|
Some Introductory Ideas On Web Hosting, Forums and Content Management Systems (CMS)
Setting up a website with a forum is very easy and there are so many options but I will give you a quick run down on how to do it easily and affordably
What comes first the chicken or the egg? A web site or a web host?
Well many web host give you a web site and /or web site building software included in the package so lets start there
I will not go through all the hosts available I will only tell you about ours, why ? well they are one of the best, they are reliable and the package is very complete, click on the banner below to visit them
What are the essential requirements for a web host ?
1. Site space.. many free hosts give you a good chunk of space but if you want to host some serious graphics, videos: or even tutorials you will need a great deal of space. POWWEB offers:
Disk Space (Raid Storage)20,000 MB Load Balanced Technology
2. Bandwidth..if you are going to host videos and except a decent amount of traffic then bandwidth is something you will have to consider. powweb offers:
Data Transfer / Bandwidth 400 Gigs/Month (13 Gigs/Day!)
3. Mail..well rather important I think !! powweb has the setup as expected
Mailboxes (POP3/IMAP & SMTP) unlimited
Web Mail Access (secure login)
Email Forwarding/Email Aliases
Email Virus Scanning
Spam Filters (Black/White & Greylisting Features)
There are many software products that will create web pages and websites for you but the most well known is DreamWeaver..now I find DW overly complex and have decided to use Netobjects
NO is far simpler to use than DW but has most if not all of the functionality. It comes with scores of customisable templates and ready to go site wizards. It really is very powerful, give it a try I think you will be amazed !!
A while ago the Web craze was flash, all sites had to be flash..banners..intros site pages..forms
Well now flash is old hat and the craze is php--sounds like a wild and exotic drug well it can be addictive
PHP is a web programming language..html on steroids and works well with database servers to give you a very modular web site design and a lot of visitor interaction
Our forum is based on PHP. To run PHP sites you need php on your web servers and in most cases a database such as MySQL
Powweb offers 5 free databases straight away and runs the needed php, it also runs cgi if you are interested
The problem with php is it is the definitive realm of the "geeks". The code itself is of course open source and there are many freebie web programs made with it, not least
Forum software..the best free version is I think PhPBB
Gallery Software.. a good freebie is Coppermine
Content Management Systems/ Complete Sites - actually many of the freebies are pseudo CMS with not all the functionality of a full blown CMS
I have looked into a few of these :
Dragonflycms is very good..a bit cluttered and a confusing admin setup but does come with loads of add-ons" already incorporated
IntergraMod.. again fully modified but a bit too slow
PHPBB2 Plus.. all the add ons and very fast this is my favorite
Now back to the "Geeks" you see the basic PHP script is just that a base skeleton on which to build functionality, if you were to say install just a forum such as PHPBB you would be up and running in minutes but try to add a gallery such as Coppermine..well CM installs in minutes but to get the 2 to talk takes a lot longer
Next you will probably want a front end..portal..or main web page. Pretty easy to get this up and running but then tricky to incorporate the forum and gallery
There are hundreds of "modifications" that can be installed to give all the extra functionality but they mostly require painstaking hand adjustment of php code and the help can be frustrating to get.. these people are real geeks and many of them have the web charm of retired army alligator !!!
So really it is a good idea to go with a fully modded package such as PHPBB Plus..but again you will find problems..you will have to tweak and you will have to beg the alligators for help !!
Building and hosting web site to show off your photographs is fairly easy, however there are so many options that will swamp the beginner with details. We plan in this series to demystify the whole realm of web site building and web hosting.
Not only is it fun but if you use GOOGLE ADSENSE on your pages you make make some serious revenue just by having you site on the internet !!
|
