Website Size & .Mac Query

[HelixOmnimedia]

Hi

Newbie to iWeb and .Mac here.
I've created a simple test site using iWeb, it has a few of my university media photos, a movie trailer, and three (30secs) podcasts. I don't have a .Mac Account, yet, so I published it to a folder on the desktop. The total size of the site (folder and index.html) is 15.2MB.

Can this size be right? So if I get a .Mac Account, and click Publish to .Mac - is that how much of the space I'll be using?

Also...
What am I getting for £68.98 when i purchase a .mac account. I won't be using the .mac e-mail, and none of my friends are on Mac. I don't see any use for syncing iCal, address book. I'll only be using .Mac to publish the website i create - so is it a waste of money if I'm using it for that?
What features does .mac offer using iWeb which other host don't work with?

I'm really in two minds about getting a .mac account or not.
THANKS for any information.

 

[mad jew]

That seems about the right size. I find .Mac quite useless except for keeping my multiple Macs in sync. Since you don't need to do tis, I reckon you should find a cheaper (and faster) host on the 'net and upload your iWeb sites via FTP. It'll be much cheaper for you.

 

[HelixOmnimedia]

That seems about the right size. I find .Mac quite useless except for keeping my multiple Macs in sync. Since you don't need to do tis, I reckon you should find a cheaper (and faster) host on the 'net and upload your iWeb sites via FTP. It'll be much cheaper for you.

If I go with a cheaper and faster host will i loose out on any of the features that I'll be using in the website created in iWeb? Like - podcast subscription, or RSS?

Again thanks for any help and advice

 

[mad jew]

Not that I know of. iWeb includes automatic uploading to .Mac but if you use a different host you'll have to manually publish everything to a folder and then upload it manually via FTP. The only drawback as far as I know is the added hassle this may incur. Nevertheless, I still don't really think .Mac is worth it unless you need to sync multiple Macs. Since you don't need this, I reckon a third party host would be the better option.

By the way, if you want to see how your site will work, publish it to a folder and open the HTML file inside. This will seem the same as running the site on the 'net, but without having to upload it anywhere first. Using this technique may better answer your question as to whether iWeb will work normally when not uploaded to .Mac.