Web hosting help

BandJB

skint_chick wrote: »

Um excuse my ignorance but what is a subdomain? Is MySQL 5 a sequel server thingy? I don't think I'll have any databases online I was planning on keeping that kinda info on my laptop/external hard disk. All I really need is about 5/6 pages with some photos and writing/graphics - there's no video/interactive stuff - and my blog will be connected to it. I think my scripts will be quite basic stuff - how do I know if I need something more fancy?

Subdomains are a way of breaking up your primary site (domain) into smaller, named bits. For example 'mydomain.com' can have 'fredsbit.mydomain.com' and 'marysbit.mydomain.com' etc. Fred and Mary can then link people directly to their part of the overall 'mydomain.com' web site. Some hosting schemes are run entirely along these lines with only one actual domain name.

MySQL5 is version 5 of the MySQL database management software. Not normally required unless you are collecting data via your web site or have lists of products to sell etc. The actual database is stored on the server - not on your computer.

The blogging software will probably need PHP to support the interactivity. (Look at the address bar as you are reading this - there's a .php in the address.) Some web hosts charge extra for PHP and MySQL etc. so check the package you think you are getting includes PHP at least. Version 5 is the latest AFAIK and version 4 will be unsupported soon, so avoid it.

BandJB

skint_chick wrote: »

I was hoping to keep my spend under £10 a month preferably less:D

Have a look at http://www.gbbo.co.uk/ for a free web site, including registering your web site name. It's a bit light on detail: e.g. what is 'a few pounds' when renewal time comes round? I suppose you could always move it in two years time when the freebie bit ends.

ivavoucher

Hi

easyhosting.co.uk charge £9.97 for 2 years domain name registration including 12 months free web hosting + you can host up to 5 domain names on one account.

Reviews of easyhostiong here: http://www.freeindex.co.uk/profile(e...ng)_204757.htm

Have a look here http://easyhosting.co.uk/index.php?page=free_hosting

Hosting accounts without domain registration starts at £12 per year.

carolbe

skint_chick wrote: »

Thanks for the advice guys - I think I'm going to go with the Heart Internet as it seems to have everything I need for £2.49 a month - and a lot of stuff I have no clue about!:o

Just to re-iterate my earlier post - M8 Internet (http://www.m8internet.com) are Heart resellers and their hosting starts from £1 PER YEAR!

So you're getting the benefit of the Heart Internet infrastructure, but you're only having to pay £1 per year!

Only thing I would say is don't register your domain name with M8 - they delay new domain name reg orders until next day (something to do with fraud). I use 123-reg for my domain names and M8 just for hosting.

skint_chick

carolbe - I'm a bit concerned about the M8 deals because they don't give as much information upfront about exactly what's included in the package, it doesn't say anything about the php version 5 Band JB mentioned.

I think I'm even more confused now:(. At the moment I use blogger for my blog but that was more of an accident than deliberate choice and I just used a standard free template and it's dull and I know this needs to be updated to match my website anyway so I don't mind a move.

I think this M8 deal for £5/yr looks like more than I need tbh
500 MB Web Space
5,000 MB Bandwidth
5 Mail Boxes
5 Mail Forwarding
5 sub-Domain Names
2 MySQL Database

Do the mailboxes work with Outlook? Or are they web-based? I must sound like a complete technophobe but all I use for work are Microsoft Office applications and the odd bit of design software:o

Trinitrotoluene

They will likely be POP3/Imap which will both work with outlook.

carolbe

skint_chick wrote: »

carolbe - I'm a bit concerned about the M8 deals because they don't give as much information upfront about exactly what's included in the package, it doesn't say anything about the php version 5 Band JB mentioned.

I think I'm even more confused now:(. At the moment I use blogger for my blog but that was more of an accident than deliberate choice and I just used a standard free template and it's dull and I know this needs to be updated to match my website anyway so I don't mind a move.

I think this M8 deal for £5/yr looks like more than I need tbh
500 MB Web Space
5,000 MB Bandwidth
5 Mail Boxes
5 Mail Forwarding
5 sub-Domain Names
2 MySQL Database

Do the mailboxes work with Outlook? Or are they web-based? I must sound like a complete technophobe but all I use for work are Microsoft Office applications and the odd bit of design software:o

Not at all - you're wise to ask in advance!

The email can be web-based if you like, but you also get POP3 details which you can use with Outlook (this is what I do).

In terms of PHP version, it's 4 by default but you can switch to PHP5 with one click.

There are also a number of 'one click' installations, e.g. Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal etc.

You can contact M8 direct through email or MSN and they have a forum for pre-sales questions (all details on http://m8internet.com/contact.htm).

HTH!

(I'm not associated with M8 btw, just a happy customer!)

ETA: Just found a summary of what's included in all their hosting packages here: http://m8internet.com/about_us.htm (refers to PHP, MYSQL, Perl etc.)

skint_chick

Right I think I'm going with the £5/yr deal from M8 -how do I know if that's a Heart internet resell one or some other less reliable host? Blog wise I was going to go with Blogger as I've been using it for my personal blog for a year or so and have some idea of what I'm doing although I'm only using a standard template.

Does having the one click Wordpress with your web host mean that it would be easier to start the new blog under Wordpress rather than Blogger - what are the disadvantages of Wordpress? How long would 2 MySQL databases last my blog if I'm adding in a few pictures every day?

carolbe

Hiya!

All M8's hosting packages are with Heart as far as I'm aware!

I might be mistaken but I think you can only use Blogger on Blogger.com - there isn't a downloadable version you can host elsewhere. If you want to keep using Blogger.com then you only need to buy a domain name (no hosting) and redirect it to your Blogger URL.

Wordpress will only use one database, no matter how big your blog becomes. The images you upload go into your webspace (rather than the database), so the only important numbers to look in terms of what you can upload are your actual hosting space and bandwidth allowance. Unless you're uploading hundreds of MASSIVE pictures every day, I think your £5/year package will do you just fine! If you have an existing Blogger blog you want to transfer, it's very easy to import it into Wordpress (have a look at http://labnol.blogspot.com/2007/05/move-your-blogs-from-blogger-to.html).

HTH!