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  1. #1

    Need a host -- please talk to me like I'm a 5 year old

    I am interested in starting a website that talks about music CDs. I need three components:

    1) Forums -- where anyone with a membership (which is free) can post a topic or respond to a post. I envision three different forums (on the home page these would have three different looks and locations). One forum is to talk about anything, one is to write a review about a CD, and one is entitled "What I'm Listening to Now" for short (maximum 100-character) messages.

    2) Classified ads -- where members can post free classified ads to sell their CDs, albums, etc.

    3) The ability to eventually have AdSense ads, banner ads, etc.

    And I would like to start this very inexpensively, learning as I go.

    The reason I said you should talk to me like I'm a 5 year old is because I have absolutely no experience running a website and am not that good with computers although I make my living with a small ebay store.

    Thanks for any advice you can give me, especially some suggestions on choosing a host.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Weebles View Post
    I am interested in starting a website that talks about music CDs. I need three components:
    Ok, just make very careful not to post lyrics, cd covers, or any actual music or you're going to end up getting a DMCA take-down notice.

    Quote Originally Posted by Weebles View Post
    1) Forums -- where anyone with a membership (which is free) can post a topic or respond to a post. I envision three different forums (on the home page these would have three different looks and locations). One forum is to talk about anything, one is to write a review about a CD, and one is entitled "What I'm Listening to Now" for short (maximum 100-character) messages.
    There is phpBB3 which is free, myBB which is free, and SMF which is free - all three will do this.

    Quote Originally Posted by Weebles View Post
    2) Classified ads -- where members can post free classified ads to sell their CDs, albums, etc.
    I don't know of any off the top of my head but you could check hotscripts.com for a Classified Ads script (look for something based off of PHP+MySQL.

    Quote Originally Posted by Weebles View Post
    3) The ability to eventually have AdSense ads, banner ads, etc.
    You can do this with any site hosted any where, you just add the code they give you to your site - if you don't know how to do this then you will either need to learn on your own or hire a web master to take care of things like this for you (hosting doesn't include support for this kind of thing standard).

    Quote Originally Posted by Weebles View Post
    And I would like to start this very inexpensively, learning as I go.
    I would suggest starting with HostGator or somebody similar and as reputable.

    Quote Originally Posted by Weebles View Post
    The reason I said you should talk to me like I'm a 5 year old is because I have absolutely no experience running a website and am not that good with computers although I make my living with a small ebay store.
    You may want to go down to your local library and pick up some books on HTML and webmastering so you have an idea of what you're getting yourself into otherwise I would suggest just paying somebody to take care of the nitty gritty for you.

    Quote Originally Posted by Weebles View Post
    Thanks for any advice you can give me, especially some suggestions on choosing a host.
    No problem.
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  3. #3
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    So you need someone to design your site as well? Do you have a budget for the design, and the monthly hosting?
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  4. #4
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    This is what you will need initially:

    • A shared account with 5GB disk space and 20GB bandwidth
    • Managed provider so you get your software installed and maintained


    Go with Hostgator.com as it provides all the features that you need to start.

    Good luck
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  5. #5
    I think the best option is to get a shared hosting account from hostgator, and find a web developer (a freelancer) do all the development work for you.
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  6. #6
    Thanks, people, for the advice so far.

    To answer some of your questions, my budget is very small -- virtually nonexistent. $25-50 dollars a month, maybe? ($10-15 if I can get away with it). I am unlikely to be able to hire a freelancer to do anything for me right now.

    The site can be ugly (extremely un-fancy) for now, while I learn the ropes -- in other words I plan to start with a forum or two and perhaps some articles of interest (reprinted with permission) and my own blathering opinions.

    I won't worry about classified ads or AdSense for now as long as I can do them later without having to change hosts, which is why I want to make the right choice at the beginning. It sounds like several of you recommend hostgator.

    Regarding the comment you made, UNIXy, ("a shared account with 5GB disk space and 20GB bandwidth"), is that a starting point for me or is that what I will need a year from now when I'm wildly successful and the world can't get enough of my website?

    Likewise, is hostgator someone I can grow with or just a good place for newbees to start?

    MikeDVB -- "phpBB3 which is free, myBB which is free, and SMF which is free" Are you saying this is free software which I can put on my site? (Remember you're talking to a 5 year old).

    "I don't know of any off the top of my head but you could check hotscripts.com for a Classified Ads script (look for something based off of PHP+MySQL." Again, you're talking about something free? I have been looking at classified ad software, which is priced anywhere from $150 (not unreasonable someday) to $800.

    I will look for a book on webmastering. Even if I do someday hire someone, I want to have a background myself. But for now, paying somebody is probably not possible unless he's willing to work for meals.

