Website hosting

[kia027]

Hi
I have been asked to create a website for a small group that I belong to. We would need a domain name & free hosting. I would also like to be able to find a way to build the website easily (ie a basic website in about 45 minutes).

Nice to haves
Calendar
Newsletter updates
Email addy with the domain name

The org is a registered charitable organization

Any ideas as to where I could start?

[SistahD]

Re: Website hosting

((Kia)) I have found that many of the free sites, while they may start out fine, they quickly become inundated with popups and banner ads.

I switched to using doteasy.com -they have a very reasonable annual fee for a basic package, no monthly charges extra mailboxes, features for guestbook, poll, directory, FAQ's etc and very easy to download a site. You can pick/search your name (with the ending .org if you choose)


For simplicity in designing a site, I have used Netscape Composer; to transfer to the site: ws_ftp

[Rebycman]

Re: Website hosting

I don't do free hosting but I can put you on the right track. First of all you will need a WYSIWYG(What you see is what you get) html editor to build your site. Personally I use notepad and DreamWeaver to build my sites. I don't think 45min is a reasonable time frame to build a site...it usually takes me about 2 weeks to one month to build a site with graphics, content, etc.

In addition to a editor you are also going to need a host that has an email server for your domain addy's and your newsletter. Pretty simple stuff but make sure your host runs anti virus and has some level of spam filters.

You may want to check locally for a web host. Its much easier to get things done if you don't have to call a 1800 number and wait 45min before somebody helps ya. If you insist on a free host then as SistahD said, expect ads and popups. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Many smaller ISP's offer affordable hosting services so if you cant find a geek try the phone book for ISP's.

Regards,

-Reby

[NapiHead327]

Re: Website hosting

So what if you need a website to do business. Are there any good ones that provide the shopping cart, email, etc? Thanks

[kia027]

Re: Website hosting

Originally posted by SistahD:
[qb] ((Kia)) I have found that many of the free sites, while they may start out fine, they quickly become inundated with popups and banner ads.

I switched to using doteasy.com -they have a very reasonable annual fee for a basic package, no monthly charges extra mailboxes, features for guestbook, poll, directory, FAQ's etc and very easy to download a site. You can pick/search your name (with the ending .org if you choose)


For simplicity in designing a site, I have used Netscape Composer; to transfer to the site: ws_ftp [/qb]

Thanks SistahD.. I will ret doteasy.com and I have used Netscape Composer in the past (when I used to work with developers as a way to give them a look & feel of what one of our systems should look like)

I'll go load netscape (I use Mozilla at the moment)

[kia027]

Re: Website hosting

Originally posted by Rebycman:
[qb] I don't do free hosting but I can put you on the right track. First of all you will need a WYSIWYG(What you see is what you get) html editor to build your site. Personally I use notepad and DreamWeaver to build my sites. I don't think 45min is a reasonable time frame to build a site...it usually takes me about 2 weeks to one month to build a site with graphics, content, etc.

In addition to a editor you are also going to need a host that has an email server for your domain addy's and your newsletter. Pretty simple stuff but make sure your host runs anti virus and has some level of spam filters.

You may want to check locally for a web host. Its much easier to get things done if you don't have to call a 1800 number and wait 45min before somebody helps ya. If you insist on a free host then as SistahD said, expect ads and popups. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Many smaller ISP's offer affordable hosting services so if you cant find a geek try the phone book for ISP's.

Regards,

-Reby [/qb]

Good idea on finding a webhost.. There is a place near here that offers webhosting will go take a look see today as well.

[Jah_Mamma]

Re: Website hosting

Napi try this one.

http://www.cubecart.com/site/demo/

[chitowngirl]

Re: Website hosting

I've been using yahoo sitebuilder since mid-July...

I would LOVE to hear more about "dreamweaver"...

(((rebycman...gimmie awl di dutty details!!!)))

domain name $65(?) (a year) don't remember for sure but cost was minimal...

webhosting "starter" $11.95 (a month)...includes ALL the features discussed previously in this thread...email addresses, html script, shopping cart, add-ons, file manager, the list goes on and on and on...

paypal $no monthly/yearly (I chose to pay a small fee per transaction)...tools to set up shopping cart using paypal included in yahoo sitebuilder...

I do agree that your timeline for getting a webpage set up is unrealistic (sorry to say)...I started out thinking the same thing and I have spent HOURS and HOURS and HOURS getting it up and running!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rebycman]

Re: Website hosting

A domain name should be cheap ($8.00 - $13.00 a year - I use 000domains.com for mine) but domain names are subject to availability. For example you can’t buy the domain name jamaicans.com unless Xavier doesn’t renew when it expires. Stick with a .com .net or .org domain name, stay away from the .info type extensions.

DreamWeaver is a powerful WYSIWYG editor. I LOVE it because it offers so many functions; one of the most important to me is a split screen. What that means is when I'm coding a webpage the screen shows me both the html code and a WYSIWYG preview. It’s much easier to design pages with the split screen so you can see exactly what's going on. The only drawback is Adobe bought Macromedia out...argh! I'm no fan of Adobe but lets hope they don't screw up DreamWeaver like the rest of their buggy software. DreamWeaver is not a free program but you can probably buy a discounted version off Ebay, or find a starving college student and have him buy you an educational version.

