22 replies to this topic

[Nameless_]

Hello to my fellow members on Trap17,

This is Nameless_ here, and I've been here for 2 days. In this time, I have made enough money to host my would be future site for three months with this plan:

Quote

Logic Plan - $1.95 / mo. - FREE SETUP! - When Compromising is not a Choice, a Simple Logic helps :-)
1 GB space * upgradeable to 25GB
10 GB bandwidth * upgradeable to 1024GB/1TB

5 FTP, 5 MySQL, 5 Addon / Parked and 5 Sub-domains.

I don't know if I should start using this plan first, before upgrading, or wait until I can get more expensive ones...
I only know basic scripting (like, only HTML) and I don't know how to get started.

I also want advertising on my site so I can earn some money to help me host, but I don't know how to make the money go straight to Xisto, and I don't and I'm not allowed to get a Paypal account (too young, and still under parent supervision).

I am a total "n00b" to everything and I'm new to this new land of website making, so any help will be greatly appreciated.
If I had something like a graphical program so I can make my site look like what I want it to look like it will be great, but I don't know how to do that.
I think I had Dreamweaver 2004 ages ago, but I think I lost it in my other computer when it crashed...

I don't even know whether the best, which is this:

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Ideal Plan - $11/mo. - FREE SETUP! - Absolutely Un-Metered Space and Bandwidth!

“It is high time that the ideal of success should be replaced by the ideal of service” - Albert Einstein

Unmetered Packages for Peace Lovers :-)

Space : Unlimited
BW : Unlimited
Features : Unlimited.

Subject to only *one* Condition: Don't Abuse your Powers!

...Should be considered, because I don't know if I will ever use up that much space, though I will be putting up my graphical works, which might or might not be big in file size.

And I don't even know what

FTP Accounts
MySQL Databases
Shell Access - On Request
cPanel

and everything else is...

I only knew what domain was 1 day ago, and I am still confused about sub-domains.
Apparently the Hosting site and the Domain site is different, so I'm at lost.

Somebody help!
I was thinking of hosting 2 sites, but the cost may be too much for me, and I cannot keep posting 24/7 as I have a very busy life to tend to.
So I might have to end up hosting one instead, which is rather sad because both of those doesn't relate to each other one bit.

Meaning, that will have to be my personal site with everything I want to put in my sites in that one site.
Somebody please explain the basics of website hosting, tell me which host to get (because in the forums there are a lot of different ones and I don't know which one to get) and tell me what those terms are and what do they mean...

Basically, just teach a complete "baby" of this site how to make a website...
Thanks so much in advance,

Nameless_

[-Sky-]

I would advise you to start with the Logic Plan.
That would be better for you as a starter.

Quote

I also want advertising on my site so I can earn some money to help me host, but I don't know how to make the money go straight to Xisto, and I don't and I'm not allowed to get a Paypal account (too young, and still under parent supervision).

Thats not currently possible at the moment.

-Sky-

Edited by -Sky-, 09 August 2009 - 10:18 AM.

[Nameless_]

Ooooooh...
Thanks for the help, -Sky-.
We CAN change packages once we get started, can't we?

Also, I'll only be able to use the visual programming though, I can't code properly.
Does Logic Plan provide this?

And can we stop the service whenever we want?

[rvalkass]

Nameless_, on Aug 9 2009, 11:54 AM, said:

We CAN change packages once we get started, can't we?

Yup. I think you can upgrade on your own, but downgrading requires sending a support ticket in.

Nameless_, on Aug 9 2009, 11:54 AM, said:

Also, I'll only be able to use the visual programming though, I can't code properly.
Does Logic Plan provide this?

You can use a WYSIWYG editor like Dreamweaver or FrontPage to design your site and upload the files, but I don't think the Logic Plan has anything like that built in to it.

Nameless_, on Aug 9 2009, 11:54 AM, said:

And can we stop the service whenever we want?

If you're on monthly billing then you can stop at the end of each month (when you bill is due). If you're on yearly (or longer) billing then it only really makes sense to stop near to the end of the year (although you can stop any time if you really want to).

[Nameless_]

rvalkass, on Aug 9 2009, 09:14 PM, said:

Yup. I think you can upgrade on your own, but downgrading requires sending a support ticket in.



You can use a WYSIWYG editor like Dreamweaver or FrontPage to design your site and upload the files, but I don't think the Logic Plan has anything like that built in to it.



If you're on monthly billing then you can stop at the end of each month (when you bill is due). If you're on yearly (or longer) billing then it only really makes sense to stop near to the end of the year (although you can stop any time if you really want to).

