# create or build my own website



## rainforest123 (Dec 29, 2004)

I am a novice at this process. I am aware that from companies such as BlueHost.com, I can purchase web space & my own domain name. 

I want to build my own website. 

I want to use a wizard to upload pictures & text. 

I want to restrict access to my website, perhaps requiring my friends & family to enter a password. 

I don't know Apache or Front Page. 

Thanks for your guidance. 

Sincerely, 
RF123


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## wr4698er73678 (Nov 25, 2006)

Hello 

We can easily restrict access with client side script  Now, there are tonnes of webhosting guyz that have templates for you to build your site  And they are easy too.

Cheers,
Blink.


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## namenotfound (Apr 30, 2005)

wr4698er73678 said:


> Hello
> 
> We can easily restrict access with client side script  Now, there are tonnes of webhosting guyz that have templates for you to build your site  And they are easy too.
> 
> ...


Client side scripting is the worst possible way to "restrict access". It's the easiest to bypass. Server side scripting would be the way to go if you want to restrict access 

You could do it in .htaccess, which is processed on the server not the client. Or you could use PHP if you have it. I'm guessing ASP too.


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## namenotfound (Apr 30, 2005)

rainforest123 said:


> I am a novice at this process. I am aware that from companies such as BlueHost.com, I can purchase web space & my own domain name.
> 
> I want to build my own website.
> 
> ...


Apache is the server itself that your site runs on, you don't really need to "know" it. .htaccess is a type of text file that gives commands to apache, so if you want to give it commands then what you'd want to know isn't apache, but rather .htaccess  (you don't need to know it to run a site, only if you want to change something basic on the server)

If you don't already have a copy of FrontPage, save your money. There are better free programs out there you can use such as Nvu (http://www.nvu.com)


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## witakr (Dec 9, 2006)

rainforest123 said:


> I am a novice at this process. I am aware that from companies such as BlueHost.com, I can purchase web space & my own domain name.
> 
> I want to build my own website.
> 
> ...


Do you Know HTML? Or would you rather not code your own website. If you are wanting to restrict access(require login) then it may be more difficult to accomplish if your don't code your self. In my experience the easiest way to create a functional website without an over bearing amount of work is to know HTML, CSS(*Borat accent*For to make it pretty! lol) and some javascript(to add some isolated dynamic content). Now for restricting access you want to use a programming language like PHP or ASP... I prefer PHP because its easy to learn(about a week if you are familiar with coding, maybe 2 weeks if you're not).

I guess the question is, What is your skill level with web development?


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## witakr (Dec 9, 2006)

namenotfound said:


> ...you can use such as Nvu (http://www.nvu.com)


I have used Front page and Nvu and I believe Nvu is the better wysiwyg(What You See Is What You Get) program. Although if you are wanting to make web development a serious hobby or possible career choice or you just want to have as much flexibility as possible then you will want to learn to code your self. Using a wysiwyg program can take away from the flexibility you have when coding. Now Nvu has a text editor 'built-in' that would be adequate for just a quick check-n-edit of the code, but it DOES leave things to be desired. Now the text editor I use is syn Text Editor, I really use it because its so light weight and fast. It has Tabs for editing multiple files at once(handy when using separate CSS or JS files) and syntax highlighting thats clear and easy to read. And with syn you're not bound to Web development languages, it supports a WIDE range of languages.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/syn


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## rainforest123 (Dec 29, 2004)

I am a novice and have no desire to learn coding.

What I am hoping for is a website with templates, such as https://products.secureserver.net/products/website_tonight/producttour/index.html . 
Using such templates, my next step would be to upload text & images.

I want to restrict access to the site.

Thanks for the replies.

I hope I have clarified my needs & skill level.

Sincerely, 
RF123


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## Sequal7 (Apr 15, 2001)

This needs clarification, you state that


rainforest123 said:


> I want to build my own website.


 but then you state


rainforest123 said:


> I am a novice and have no desire to learn coding.


Please be aware that if you want to build your own site then you will need to learn at least the basics of html. You can download free templates that are in essence websites ready to go, all you need to do is downlaod from the site, open them using a web editor on your computer and change the pictures, links and text then upload them to your webhost.
Sounds easy right, but you still need to learn how to create links to images and or files, hyperlinks and new pages for your site.

Password protecting sites or areas for *family only *can be done a few ways, like they were saying earlier through .htaccess or more specifically .htpasswd files or through windows file permissions on a windows server or by using scripts (PHP, ASP, CGI, PERL etc..) but its not easily done and again, you need to learn some coding. Many pre-built forums and Content management systems have these functions but you would need to know how to set them up.

