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So I want to make a webpage...

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bluesea
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Joined: 07/28/2008

Can anyone recommend a good web hosting company?

Also any advice on does and don't of creating a webpage would be GREATLY appreciated. I know that's kind of general, but, I've never made a webpage before. Just looking for a place to start.
(For example some specific questions might be:
What is some good freeware software for making webpages?
Are free domains really free?
Do I need subdomains?
You all see what I mean?)

I think if I could find a good host, most of my questions will be answered.

Thought this might also serve as a good depository for those html inclined to help those of us who are not. :)

Thanks.

John

Nestalawe
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So I want to make a webpage...

Where abouts are you? I am in the UK so can give you advice about some hosts here... The one I am currently with has been a real pain-in-the-arse lately, and my email is currently down, ggrrrr...

Anyway, free webhosts usually require you to have some form of advertising (banners etc) on your site, which is a bit of a bugger, but not so bad if you are just mucking around. Free domains? Not sure, but domains are usually fairly cheap anyways...

It really is best to learn some basic html, even if you just get the hand of different tags - paragraph tags etc. This lets you make simple webpages in any text editor. DO NOT make webpages using Word, as it adds a whole lotta ugly stuff in. Also try not to copy and paste stuff from Word into any software you use...

I use Dreamweaver, so haven't used any free software for a while. The best ones are those that let you shift from html to deisgn view really easily, so you can see what your page looks like straight away.

Learn how to use .css Stylesheets from the start. They will help you chaneg the look and layout of your pages really easily and save you a lot of hassles.

Try not to use frames if you can help it...

Try not to use tables if you can help it...

Learn how to use 'divs' from the start if you can, they are a great way to break up your page into areas, and combined with stylesheets, let you chaneg and edit your pages really really easily... There are some really good tutorials on the web, let me know if you want me to point you towards any...

Anyway, lots of random babbling, if you want any more specific davice, or whatever, let me know here or PM me!

Zzzzz
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So I want to make a webpage...

First of all do you really want a website of your very own? Or would something like a blog on another site be good enough for you?

What is it that makes you want your own site?

You can start with just some blog site like http://www.blogger.com which will allow you to create some content on a webpage. It might be all you need and it is free as far as I know.

If you really want a personal site or company site of your very own a couple of good providers that I have used over the past few years:

http://www.phpwebhosting.com/
http://www.routhost.com/

phpwebhosting is a little high on cost, but seems to be a solid 24/7 provider. routhost.com seem to be good so far and is a pretty cheap $2.95 a month!

As for help with making a website/webpage. I would suggest that you check out a few of the various webpage creator apps located over on this page

bluesea
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Joined: 07/28/2008
So I want to make a webpage...

Quote:
Where abouts are you?

Well that's a good question. At the moment I am in Guinea, West Africa. But I would like the webhost to be from America.

Quote:
DO NOT make webpages using Word, as it adds a whole lotta ugly stuff in. Also try not to copy and paste stuff from Word into any software you use...

Learn how to use .css Stylesheets from the start. They will help you chaneg the look and layout of your pages really easily and save you a lot of hassles.

Try not to use frames if you can help it...

Try not to use tables if you can help it...

Learn how to use 'divs' from the start if you can, they are a great way to break up your page into areas, and combined with stylesheets, let you chaneg and edit your pages really really easily... There are some really good tutorials on the web

This is the kind of concise, no BS information I'm looking for!! CHEERS!

Quote:
let me know if you want me to point you towards any...

PLEASE point away!

Quote:
First of all do you really want a website of your very own? Or would something like a blog on another site be good enough for you?

What is it that makes you want your own site?

Yes I want my own site! It is part of project for my wife and me... and so that I can begin to build my billion dollar board game empire!

Thanks for such quick responses...and please if you can...keep the advice a coming.

cheers.

John

Nestalawe
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So I want to make a webpage...

Good html tutorial site -

http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp

Good intro into stylesheets -

http://www.w3.org/Style/Examples/011/firstcss

Also, when looking for webshosts, esp. the first time, it is easier to try and find one who helps you choose and register a domain name as well, so you are sure to have it all linked up properly.

Also, do check out the links to software Zzzzz pointed to, but also do learn some html basics.

Also, it is helpful if the software you use can upload your files. But no biggie if it doesn't. If it doesn't, you can download many free FTP (File Transfer Protocal) programs which are pretty simple and let you upload your files to your site.

soulbeach
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Joined: 12/31/1969
So I want to make a webpage...

For hosting, i've been using www.dreamhost.com for years. They sometimes have great specials like 9.95$ per month for 100's of gigabites of bandwith and you can host 15 of your sites, or sites from friends or associates. You could even share the hosting with people from this board who are willing to do so :)

For the domain name, it can vary a lot, the last time i renew my lastship.ca domain, i used www.netfirms.ca, it cost me 9.95$ per year: the cheapest i ever found. They can provide some hosting too but i'm not familiar with their offers.

w3school IS great, i used it a lot too.

RookieDesign
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Joined: 12/31/1969
So I want to make a webpage...

I suggest Monster Hosting to my customer. They are base in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Their advantages
They have a very good customer service.
You can have unlimited email account.
You can host unlimited domain.
You have unlimited MySQL database
You can develop in Ruby on Rail

Con
They're not the cheapest but the quality is great.

For your web site. I suggest that you never start a site from scratch. Learning HTML and CSS is a good thing to know, but settle on a good Content Management System (CMS) like Joomla. A CMS is a system that manage News, Blogs, RSS feed, banner, contact sheet and other cool things.

When you take a package with Monster Hosting, you have a Fantastico module. You can then deploy a CMS in a snap. If you want to try different CMS go to Open Source CMS. You can play with different CMS and decide the one you prefer.

Good luck.

---
RookieDesign
Agile Projects and Open Source solutions at M2i3.com

A Smith and Wesson beats four Aces (Unkown)

bluesea
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Joined: 07/28/2008
So I want to make a webpage...

thanks for all the advice. very helpful start!

Quote:

For your web site. I suggest that you never start a site from scratch.

I think that this is the best advice for me. I'm much better at dissection than creation in these matters.

Does anyone know of a good free program that has similar capabilities to dreamweaver?

thanks again

John

RookieDesign
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Joined: 12/31/1969
So I want to make a webpage...

Bluesea,

If you goal is to put information on your game or make a corporate site, you really need a Content Management System like Joomla. These system make it possible to have your own web site up and running in minutes.

You don't have to know all much of the HTML or CSS. Your page will look good because they've incorporated a WYSIWYG interface for your text entry, so no HTML. They're tons of nice template to select from so no CSS knowledge is required.

Other very important point, Google search engine rate your site based on many criteria. One of them is tha the content change often. You will not be able to quickly and easily change your content with static pages.

I see so many badly done site everyday. There's thousand of example everywhere. You will have to stand out of the mass with your corporate site so I suggestion that you take the most efficient way to do it. Trust me on this one. Stay away from this Dreamweaver path, take on the CMS route.

Hugues Lamy
Agile Project and Open Source Solution at M2i3.

A Smith & Wesson beats four aces. (Unknown)

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