How to make a website and host it
Since there are a lot of inquiries about this subject, I decided to write a guide.
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~A website consists of multiple things...~
*The page code
*The images (optional)
*Hyperlinks (to connect the pages)
*You need a server to host it on
The page code can be one of two things:
Plain html or Server side script
Plain html is non dynamic (cannot connect to databases and other powerful features) and is light on the server because it does not require and processing before sending. This also speeds up the site. It is the easiest to write.
Server side languages. There are man of them, from java , python , perl , asp, php, ruby on rails, and problably others. Php is the most widey used and I recommend it. Ok, now about server side languages. A server side language is proccessed on the server side so it can do a lot more things like retrieving and sending data to a database, loggin information, the possiblities are endless. In the end, it still generates html code that you see in your browser.
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~Building the site~
I will just go over building a plain html page very breifly. If you need to learn to code, search google for a guide.
For building a page or website with out coding, you need a wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) editor. Here is a list of some:
Dreamweaver (the best, but costly) http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/
Nvu (good, and FREE!) www.nvu.com
Frontpage (the worst piece of software ever written. avoid at all costs. also, commercial [you pay for the evil software to the devil])
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~Finding a host~
Finding a good host now is a lot harder than it used to be. The market is very saturated so there are many hosts to choose from. You have to worry about what some call fly-by-night-hosts, or hosts with horrible uptime, non-existant support, and are around for about a month. Many people have been scammed by them or worse- ruining your business's image. Do your homework before purchasing.
*Avoid hosts that gives you unlimitted space, unlimited bandwidth for a any amount of money (see fly-by-night-hosts above). There is no way something can be unlimited.
*Avoid hosts that have spelling many spelling errors on their site, as that shows how much they care for their business presence.
*Avoid large hosts like Geocities, 1&1, Blue host, Dreamhost, Lycos, and the like. They are not all bad, but your money is better spent on a smaller company with better support and more care for their clients. With a big host you should expect out-of-the-country support as well.
Follow those tips and you will have 914% (made up figure) better success in finding a good host.
________________
~Uploading content~
For uploading content, every host I have ever seen will give you ftp access to upload your files. Ftp is a fast and easy way to upload your files and can be done with free software.
Software:
Filezilla for Windows http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/
gFtp for Linux http://gftp.seul.org/
For mac? Not sure, mabey someone else can recommend one
There are many other ftp software titles available use, but I recommend those above.
Your host should provide you with information to access you ftp account, but if they don't, try this:
ftp://<your domain>
The username and password may be the same as your account for the host.
_______________
I hope this guide helps people. It was the best guide I could write in 20 minutes. Could a mod sticky this?
Since there are a lot of inquiries about this subject, I decided to write a guide.
_________________
~A website consists of multiple things...~
*The page code
*The images (optional)
*Hyperlinks (to connect the pages)
*You need a server to host it on
The page code can be one of two things:
Plain html or Server side script
Plain html is non dynamic (cannot connect to databases and other powerful features) and is light on the server because it does not require and processing before sending. This also speeds up the site. It is the easiest to write.
Server side languages. There are man of them, from java , python , perl , asp, php, ruby on rails, and problably others. Php is the most widey used and I recommend it. Ok, now about server side languages. A server side language is proccessed on the server side so it can do a lot more things like retrieving and sending data to a database, loggin information, the possiblities are endless. In the end, it still generates html code that you see in your browser.
_________________
~Building the site~
I will just go over building a plain html page very breifly. If you need to learn to code, search google for a guide.
For building a page or website with out coding, you need a wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) editor. Here is a list of some:
Dreamweaver (the best, but costly) http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/
Nvu (good, and FREE!) www.nvu.com
Frontpage (the worst piece of software ever written. avoid at all costs. also, commercial [you pay for the evil software to the devil])
_________________
~Finding a host~
Finding a good host now is a lot harder than it used to be. The market is very saturated so there are many hosts to choose from. You have to worry about what some call fly-by-night-hosts, or hosts with horrible uptime, non-existant support, and are around for about a month. Many people have been scammed by them or worse- ruining your business's image. Do your homework before purchasing.
*Avoid hosts that gives you unlimitted space, unlimited bandwidth for a any amount of money (see fly-by-night-hosts above). There is no way something can be unlimited.
*Avoid hosts that have spelling many spelling errors on their site, as that shows how much they care for their business presence.
*Avoid large hosts like Geocities, 1&1, Blue host, Dreamhost, Lycos, and the like. They are not all bad, but your money is better spent on a smaller company with better support and more care for their clients. With a big host you should expect out-of-the-country support as well.
Follow those tips and you will have 914% (made up figure) better success in finding a good host.
________________
~Uploading content~
For uploading content, every host I have ever seen will give you ftp access to upload your files. Ftp is a fast and easy way to upload your files and can be done with free software.
Software:
Filezilla for Windows http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/
gFtp for Linux http://gftp.seul.org/
For mac? Not sure, mabey someone else can recommend one
There are many other ftp software titles available use, but I recommend those above.
Your host should provide you with information to access you ftp account, but if they don't, try this:
ftp://<your domain>
The username and password may be the same as your account for the host.
_______________
I hope this guide helps people. It was the best guide I could write in 20 minutes. Could a mod sticky this?