Thanks rvalkass... I still can't believe how many people with websites are younger than me, and they know how the coding works and all that.
I guess I'll have to start going to the library and look up on scripting books... or download on of those programs...

I don't know which one is good though. Lucky I asked before I purchased the package.
(I won't be suprised if I collected lots of myCENTS and be rich before I even start my website)

[The Simpleton]

The first thing you need to know is that the Logic Plan is sufficient for your purpose. The very fact that it allows 5 add-on domains tells you that it can handle a lot of graphics and stuff. And talking about add-on domains, that means you can host 5 domains with the single Logic Plan(your present target is only 2 websites ). That's why it's an excellent choice for you right now. Once you get to know the other stuff about web designing, you can move on to the advanced plans to take advantage of the extra features.

Quote

I am a total "n00b" to everything and I'm new to this new land of website making, so any help will be greatly appreciated.
If I had something like a graphical program so I can make my site look like what I want it to look like it will be great, but I don't know how to do that.
I think I had Dreamweaver 2004 ages ago, but I think I lost it in my other computer when it crashed...

Don't worry there are a lot of people in a similar situation like you Anyway, "Aptana Studio" or "BlueVoda" are some good alternatives to dreamweaver. I haven't used them personally, but have heard a lot of good things about them.

Quote

And I don't even know what

FTP Accounts
MySQL Databases
Shell Access - On Request
cPanel

and everything else is...

I only knew what domain was 1 day ago, and I am still confused about sub-domains.
Apparently the Hosting site and the Domain site is different, so I'm at lost.

I'll tell you about those things in brief here:

FTP Accounts or File Transfer Protocol Accounts are a simple way to transfer (upload/download) files to your website. Instead of logging in to your website control panel each time to upload your file, you can simply use an FTP client like Filezilla to upload/download files from your websites. You must create an FTP account from your website and this will give you access to your site through the client. well you can always learn about these more once you get to your website

MySQL Databases : I too know very little about this so I don't want to say much, but all I know is that a database is where everything is stored! For example all the posts, topics, member data etc on the trap17 forums are stored in a database. Similarly databases are used whenever you put a blog, portal, etc on your website.

Shell Access Xisto hosts websites on the Linux Operating System platform. This is because Linux provides more security than the Windows OS. In Linux, the traditional way of carrying out operations is through a shell, which is basically an interface between the user and the OS core. Simply put, you type out commands in the shell and it executes them. Shell Access gives full power to the users to administer their websites.

cPanel cPanel is an advanced control panel using which you can control every aspect of your hosting account. You can manage add-on domains, create FTP accounts, databases and add new content to your site......just think of it as a place where you can do anything to your site

Quote

Somebody help!
I was thinking of hosting 2 sites, but the cost may be too much for me, and I cannot keep posting 24/7 as I have a very busy life to tend to.
So I might have to end up hosting one instead, which is rather sad because both of those doesn't relate to each other one bit.

Meaning, that will have to be my personal site with everything I want to put in my sites in that one site.
Somebody please explain the basics of website hosting, tell me which host to get (because in the forums there are a lot of different ones and I don't know which one to get) and tell me what those terms are and what do they mean...

Basically, just teach a complete "baby" of this site how to make a website...
Thanks so much in advance,

If you take the Logic Plan, you pay $1.95 per month towards hosting. And two .com domains cost $9.99 each. You can host both domains on the same hosting account. So it will roughly cost you $35 to host two websites for one year with the Logic Plan. If you post frequently here, you could earn that amount in a month!

Hosting has become very easy these days and since Xisto offers "cPanel" you will find everything easy to do so don't worry If you get into trouble the forum members are ready to help you and if they're busy you can open a support ticket

And once you start maintaining a website, you'll learn a lot along the way so you'll feel confident about your skills soon. I hope this post helped you. If not, please say so. All the best with your website plans

[Nameless_]

Yes your post helped me a lot...
I know what the terms mean know, sound like I have the power of God in my website, I can't wait to get started...

I downloaded Aptana Studio, but I haven't tried it yet. I will soon though. I hope all will go well with this. I have some design layouts in my head, so I might post them up once I'm done with them on Photoshop for tips of how to actually do it on the actual website...

What's WYSIWYG editor? Aptana isn't one, it said on the website, but Dreamweaver is... Something like do it yourself or something? I don't know...

