsupported WebDAV URL”
❌ 405 / 404 errors
❌ Timeout
❌ Joplin says sync complete but nothing uploads
❌ “Sabre\DAV\Exception\NotFound”
❌ “Unknown error 2”
🔎 Why This Happens on SiteGround
SiteGround shared hosting:
Has strict execution limits
Often blocks long WebDAV operations
May have aggressive ModSecurity rules
Sometimes disables required Nextcloud background jobs
Nextcloud needs:
Proper WebDAV endpoint
Working cron jobs
Enough memory (512MB+ recommended)
No WebDAV blocking
Joplin sync uses:
WebDAV (not the regular Nextcloud web UI)
Many small file transactions
Lock files that some hosts block
✅ 1. Correct WebDAV URL for Joplin
In Joplin → Sync target → Nextcloud
Use:
https://yourdomain.com/remote.php/dav/files/YOUR_USERNAME/Joplin
NOT:
https://yourdomain.com/nextcloud
If unsure, check in Nextcloud:
Settings → WebDAV → Copy URL
✅ 2. Create the Joplin Folder Manually
Log into Nextcloud via browser:
Create folder named:
Joplin
Make sure it’s empty
Then try sync again
✅ 3. Check Background Jobs (VERY common SiteGround issue)
In Nextcloud:
Settings → Administration → Basic settings
Background jobs should be:
Cron
NOT Ajax.
SiteGround often leaves it on Ajax, which breaks sync reliability.
✅ 4. Increase PHP Limits (Critical)
In SiteGround Site Tools → PHP Manager:
Set:
Memory limit: 512M
Max execution time: 300
Max input time: 300
✅ 5. Disable ModSecurity (If 405 / 403 errors)
In SiteGround → Security → ModSecurity
Temporarily disable and test sync.
If it works after disabling → that's your issue.
⚠️ Important: SiteGround + Nextcloud Reliability
Many users report that heavy WebDAV apps like Joplin:
Work at first
Then randomly fail
Or corrupt sync state
This is because shared hosting isn’t ideal for Nextcloud.
🚀 Better Alternatives (If Problems Continue)
If you're serious about using Joplin + Nextcloud long term:
Better hosting options:
VPS (DigitalOcean, Hetzner)
Managed Nextcloud provider
Or use Joplin Cloud
🧪 Quick Test
In browser, open:
https://yourdomain.com/remote.php/dav/files/YOUR_USERNAME/
If you see XML response → WebDAV works
If you see error → hosting issue
If you tell me:
The exact error message
Whether you're on shared or cloud hosting
Whether this worked before
I can diagnose it precisely and give you the correct fix.
You said:
Getting 403 error
ChatGPT said:
A 403 Forbidden with Joplin + Nextcloud on SiteGround almost always means ModSecurity or permissions blocking WebDAV.
Since you're on SiteGround and syncing Joplin with Nextcloud, here’s the exact checklist to fix it:
✅ Step 1 — Disable ModSecurity (Most Common Fix)
On SiteGround:
Site Tools → Security → ModSecurity → OFF
Then immediately test sync again in Joplin.
👉 If it works after disabling, ModSecurity is the cause.
You can leave it off or ask SiteGround support to whitelist WebDAV rules for Nextcloud.