There are hosts that offer fantastico with cPanel. Fantastico allows you to one click install forums, websites, blogs, etc but again you will need to know how to secure them so that only family can see it. You need to decide upon what you are willing to learn to accomplish your task. Google for webhots using cPanel and you will get hundreds of them.

What matches you perfectly (since people like you are the bulk of my business) is to look up *web designers* in your area, they will create, upload and setup your site for you for a variety of prices and you wont need to learn any code using them.


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## witakr (Dec 9, 2006)

What would be the purpose of the site? So I can better under stand your needs. No need to be too specific although the more specific you are the easier it would be toget you going in the correct direction. Is it to be a community for your family and friends (i.e. personal forums) or a download site for visitor to get templates?


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## namenotfound (Apr 30, 2005)

witakr said:


> .....
> 
> http://sourceforge.net/projects/syn


Judging from the screen shots, it looks pretty good (assuming you can change that awful green color for the background).

I've been using Crimson Editor so long that when I try other text editors I get annoyed


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## knight_47 (Mar 15, 2006)

To make a website:

You can download free templates here: http://www.openwebdesign.org/

A Free WYSIWYG HTML Editor: http://www.coffeecup.com/free-editor/ or http://www.nvu.com/index.php

Free FTP Software: http://www.smartftp.com/

Free web hosting: www.xenweb.net (currently down, and I don't know when it will be back up)

That's all you need and more to start your own website, and like Sequal7 said, weather you like it or not, you'll have to learn the basics of HTML, and maybe some CSS. It not only makes the process easier, but much more efficient. You can't always trust WYSIWUG editors to get the exact look you want. An easy way to start is to download the template you like from the link above, and view the code, see how you insert images, forms, text, background, etc...


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## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

We really need a nice canned response for this. STICKY! STICKY! STICKY! C'mon everyone!

STICKY! STICKY! STICKY! 

Well anyways, based on what you want, if I were you I would use a CMS such as Drupal or Mambo. You don't need to build anything (you can use the default theme or download more), you don't need to know that much code, and it's easy to have authentication. You can also easily add text and images with the control panel.

All you do is just upload and install. 

Check out these websites:
http://www.drupal.org/
http://www.mamboserver.com/


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## witakr (Dec 9, 2006)

namenotfound said:


> Judging from the screen shots, it looks pretty good (assuming you can change that awful green color for the background)


LMAO, yes, you can change the BG color and text font and size and color, very flexible and open source(w00t!)


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## witakr (Dec 9, 2006)

Eriksrocks said:


> We really need a nice canned response for this. STICKY! STICKY! STICKY! C'mon everyone!
> 
> STICKY! STICKY! STICKY!
> 
> ...


To add to this... If you buy space like say at Duoni.com( http://www.duoni.com - Which is really cheap for what you get) then they have a add-on in the cPanel called Fantastico (it really is FANTASTICO!) which with just a few clicks you can install a very good CMS like Drupal or Mambo or e107 or PHP nuke. It also includes BLOGS, Shopping Carts, Discussion Boards, FAQs, Guestbooks, Image Galleries, Mailing Lists, Surveys, Wikis and a lot more. And all you have to do is click a few times and you have a fully functional website! Sweet!

Although Duoni.com is not the only company that has Fantastico or cPanel. In fact almost any hosting company that runs cPanel X will have some form of Fantastico.

As far as the packages go.. If you're building a personal website where there wont be hundreds of pages and content then you wouldn't need more than 200mb space but if you plan to expand then go bigger. If you plan to use a CMS then make sure that they offer AT LEAST 5 Databases, why 5? because you will need 1 for the CMS and then you will want to add things in the future that will require a DB but you don't want to share a DB because then your site slows down. For a small site with only maybe 50-100 hits a day, it wont make a big difference but if you plan to get more than 100 hits a day then you want to use more than one DB and having 5 at your disposal gives you some breathing room and room to let your site grow some.

j


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## rainforest123 (Dec 29, 2004)

I appreciate all of your responses & kindness.

Assuming I use the templates at https://products.secureserver.net/products/website_tonight/producttour/index.html , how do I add a mechanism that restricts access? My thought was to use a password.

Witakr, templates such as these. 
https://products.secureserver.net/products/website_tonight/producttour/index.html

The purpose: to display a text of my comments about life and photos about my life.

I don't mind paying for the hosting.

RF123


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## witakr (Dec 9, 2006)

Using what we are suggesting will make using those templates or that service pretty much not an option. But not to worry, the CSMs and BLOGs have a good look to them. I think a BLOG like wordpress and an image gallery would suite you. Heres what you can do.