    Please keep the advice coming. I just clicked on the hostgators website and my childlike brain tells me to go with the "Hatchling" plan. Is that where I should start?
    Last edited by Weebles; 10-08-2009 at 08:06 PM.

  7. #7
    For your classified ads, you can use a script called Noah's Classifieds. It is available in an auto-installer program called Fantastico which is a standard feature with many hosts - including one frequently mentioned in this thread

    Fantastico will allow you to install Noah's Classifieds and the forum script of your choice (including phpBB and SMF) with virtually no technical knowledge.

  8. #8
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    my recommendation and from experience, try the guys at downtownhost I think they can deliver what your looking for.
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  9. #9
    OK, Dynanix, I'm a little confused by something here. Are scripts like Noah's (which are inside Fantastico) free when you are hosted by the hosts frequently mentioned here?

    The reason I ask is because a lot of these scripts (I hope I'm using the word correctly -- they're sort of like apps on an iphone?), such as Noah's, when you go to their websites they offer the software for a hundred to several hundred dollars.

    So are they free with these hosts? I don't get it.

    Pica$$o, why do you recommend downtownhost?

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Weebles View Post
    OK, Dynanix, I'm a little confused by something here. Are scripts like Noah's (which are inside Fantastico) free when you are hosted by the hosts frequently mentioned here?

    The reason I ask is because a lot of these scripts (I hope I'm using the word correctly -- they're sort of like apps on an iphone?), such as Noah's, when you go to their websites they offer the software for a hundred to several hundred dollars.

    So are they free with these hosts? I don't get it.

    Pica$$o, why do you recommend downtownhost?
    The scripts are not necessarily free. It depends if the host has an agreement to offer them for free, or if it's an open source version of the paid software. Best way would be to contact the host in question

  11. #11
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    Pica$$o, why do you recommend downtownhost?
    Because I have been with them now for 2 years and they provide really good service and support
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  12. #12
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    Indiana, USA
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    Any host offering Fantastico can offer you those scripts - and those scripts are always free. You can download them yourself and install them or you can use an installer such as Fantastico.

    As an example - you could sign up for a host that doesn't have Fantastico but does have PHP+MySQL and you could still install and run Noah's Classifieds or WordPress, etc...
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  13. #13
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    One forum is to talk about anything, one is to write a review about a CD, and one is entitled "What I'm Listening to Now" for short (maximum 100-character) messages.
    I don't think you need to install 3 forums for that (I'm talking about the software). if what you're trying to achieve is similar to http://www.webhostingtalk.com, you only need to install phpbb/smf/etc. once.

    ("a shared account with 5GB disk space and 20GB bandwidth"), is that a starting point for me or is that what I will need a year from now when I'm wildly successful and the world can't get enough of my website?
    Right now, you will probably be quite fine even with 100MB of space and 1GB of data transfer. In the future, who knows? If you'll be very successful you'll have to get out of shared hosting, and get yourself a dedicated server or even more.

    MikeDVB -- "phpBB3 which is free, myBB which is free, and SMF which is free" Are you saying this is free software which I can put on my site? (Remember you're talking to a 5 year old).
    Yes, you can go to the developer's site, download the software and install it on your host's server (there should be instructions on how to do so on the developer's site).

    Given that you're 5 years old , you're probably best to just use Fantastico (or other similar tools) that most hosts provide, which enable you to easily install forums, blogs and other software.

    Do keep in mind that you need to upgrade the software in order to take care of discovered security vulnerabilities. Also, keep your own database backups (you can download them easily enough via the export function in phpmyadmin, a tool that most hosts provide these days).

    Again, you're talking about something free?
    Hotscripts typically lists both free and paid software. The choice is yours.

    I just clicked on the hostgators website and my childlike brain tells me to go with the "Hatchling" plan. Is that where I should start?
    The main limitation with that particular plan is that you can only host 1 domain (e.g. domain1.com) on it. If you don't have plans to also develop domain2.com etc. very soon, it should be a fair choice.

    You can still host subdomains on it though (e.g. myforum.domain1.com).

    ($10-15 if I can get away with it).
    You'll probably be faced with a severe learning curve, which it'll take you some time and an under $10 account should do the job just fine.

    The first thing you should probably peruse is the host's knowledgebase. wikipedia will probably help with some of the terms too. When you're totally stuck, you can also ask for help on forums and/or contact the host.

  14. #14
    Assuming you end up going with HostGator (which it sounds like you may), I might suggest using Fantastico to set up the sites at first (they offer it, as do many other hosts).

    The reason is that you mentioned you have no experience running a website, and aren't very good with computers. Honestly for all it's flaws, Fantastico makes it pretty easy to get a site "up and running" pretty quickly without having to learn about manually setting up a database and all that stuff.

