| Author | Message | ||
     Mikej |
I know this could be better addressed elsewhere, but the folks here seem more like family so I'll just ask here and then be sent elsewhere for further info. What's it take to set up a web site and domain name, and what big issues or concerns are there in doing so? I know there are all sorts of security issues depending upon if it will be a financial transaction site, an info site, a site needing a secure area for confidential info, and so on. I also know that some sort of security needs to be in place so it doesn't get hacked or pirated or hijacked. I don't know what all that takes to get it done, but I'm aware of it. Question: is it the same process to register a domain name with just an ip address as it is to register one with a text name, or is that even possible or should it even be considered? I don't know if the ip address numbers change with hardware or host sites or anything else. Throw out anything else anyone cares to discuss and I'll glean what I can from it all. I'm not online as much as I used to be, but I do sneak in here from time to time when I can, so I'll pop back in when I can. Basically I'm thinking of setting up a web site, details still getting worked out, some of it will be personal and family, some of it will be business related, there may or may not be a discussion area either for family on the personal site and/or for non-family on the business one. I don't know if it will need an e-mail address hosting function or not, thinking not at this time, although it could be fun to have something like mikej@mike'sbuell(tm)notaffiliatedwithbuellorharley-davidson -ymmv.com. 10 minutes and I'm out of here for the night so have some fun with this, point me in all sorts of directions for info, and I'll see how confused I get with it all. In the mean time I'll be heading to the used bookstores trying to find a copy of something like WebSitesForDummies books. Thanks for any info or suggestions. I don't plan to have a big need for this for 3months to three years depending on how some stuff goes between the need and now. Mike. | ||
| M2me |
Registering a domain name and getting an IP address for it are two completely different things. If you change hosting providers your domain's IP address will have to change because the hosting provider owns the IP address. You own the domain name but not the IP address. It's a relatively simple process to switch providers though. You can usually register a domain name through a hosting company and they will take care of assigning an IP address. One company I've done business with and been pretty happy with is Hostway.com. Registration is pretty cheap through them ($7.95 a year) and you can just register a domain name or choose from a whole menu of services that they offer. One thing you might want to think about is what kind of programming language and database you will need. The truth is that straight HTML web sites have gone the way of the 28.8K modem. The main language choices are ASP (or .NET), PHP and Cold Fusion (my favorite but I just happen to be a Cold Fusion developer). Ruby on Rails is out there but it's still kind of new. Main database choices are Access, MySQL and SQL Server. You will rarely need to think about security because your hosting provider handles that. You just need to make sure you tell them what you are doing. Are you accepting credit card payments, etc.? Of course if you start running more complex applications you will need to make sure the application is coded properly with security in mind. You'll probably end up getting email addresses whether you want them or not since that is becoming pretty much a commodity and is usually included in the hosting price. Another option is owning your own server and co-locating. This gives you incredible power and control over your web site (especially the database server) but I don't recommend it if you're just starting out. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I just set up an extra domain for playing around with (www.kilgallons.com) with godaddy.com (nothing out there yet). Their "register a domain and sign up for hosting" low end plan is a very cheap way to get started. If you keep you domain registration up do date (i.e. paid) and protect your sign on credentials for your domain registrar, you don't have to worry much about it being stolen anymore. Security will be an issue when you start adding applications to run on the site. Static HTML is fairly safe. You don't want to accept credit cards... point them to paypal (or somebody else that pays somebody like me way to much to become compliant with the PCI DSS V1.2)  You will gateway to them, they will take the credit card, then return you a credit of some sort. PHP is nice and easy, as is .NET... it kind of depends on if you are a Unix or Windows guy. You can set up email forwarders that just go to a google mail account or something. So it looks like email goes to you@yourdomain.com but it actually ends up getting stuffed in yourname@gmail.com. It's a nice way to do it. We will be happy to help. | ||
| 12r |
I have also used Go Daddy for domain registration and hosting, they are pretty good  The difference in price between hosting in the USA and hosting in the UK is amazing. | ||
| Daves |
Mike, I am in the process of having my website completely redone by a guy that does it on the side. It should be up and running today or tomorrow. When I was just getting my first site up Cgoyette, right here on Badweb was a HUGE help! | ||
| Mikej |
Appreciate the input so far, looks like I've got a little homework to do. A former co-worker (now at a very interesting company ;) ) pointed me to a dayjob co-worker here, I checked out his website and it looks like he went thru GoDaddy so I will talk to him in the next week or three to see how it works for him. There's also someone in the sidelines who is looking to sell off her website, I may contact her to see if I can find out why she's letting it go. I've been around Unix machines for decades, but have avoided getting too deep into their workings lest I get saddled with becoming an admin for them, I can muck around with some general guidance but am familiar enough to know that there is a Grand Canyon of depth to the systems if one wants to dig in that deep. Windows is Windows, lots of them around, biggest fish in the pond, lots of aps, but our home systems have crashed far too often and too catastrophically for me to put total faith in that environment, so if I go with Windows I will have some sort of double redundant 10-week cycling of backups type of system to ensure I don't loose too much should another total crash occur, just too many perps and hacks and quacks out there targeting the big MS-Gates Empire to be able to comfortably combat and defend against to a satisfactory level, but I'll probably end up with some sort of Windows environment just as a matter of convenience. Linux is another option, but I don't really want to get tangled up too deep in maintaining the machines and environments and would much rather spend the bulk of my efforts in the front office areas of the web site. I can just imagine what Blake has gone thru at times when he tweaks something and it has an indirect effect of the whole system and he then has to de-tweak or re-tweak and recover and then implement his latest improvement to the system here on BadweB, I can see it becoming a full time job just maintaining the site and system and not having any time left to enjoy it and to do other stuff, I don't know how he does it but glad he keeps doing it. (I see I've slipped into my comma splicing, run on sentence, throw 20 thoughts into one bucket mode again, oops....)  