Help!!

[will waters]

Hi

I am still very new to web design and I have built a website on iWeb, what do I now do to let people over the Internet, I know that you have to buy a domain name but can you run the website of a computer that does not run server software? Ideally a guide of how to do it would be ideal, however just some advice would be fantastic.

Thanks Will

 

[nomade]

You need a domaine name
You need a hosting server
You need to point your domain name to your server (DNS)
you need to ftp the files that compose your site on on your server
and that's it... basically

 

[Cromulent]

Just to add though that you should never use FTP to upload files to your server as it will send everything in clear text format over the internet including your username and password. Always use SFTP (this is the preferred choice) or FTPS.

 

[will waters]

You need a domaine name
You need a hosting server
You need to point your domain name to your server (DNS)
you need to ftp the files that compose your site on on your server
and that's it... basically

So can you use a computer without server software as a hosting server?

 

[7on]

So can you use a computer without server software as a hosting server?

Nope you need server software on the hosting computer. Just go to holeinthewallhosting.com and they should take care of you. If you want a domain name, try hover.com. (holeinthewall will set you up with a yourname.holeinthewallhosting.com address, but having yourown.com is insanely better.

Both will have yearly fees, but these are about the cheapest I've found.

 

[wpotere]

Nope you need server software on the hosting computer. Just go to holeinthewallhosting.com and they should take care of you. If you want a domain name, try hover.com. (holeinthewall will set you up with a yourname.holeinthewallhosting.com address, but having yourown.com is insanely better.

Both will have yearly fees, but these are about the cheapest I've found.

Not really true.... You can use a regular machine to host, but if using windows, connections will be limited. I used to host a blog on XP using Apache and had no problems. Even now you can still load up Win 7 or Mac OSX with Apache and host away.

 

[will waters]

old computer

Not really true.... You can use a regular machine to host, but if using windows, connections will be limited. I used to host a blog on XP using Apache and had no problems. Even now you can still load up Win 7 or Mac OSX with Apache and host away.

ok thanks, i have quite a few old Macs around (all with PPC processors should this make a difference?) also i do not understand what you mean regarding mac and pc problems? Also how do you use apache?

Thanks Will

 

[wpotere]

ok thanks, i have quite a few old Macs around (all with PPC processors should this make a difference?) also i do not understand what you mean regarding mac and pc problems? Also how do you use apache?

Thanks Will

What are you trying to host? It can make a difference on what is available for you to run.

If you really have no idea on what you are doing from a host perspective, it might be better to let a professional hosting company handle it. If you are wanting to learn, there are a lot of books on Apache and/or IIS. You are getting ready to dive into what can be a confusing area if you are not IT savvy.

You can start here...

http://www.apache.org/

 

[7on]

Not really true.... You can use a regular machine to host, but if using windows, connections will be limited. I used to host a blog on XP using Apache and had no problems. Even now you can still load up Win 7 or Mac OSX with Apache and host away.

Nope, you need server software. Apache is the server software in this case.

I think the OP would be better advised to pay for hosting. Getting into the nitty gritty of hosting it yourself on your own computer is generally not worth it. If he wants to do it as a hobby and learn all about it then there are plenty of instructions online about how to set one up. But seeing as he phrased the question as "How do I get my website online" and not "How do I host a website from my home computer" I assumed he wanted the easiest method.

Just like there's a fundamental difference between saying "How can I get the oil changed in my car?" and "How do I change the oil in my car?"

 

[wpotere]

Nope, you need server software. Apache is the server software in this case.

I think the OP would be better advised to pay for hosting. Getting into the nitty gritty of hosting it yourself on your own computer is generally not worth it. If he wants to do it as a hobby and learn all about it then there are plenty of instructions online about how to set one up. But seeing as he phrased the question as "How do I get my website online" and not "How do I host a website from my home computer" I assumed he wanted the easiest method.

Just like there's a fundamental difference between saying "How can I get the oil changed in my car?" and "How do I change the oil in my car?"

I think the OP wanted to know if he needed server as in the operating system.

That being said, yes, Apache is server software. As for getting into the nitty gritty, perhaps he wants to learn so why not offer up the assistance? Apache is fairly secure right out of the box and he seems to be learning web design so he needs to understand the technology that drives it. Lastly he asked about hosting it and if he is willing to learn I am willing to help.

I'm glad you feel that the OP would be better off but how about we let him decide.

 

[will waters]

thanks

I think the OP wanted to know if he needed server as in the operating system.

That being said, yes, Apache is server software. As for getting into the nitty gritty, perhaps he wants to learn so why not offer up the assistance? Apache is fairly secure right out of the box and he seems to be learning web design so he needs to understand the technology that drives it. Lastly he asked about hosting it and if he is willing to learn I am willing to help.

I'm glad you feel that the OP would be better off but how about we let him decide.

Ok cheers, thanks for the help, i am a bit of a tech savvy and will probably be studying IT at UNI, so i will try and learn how to use apache thanks wpotere for your advice, if i have any problems i will message you

Thanks Will

 

[wpotere]

Ok cheers, thanks for the help, i am a bit of a tech savvy and will probably be studying IT at UNI, so i will try and learn how to use apache thanks wpotere for your advice, if i have any problems i will message you

Thanks Will

No problem! There are actually some decent sites on how to install and use Apache and it is already installed on your Mac so that is a great place to start. In this case, Google is your friend!

 

[-pete-]

I think this really depends on what you want to do:

If you want to make a website that will be seen by the outside world without having to mess around with DNS and Static IPs (which you will have to do running your own server) then you really would be better off getting a hosting and domain package from someone else, I've used godaddy before and they are OK but there are plenty of others to choose from.

If you want to just play around with the code, test or just generally do things you aren't fussed if the outside world sees then run a server. The built in Apache offered by OSX is great but for newb friendly "plug and play" I would recommend you try MAMP, its free, fast, and dead easy to install and manage.