But I'm glad to have you around, and I'm happy that you helped me...
Looking forward to seeing you around and learning more about coding!
(I'm doing the design template first though, so I'll have an extra stash of myCENTS on hand when I start in case I mess anything and everything up, which is what I usually do)

And I'll be snooping around the forums for tips and hints.

Thanks so much, kasperooney.

[rvalkass]

Nameless_, on Aug 9 2009, 02:19 PM, said:

What's WYSIWYG editor? Aptana isn't one, it said on the website, but Dreamweaver is... Something like do it yourself or something? I don't know...

WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get

Basically, a WYSYWIG editor lets you edit your pages as they will eventually appear, without having to do the code yourself.

[Nameless_]

Oh... and Aptana doesn't have it.

And that is exactly what I need! I'll have to find some other software then, I need WYSIWYG editing software and I can't code and all that.

[TheDisturbedOne]

Dreamweaver has a great WYSIWYG editor. You may want to look into installing a Content Management System, to make your website easier to build.

[rpgsearcherz]

CMS are nice to a point but if the site is not going to be one with hundreds or thousands of pages it would be better to use a flat file system (.html's and stuff - like you would with Dreamweaver).

To be honest even some larger sites are better flat file. CMS requires the use of PHP/SQL usually, which takes longer to load due to having to search for the information from a database to pull.

For someone who is new I would definitely suggest going flat file. It's easier to customise because you aren't bound to "themes" and all of that (like "modules"), and you have full customisability for the entire site.

As you get better and learn how to code/change codes that is when you would want to think about moving to a CMS (as you would have a better understanding as to what is going on).


Plus, from my personal experiences, flat file systems are much, much easier to back up and restore! You just send them to the server, no needing to edit databases, upload them, ensure everything points to the right spot, etc.

BTW, Welcome!

[TheDisturbedOne]

I actually find that having a database is easier to backup and restore. You can just download a database and all the pages are in it. With static pages you have to download each page, which all have the same layout when you can just have the layout on one file and all that data in the database.

Also I find that if you are running something off a database it uses less space.

[rpgsearcherz]

TheDisturbedOne, on Aug 9 2009, 07:54 PM, said:

I actually find that having a database is easier to backup and restore. You can just download a database and all the pages are in it. With static pages you have to download each page, which all have the same layout when you can just have the layout on one file and all that data in the database.

Also I find that if you are running something off a database it uses less space.

With a database you also have to ensure the DB's are set up right and when a DB goes down you must fix it. I've yet to experience any issues where a normal file would not load due to some weird issue.

And when you are getting thousands of hits a day a DB can be killed, causing you to need dedicated server(s) to handle the load.

I personally use a CMS on everything because I add a lot of pages and it's less of a hassle, but I've found load time and everything else to be slower by doing so.

[Nameless_]

Everyone on this post that is trying to help me...
You've lost me there.

Firstly, I have absolutely no idea what CMS (Control Management Systems) are, and I don't know where to download it...
And I have no idea what a DB (database) and flat file system is...

So you have completely lost me...
Darn, creating a website is much much much more harder than I thought...

There's all these controls and prompts and panels with limited space and bandwidth (which I think allows a certain limited amount of people on the site, though I might be wrong on that) that I don't really understand how to use, though I kinda half know and half not know it's function, plus all the coding work that I have minimal knowledge of but I have to use, and all the WYSIWYG software that is lacking on my computer, making it HARDER for me...

Even if I had Dreamweaver, I wouldn't know how to upload it on the hosting server and on the internet, so...


This is so sad... I'm starting to wonder whether I should just get one of those crappy Webs.com and Weebly.com sites instead and stuff everything else..

BUT I'm going to and I will persevere until the end, with the help of many Trap 17 members on this great forum.

[rvalkass]

Nameless_, on Aug 10 2009, 09:27 AM, said:

Firstly, I have absolutely no idea what CMS (Control Management Systems) are, and I don't know where to download it...

A content management system is a set of scripts you use to basically 'run' your website for you. They have online editors for the pages and posts you make, downloadable themes for your website, etc. There are plenty of very popular ones depending on what you want to use your site for. If you look at this list of free CMS software then you can see screenshots of what they look like by default (although they can all be themed) and try out demos of how each one works, so you can see if you like them.

They can be tricky to set up, but that only has to be done once - they're all very easy to use afterwards. Drop me a PM if you want me to set one up for you to try out

Nameless_, on Aug 10 2009, 09:27 AM, said:

And I have no idea what a DB (database) and flat file system is...

