I have an ezboard which is doing well for a site that's only 4 months old and I'm thinking of expanding my site in the not too distant future. The problem is I'm still a beginner when it comes to the really technical stuff. Ezboard does most of the work for you so all I had to do was use HTML to customize the look of my site and add extra features. I recently purchased a domain name and right now I'm using the url redirection option so it goes directly to my site. What I want though, once I figure out how to do it, is to create a "front page", using my domain name, to serve as a portal to my messageboards. But in researching webhosts/webservers I see I don't know much. All those technical aspects are over my head. For example, how do I find out how much bandwidth I use/need? How can I program a site if I only know HTML? What is PERL and CGI and how can I learn more? And my last question, are there any good webhosts (1st rate but easy to figure out, like ezboard) that I can create a site with using HTML, browser uploads, and with no pop-ups, that allows me to use my domain name? I'd like a host/server that's fast and consistent. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi,

Well at the moment you are using zero (0) bandwidth. Your ezboard is not located on your server so it does not cost you any datatransfer.

As long as you keep your forum at ezboard I wouldn't worry about bandwidth very much.

How can I program a site if I only know HTML?

HMTL is all you need to program a site. Unless you want a 10 minute flash intro ;)

Perl/cgi are scripts. Samples of perl/cgi scripts are messageboards, counters, guestbooks etc. You do not need to know how to write these programs. You can download them for free. The only thing you need to do is open them up in a text editor and change a few configuration files to fit into your page. Usually very clearly documented how to do it.

there any good webhosts (1st rate but easy to figure out, like ezboard

Ezboard is not a webhost. Ezboard provides boards (easy boards :D )

Most paid hosts can provide what you ask for. In choosing a host make sure they are willing to help you just a little in case you get stuck on a non-server related issue like setting up a cgi-script or some html problems.

Some hosts are willing to do that, just as long as you do not expect them to do your whole site :)

If you intend to keep using EZBOARD, then the only traffic your front page will see is the portal traffic itself. EZBOARD is run off of their own servers so the traffic usage on your hosted front page, would more than likely be about 500 megs to 1 gig per month with very little diskspace being used, depending on the popularity of your message boards.

If you are able to code in html you should have no problem setting up a simple portal page that points to your different message boards, as for PERL,PHP and CGI I dont think you will need to worry about that unless you intend on getting fancy with the portal page itself and there are tons of pre-made scripts to help you out. (These can be found at places like Hotscripts and cgiresource)

Basically all you really need to do is find a reliable host and sign up, after the sign up you will receive the info for your domain name to resolve to that account (nameserver info), simply go to your registrar where the domain was purchased from and add the nameservers that will were given to you by the host, from there simply create a home page to your likings and upload it.

Good luck in you venture and I hope the above answered some of your questions

Thanks for the quick replies. :) What I want, in terms of expanding my site, is to create a front page which will be a portal to my ezboard. I'm very happy with ezboard so I don't want to change to another messageboard, I just want a front page using my domain name where I can post articles, links, and related content, that kind of thing - this front page/portal will have a link to the ezboard. The expansion of the site is for the future; right now my site is small but it's growing. In just 4 months, I've had over 50,000 visits and over 10,000 posts. If the growth continues I'll want to expand and make the site bigger and more professional. So can anyone recommend webhosts (by giving me the names of the top webhosts that offer what I want)?

Read these forums :)

<slightly edited by request of the CDS>

Thanks! :)