You can get a mix of free scripts out on the net that does just about anything you can imagine. If nothing else you can use the free scripts to learn off of. I often visit hotscripts.com when I need something (and too lazy to do it myself hehe). The reason I say this is because you can get things like paypal online stores for free...just takes a bit of tinkering to get it working the way you want it.

Please, PLEASE stay away from the free hosting sites like Yahoo, angelfire, and geocities...its a waste of your time. About the only thing those free hosting sites are good for are blogs. They run ads on your pages (annoying ones), and limit bandwidth (and when you go over your free allotment of bandwidth, they shut down your site until next month)....that just bites.

Anyway...gotta get back to work.

Questions?

-Reby

[Travellah]

Re: Website hosting

Originally posted by Rebycman:
[qb] A domain name should be cheap ($8.00 - $13.00 a year - I use 000domains.com for mine) but domain names are subject to availability. For example you can’t buy the domain name jamaicans.com unless Xavier doesn’t renew when it expires. Stick with a .com .net or .org domain name, stay away from the .info type extensions.

DreamWeaver is a powerful WYSIWYG editor. I LOVE it because it offers so many functions; one of the most important to me is a split screen. What that means is when I'm coding a webpage the screen shows me both the html code and a WYSIWYG preview. It’s much easier to design pages with the split screen so you can see exactly what's going on. The only drawback is Adobe bought Macromedia out...argh! I'm no fan of Adobe but lets hope they don't screw up DreamWeaver like the rest of their buggy software. DreamWeaver is not a free program but you can probably buy a discounted version off Ebay, or find a starving college student and have him buy you an educational version.

You can get a mix of free scripts out on the net that does just about anything you can imagine. If nothing else you can use the free scripts to learn off of. I often visit hotscripts.com when I need something (and too lazy to do it myself hehe). The reason I say this is because you can get things like paypal online stores for free...just takes a bit of tinkering to get it working the way you want it.

Please, PLEASE stay away from the free hosting sites like Yahoo, angelfire, and geocities...its a waste of your time. About the only thing those free hosting sites are good for are blogs. They run ads on your pages (annoying ones), and limit bandwidth (and when you go over your free allotment of bandwidth, they shut down your site until next month)....that just bites.

Anyway...gotta get back to work.

Questions?

-Reby [/qb]

[Travellah]

Re: Website hosting

what do you think of bravenet.com?

[chitowngirl]

Re: Website hosting

Originally posted by Rebycman:
[qb] Please, PLEASE stay away from the free hosting sites like Yahoo, angelfire, and geocities...its a waste of your time. About the only thing those free hosting sites are good for are blogs. They run ads on your pages (annoying ones), and limit bandwidth (and when you go over your free allotment of bandwidth, they shut down your site until next month)....that just bites.

Questions?

-Reby [/qb]

my sister-in-law uses a FREE service to post her children's pics so the whole family can view them at one central location...half the time even that is a problem...

so, you think the small business webpage builders (pay-per-month plans) purchased via yahoo (or other comparable services) are garbage too??... [img]/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

are there "compatability" issues if you switch services?...

(((btw, I LOVE (generally) Adobe...used for documents at work and photoshop at home)))

[Rebycman]

Re: Website hosting

chitown - No not really. I'm just a geek and I host my own sites on my own server. I have used the free sites in the past, its where I built my first website...and omg what an ugly first site that was lol. If you are happy with yahoo then that's cool, but I'm not a fan of yahoo. I wouldnt say these sites are really garbage, its just not a good host for a business. If you are aware of the drawbacks of these hosts and still think its a good idea then go ahead and use them. If it aint broke, don't fix it [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

There can be compatability issues when you switch servers/hosts. Not all web hosts are the same and may not even offer the same services (php, mysql, asp, java, pop3, smtp, imap, etc). If your page was coded with anything other than html it might not work on a new host without some tinkering. Generally speaking you shouldnt have too many compatability issues unless you run scripts (forums, database connections, form to email scripts).

Adobe...I've never been a fan. Their browser plugins often crash the browser. They have gotten better in recent years but I still get calls from clients with questions/problems with adobe. I also don't like the interface (GUI) in adobe pro when designing a new pdf. It doesnt pull off a html or text editor...its some kind of weak hybrid. I dunno, I am just not keen on their products.

Anyway there ya have it. I hope I don't sound too grumpy...I'm not honest...just havent had my coffee this morning [img]/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Regards,

-Reby

[kia027]

Re: Website hosting

how hard would it be to host via my own server

thinking of a laptop I have sitting around that could work for this purpose

[Rebycman]

Re: Website hosting

Depends on your techie skills Kia. I can build a server in a few hours and get it online. But I'm not going to lie to ya, there is a lot of information to absorb before you attempt to setup a server.

I would'nt put a webserver on a laptop because they just were not designed to run 24/7/365. The first thing to fail would probably be the power supply which could hose your entire server (hard drive, ram, motherboard, processor).

If nothing else scab a low end machine together and use it. You don't need a lot of power to run website that does'nt get high volume traffic. A P3 700mhz could run a dozen medium traffic websites off a single home broadband connection.

Unless you are really into this stuff I would'nt suggest setting up your own server. I do it because I enjoy it and I like to learn...no better way to learn something than just going out and doing it.

Ok enough slacking off...back to work.

Regards,

-Reby