A database holds all the information for a site using a CMS (such as users, posts, pages, etc.) in big tables which can easily be searched, manipulated, etc. to produce interesting results. They're faster than using flat text files, but can be trickier to set up to start with.

A flat file system stores all that in plain text files. They're easier to work with, but slower to open so make your pages slower to load.

Nameless_, on Aug 10 2009, 09:27 AM, said:

There's all these controls and prompts and panels with limited space and bandwidth (which I think allows a certain limited amount of people on the site, though I might be wrong on that) that I don't really understand how to use, though I kinda half know and half not know it's function, plus all the coding work that I have minimal knowledge of but I have to use, and all the WYSIWYG software that is lacking on my computer, making it HARDER for me...

Space = space to store all your files in, just like space on your hard drive or a USB pen drive or something
Bandwidth = amount of content you can transfer in a given time (usually gigabytes per month). It doesn't limit the amount of people on the site, but limits how much can be downloaded from your site in a month. So, pages are generally small and don't make much of a dent in your bandwidth. Movies and music files are big, so lots of downloads can take a chunk from your bandwidth each month.

Nameless_, on Aug 10 2009, 09:27 AM, said:

Even if I had Dreamweaver, I wouldn't know how to upload it on the hosting server and on the internet, so...

Drag and drop normally works well. Once you have a site (if you make your own rather than using a CMS) then we can walk you through the process. It is the same as copying a file or folder on your computer, but using a special program to do it.

Nameless_, on Aug 10 2009, 09:27 AM, said:

This is so sad... I'm starting to wonder whether I should just get one of those crappy Webs.com and Weebly.com sites instead and stuff everything else..

NEVER! You'll get your site!

[Nameless_]

Ooh, thanks for the support.

Those content management systems sounds really good, but I think I have to set up my site first before I use one... or I think that's how it works. Anyhow, I'll take a quick look at the list and see what's on it.

The PM will definitely come though, just depends on when I do it.
I kind of already have a design on my website, but getting started with a Content Management System would be excellent for starters...

And for Bandwidth, now that I know what it is, isn't a problem for me anymore, and I won't be putting up lots of contents, and almost definitely not music or movies files (almost definitely because I might change my mind - you never know, people change).

I might have to do a quick research on the differences between Databases and Flat File Systems before I get started though, I have heard it is hard to change once you get up and running, and I want to avoid all the hussle and fuss once I get started.

And thank you so much for your post, rvalkass.
You're a pro.

[rpgsearcherz]

Nameless_, on Aug 10 2009, 04:03 AM, said:

Ooh, thanks for the support.

Those content management systems sounds really good, but I think I have to set up my site first before I use one... or I think that's how it works. Anyhow, I'll take a quick look at the list and see what's on it.

The PM will definitely come though, just depends on when I do it.
I kind of already have a design on my website, but getting started with a Content Management System would be excellent for starters...

And for Bandwidth, now that I know what it is, isn't a problem for me anymore, and I won't be putting up lots of contents, and almost definitely not music or movies files (almost definitely because I might change my mind - you never know, people change).

I might have to do a quick research on the differences between Databases and Flat File Systems before I get started though, I have heard it is hard to change once you get up and running, and I want to avoid all the hussle and fuss once I get started.

And thank you so much for your post, rvalkass.
You're a pro.

A CMS takes the place of your website. More or less instead of using custom .html's and whatnot (index.html, xxxx.html, etc.) you will be using "index.php" to pull information from the database - it will pull *everything* from there pretty much - page names, information, etc.

As for changing between the two, it's not really that hard. If you ever do you can just copy and paste all the information from all the pages of one into the pages of the other (assuming it's a small site).

[Nameless_]

Hmm... so, is there a place to download CMSs?
I don't know... or will it be embedded into the Xisto's Logic Plan system?

Re:
I have taken a look at the Aptana Studio...
Everything looks so complicated! I actually went to the site and to learn how to use it, but the video tutorials are so hard, with the CEO talking about the different functions and things that I have completely NO idea about.

It's just like listening to a nerd talking about derivatives and tangents and all that - technical terms and technical meanings...

Also, I might not need to have a WYSIWYG editor after all, after going back to my long lost but not so long lost site of w3schools.com.
They give you sample places where you can try our coding and editing, so I might be able to code up there and then copy and paste the code somewhere safe so I can take it out for editing later if I want to.

But I still want to master Aptana Studio... using w3schools.com isn't a long term solution, and while I can learn how to code on there, I will still need a program with everything I need on it as a file so I won't need to get scared about loosing the code or whatever...