I'll be down in Texas over the 4th while many of you are up here having fun. I think one of the indirect relatives down there is somewhat deep into this stuff so I'll be picking his brains a bit while the Mrs's are catching up on things. Can anyone recommend any good books or magazines to read or skim thru? I know there's some new technology just getting released with wireless and cellular things and I'm going to be upgrading my personal electronic hardware to get more mobile-interactive once it gets going and has some of the issues worked out in real life usage. I also know the side venture company has some new stuff happening which I may want to either link into or emulate somewhat, not 100% behind their application of what they're doing, but can see where they are trying to go with it, and I'll want to do a blend of sorts between what they're doing and what competitors are doing. Plus there is another site with a lot of blended usage of technology that I'm just recently getting into and gleaning data from, lots of superficial depth with some actual depth mixed in that I just have to rummage around in to get up to speed with their setups (kind of like Badweatherbikers, where there is so much stuff and sub categories within categories and cross-polination that it takes awhile to learn where to go and get comfortable with the structure and sub-structures). Man I'm rambling here, just getting thoughts structured, time for notes and such. I may have to tie a rope on my ankle to have someone pull me out of the caverns with if I become too lost in discovery and forget why I'm doing this in the first place. Kind of like going into a bookstore to find one book on one subject and hours later realizing you've grazed almost every aisle and every shelf and read a bit on so many subjects that you almost forget why you went there in the first place. Perhaps I just need to put some blinders on and focus in on the task at hand. 'scuse me now, I have to go kick the Unix box as the download it is supposed to be doing now is apparently stuck somehow, time for another reboot/restart, just great. | ||
| Reepicheep |
If you have Unix background, start with PHP. It will match your stated philosophies. You are paying for hosting, let them maintain and patch their systems, all you should have to worry about is your custom application (and believe me, that will be enough). GoDaddy hosting is nice because you can get decent hosting services for like $4 per month or something even with a reasonably short contract. Get up and running there, they have a very friendly setup process (and even had somebody call me directly and ask if I had any questions). Don't know how they can do that for $4 per month hosting plans... but I ain't complaining. I have also used Pair networks (www.pair.com). Good stuff, more mature, higher end then the GoDaddy stuff (probably). My day job is a *real* internet company. We have been online and selling content for 30+ years (that'll narrow down guesses who I work for ). Serious business is staggeringly expensive, at least to do it right. Every time you add a digit to your reliability (99.999%), it seems like you also multiply your costs and complexity by 10. Also, the web is getting so serious and so rich, that it's hard to make something significant without substantial investments. "trivial" custom applications are now around $300k... just to develop the easy stuff. You can offset that by buying something off the shelf then customize it... then that $500k to $1m cost gets distributed across more people. I like the minimal elegance and deep coverage of the Oreilly books. They are useful the first day I get them, and still useful after 10 years experience with whatever I am doing. (and as for the unix box... thats a *real* operating system... no reboot necessary... at worst you should only need a "service XXXX restart" ) | ||
| Mikej |
(Our Unix boxes are maintained by Windows admins who only service Unix boxes because the Unix boxes are required by the main customer to support their needs, somewhat similar to getting a Buell serviced in a Harley shop at times, so a reboot is necessary and then a restart to kick back into gear what the reboot failed to start. I'm just the guy at the keyboard.) I'll check into the PHP and Oreilly books. Thinking I'll probably end up running Linux or something. Thanks. | ||
| Cruisin |
Just another recommendation - I have mine hosted by 1and1.com. Their rates are cheap and if you have hosting through them, they include domain names. I pay for the $4.99 a month plan, includes two domain names, 120gb of webspace, 1200gb of monthly transfer, 1200 e-mail (pop3) addys with webmail as well, 2gb of mailbox storage, even includes blogs. Definitely great to deal with, they've had my site for over three years. | ||
| Mikej |
Hit the used bookstore today at lunch, 30 minute lunch timeframe turned into 50 minutes, good thing I got in to work 27 minutes early this morning.... Picked up a copy of the O'Reilly "The Linux Web Server CD Bookshelf" version 1.0. Checking amazon when I got back I see there is a 2.0 version of this 6-books-on-CD package, oh well, no problem at my level right now. They also had The Perl CD Bookshelf 4.0 and The Web Programming CD Bookshelf 1.0, but at $39.95 each I had to pass, the Linux pack was under $10. They had some PHP books as well as some of the other subjects in above posts there as well. But this will get me started. I have no idea what sort of computer I'll need or if my oldish Pentium will work for Linux. Got no idea yet what different offerings there are but did see some on Fedora Core, Fedora Redhat (is Fedora Core different from Redhat's Fedora and/or Linux???), and others. Doing some web searching on Linux I tripped over something called Ubuntu, which is either a belief system in Africa or a flavor of Linux or both. Then there's all the various versions of Fedora to dig past. And I find myself wondering if I need to dig past any of it for my intended goals. Probably so, a new bottle of aspirin and a brighter lightbulb in the reading room/office/spare bedroom look like they're now on the shopping list. Off to go figure out what Steganography is then logging off to fire up the CD browser and start skimming the CD-books so I can get a good glazed-over look to my eyes before I head home for the day. I know not what I do so I might as well just dive right in.... |