    You *will* eventually want to learn how to set up a database, set file/directory permissions, and all that other jazz, but it can be a little overwhelming at first, especially when you're seeing CPanel for the first time, are trying to figure out simple things like how to set up email addresses, trying to point your domain to the right DNS servers, etc.

    Doing it this way you'd have a functioning site fairly easily and then can learn as you go gradually rather than trying to learn everything at once. You may want to wait on making the site "live" until you've got a good grasp on things in case you make a mistake while learning though.

    Also, whatever you do, once you've put some time into it, make constant backups on a regular basis. CPanel's got a pretty easy backup wizard, and you definitely want to use it in case something serious ever happens and you lose all your data.

    That said, the Fantastico thing is just my opinion. I'm sure others may differ.
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  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Weebles View Post
    Thanks, people, for the advice so far.

    To answer some of your questions, my budget is very small -- virtually nonexistent. $25-50 dollars a month, maybe? ($10-15 if I can get away with it). I am unlikely to be able to hire a freelancer to do anything for me right now.

    The site can be ugly (extremely un-fancy) for now, while I learn the ropes -- in other words I plan to start with a forum or two and perhaps some articles of interest (reprinted with permission) and my own blathering opinions.

    I won't worry about classified ads or AdSense for now as long as I can do them later without having to change hosts, which is why I want to make the right choice at the beginning. It sounds like several of you recommend hostgator.

    Regarding the comment you made, UNIXy, ("a shared account with 5GB disk space and 20GB bandwidth"), is that a starting point for me or is that what I will need a year from now when I'm wildly successful and the world can't get enough of my website?

    Likewise, is hostgator someone I can grow with or just a good place for newbees to start?

    MikeDVB -- "phpBB3 which is free, myBB which is free, and SMF which is free" Are you saying this is free software which I can put on my site? (Remember you're talking to a 5 year old).

    "I don't know of any off the top of my head but you could check hotscripts.com for a Classified Ads script (look for something based off of PHP+MySQL." Again, you're talking about something free? I have been looking at classified ad software, which is priced anywhere from $150 (not unreasonable someday) to $800.

    I will look for a book on webmastering. Even if I do someday hire someone, I want to have a background myself. But for now, paying somebody is probably not possible unless he's willing to work for meals.

    Please keep the advice coming. I just clicked on the hostgators website and my childlike brain tells me to go with the "Hatchling" plan. Is that where I should start?
    At even $10-$15/mo your budget is very reasonable for shared web hosting, and you only really need a basic plan. If you want to pay monthly (recommended) HostGator will charge you $8.95 + $5 setup fee. There are better, more affordable options available, especially if you're just starting out.

    Of course you will also need a domain name (i.e. yourdomain.com) so people can use to navigate to your website, and you will need it to sign up with any web host.

    Your host will get your website online, to add forums, image galleries or classifieds, you will need to install what are called "Scripts". Scripts are like mini applications, there are free ones and paid ones. For example, for forums, a paid (and a very good +popular) script is vBulletin, while a very good free forum script is MyBB. Same with Classifieds and virtually anything else you may want your site to do.

    Most hosts come with one-click installers, that will let you easily install free scripts from a large and diverse library of scripts. The three most popular ones are Fantastico, Installatron and Softaculous. These features that come with many hosting packages will allow you to easily install any scripts you like, so if you want a forum, you open up Fantastico in your control panel, scroll down the list, find a forum script you like, and click "install" and boom, you have a forum. Same with classifieds, shopping carts, galleries etc...

    I do not think you will need to pay anyone to do this stuff for you, if your host is good, they will be glad to help you out with it, and even teach you. I think you will find once you play around a little with these things you will pick it up quickly. You may find the learning process itself enjoyable.

  16. #16
    This forum rocks. I'm trying to digest everything you all said. So far, however, I've learned more about building a website in the last couple of hours, from this thread, than I have learned in my entire life.

    What you said at the end there, ItsJustHosting, "I do not think you will need to pay anyone to do this stuff for you, if your host is good, they will be glad to help you out with it, and even teach you. I think you will find once you play around a little with these things you will pick it up quickly" is music to my ears.

  17. #17
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    There is a sister forum of http://www.webhostingtalk.com that is called http://www.freewebhostingtalk.com there people offer free hosting services, so save those $10 and spend them on buying books to learn how hosting works and how web applications are installed/configured or spend those $10 to get that done by some freelancer. There are people who will gladly install an application for $10.

    But please note that as work does not get finished there, as Dan said "do keep in mind that you need to upgrade the software in order" also you will have to learn how to administrate/manage that forum and/or classified script and that is some thing you will have to do yourself.
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