If I can only find that Dreamweaver MX2004 that I have lost so long ago...

[rvalkass]

Nameless_, on Aug 10 2009, 01:26 PM, said:

Hmm... so, is there a place to download CMSs?
I don't know... or will it be embedded into the Xisto's Logic Plan system?

Generally you can download them from their respective websites. The list I linked to earlier has links to each CMS's website on their pages, where you can download them and find out even more about them.

When you get your hosting it includes Fantastico, which lets you install various scripts automatically, including CMSs. It includes the following CMSs:

Quote

Drupal
Geeklog
Joomla
Mambo
PHP-Nuke
phpWCMS
phpWebSite
Post-Nuke
Siteframe
TYPO3
Xoops

If you want a different one to those listed, you will need to install it yourself.

Nameless_, on Aug 10 2009, 01:26 PM, said:

Everything looks so complicated! I actually went to the site and to learn how to use it, but the video tutorials are so hard, with the CEO talking about the different functions and things that I have completely NO idea about.

It's just like listening to a nerd talking about derivatives and tangents and all that - technical terms and technical meanings...

Aptana looks like overkill for what you want. It's geared more towards people writing web applications in PHP and stuff, which you don't want to be doing right now. Try out one of the other ones I PM'd to you to see if they're better for you - remember they're all free!

[Nameless_]

Oops... OK, wrong program then... :-/

I think I kinda know what CMSs really do now, there are a couple of sites that used Joomla, and I know that they help you set up your site and help you make it look it however you want it to look.

I will get started with one of those, most likely Joomla, as I've seen what can be created with them.
Fantastico sounds Fantastic for starters like me!
(no lame pun intended)

And meanwhile, I'll be able to go on w3schools.com and learn HTML, CSS and all that, and I can experiment and refine my website building skills while I have a website running already.

Is it hard to change from CMSs to your own template?

[rpgsearcherz]

Nameless_, on Aug 10 2009, 04:31 PM, said:

Oops... OK, wrong program then... :-/

I think I kinda know what CMSs really do now, there are a couple of sites that used Joomla, and I know that they help you set up your site and help you make it look it however you want it to look.

I will get started with one of those, most likely Joomla, as I've seen what can be created with them.
Fantastico sounds Fantastic for starters like me!
(no lame pun intended)

And meanwhile, I'll be able to go on w3schools.com and learn HTML, CSS and all that, and I can experiment and refine my website building skills while I have a website running already.

Is it hard to change from CMSs to your own template?

It's pretty easy once you get an understanding of what you are doing.

Both of these sites were made by using Joomla (my personal sites)

http://www.bryworld.com
www.clan takeover.com/aion (Remove the space - I put it there to keep Google from indexing that address.)

As for the Aion site, it helps show a lot more of Joomla's capabilities.

Edited by rpgsearcherz, 10 August 2009 - 09:39 PM.

[rvalkass]

Nameless_, on Aug 10 2009, 10:31 PM, said:

Is it hard to change from CMSs to your own template?

Most CMSs have extensive documentation and tutorials available for making your own themes/skins/templates/whatever for that CMS. Most also have a large variety of pre-made themes you can download if you want to use one of those. However, some are easier to work with than others, so before you pick which CMS to go with, make sure you check out how to theme it and whether you think you would be able to learn how.

If you want to switch from a CMS to normal HTML files you make yourself then that is easy - delete the CMS's files and database, and upload your files in its place. However, removing the CMS means you lose all the content you put in to the site! So, you'd have to be very careful to make sure you copy and pasted anything you'd written or uploaded to the CMS into pages on your new site. To be honest, I can't see why people would make this move - a CMS makes things much easier as your site grows.

[Nameless_]

To rpgsearchez:

Wow... actually, Joomla is actually really quite good... I might not need to learn any coding with HTML and stuff after all (but I still am in the meantime).
I have been to your bryworld (it was on your profile) and like it, apart from the "Powered by Joomla!" bit, but your gaming site (which looks even better) doesn't have that, so I'm suspected I can take it off, which is wonderful!!!

(I don't know if you've heard or seen in your comment box, but I might give in an article on psychology... but I don't know very specific information on that, so it might not be as good as you might want it to be. And it'll take a long time to write as I'm pretty busy)

To rvalkass:
Nice... I'll definitely start with a CMS then (definitely Joomla! too) and start my site off with that. Now I just have to learn how to use it, and build a stash of myCENTS for emergencies in case I won't be online for a while, which is quite often.

It sounds easy to use, just depends on what your definition of "easy" is...