Buy space at http://www.duoni.com/ which would give you an address such as http://example.duoni.com/
If you dont like the address then you can goto http://godaddy.com and register a "dot-com" such as http://www.example.com/

If you need help pointing to your host DSN servers then post a reply/new thread about DSN Pointing.

You could have the http://example.duoni.com in about a few minutes to a day(Due to duoni's billing choice, but can be sped up) and once you choose a dot-com and register it, it may take about 48 hours for you dot-com to point to your host DNS servers. Both Duoni and GoDaddy accept Pay-Pal too if needed.

Here is MY suggested course of action for you.
First definitely do this:

Register at Duoni. http://www.duoni.com
Buy a domain at GoDaddy (*Optional*) http://www.godaddy.com

If you buy a domain, do this after registering with duoni

Email [email protected] asking what the nameserver addresses are
Log into your duoni cPanel X by going to http://yourname.duoni.com/cpanel (you will need your duoni user name and password)
Goto Add-on domains(Near or on the top on the cPanel home page)
type in the domain you registered(i.e. yourdomain.com, not http://www.yourdomain.com or www.yourdomain.com)
type a password(Not for visitors to your site)
Once you get the nameservers the goto GoDaddy and log in
Click My Account
Click My Domains
Click Nameservers
Enter the nameservers(Should be 2 that look similar to this: ns1.name-server.net)
Click Save/Submit
Wait up to 48 hours for it to take effect, however you can check while you wait by browsing to your domain

and then...


Log into your duoni cPanel X by going to http://yourname.duoni.com/cpanel (you will need your duoni user name and password)
Click on Fantastico (Blue Smilie at the bottom of the cPanel Home page)
Choose a BLOG and install it to public_html(Leaving "Install to..." blank will install to the public_html dir" (Google the blog's name if you want to learn more about it.)
Choose an Image Gallery and Install it (*optional but suggested*type a directory name that the installer will create and install to in the "Install to..." field) (Google the Image Gallery's name to learn more about it)

If the blog doesn't suite your need then look at the items in the Long list, google the name to learn more about them or just go straight to their respective websites.

NOTE: If you goto the website of a application listed in Fantastico then you should know that you DO NOT need to download the application from the developer's website. Fantastico already has a copy resting on the Host's servers waiting to be installed. All applications you install can be UNINSTALLED just as fast by clicking the name of the application in the fantastico list and then clicking uninstall/remove installation.

Once you get that far then post a reply and let us know...

That is if you desire to take my suggestion..lol


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## rainforest123 (Dec 29, 2004)

witakr: 
Thanks for the descriptive reply. 

How can I restrict access to the site? 

Sincerely, 
RF123


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## MMJ (Oct 15, 2006)

Nicely said Sequel. 

Knight, I don't think you should reference to xenweb. If harmor was planning to put t up again than i think he would have said.


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## witakr (Dec 9, 2006)

rainforest123 said:


> witakr:
> Thanks for the descriptive reply.
> 
> How can I restrict access to the site?
> ...


If you use a Content Management System instead of a Blog then you could restrict access to most parts but the home page would always be public. Whereas a Blog will restrict Access to the pages needed for EDITING and ADDING new content but to view the blog, most often times, would be public but you can make some blogs private but then again the Home page wouldn't be private.

If you would like I can do a search for a cms that restricts access to the whole site, if one exists. I haven't seen one that i'm aware of. I can look for you if you want, if you are wanting the WHOLE website restricted.


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## rainforest123 (Dec 29, 2004)

witakr: 
I truly appreciate your interest, time & energy into this project. 

Having the home available to all would probably NOT be a problem. I could have a simple page that displayed a welcome message and access / password area. 

RF123


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## witakr (Dec 9, 2006)

is a dot-com address important to you? such as example.com


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## rainforest123 (Dec 29, 2004)

witakr: 

No. 

RF123


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## witakr (Dec 9, 2006)

Good then this will be very easy for you.

My suggestion.


Goto http://www.duoni.com and buy some space, the cheapest will probably due.
Once your account is activated, goto http://YOURNAME.duoni.com/cpanel and log in
scroll to bottom of cPanel home page and click Fantastico.
Choose a CMS(Content Management System), Google the name to learn more about the individual modules http://www.google.com
Once you install a CMS then goto http://YOURNAME.duoni.com to check it over and to log into your account
Manage the settings for your site.
Done


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## gutlypig (Jan 17, 2006)

Going back a few posts , If you go with blue host they have a huge list of page building wizards and fantastico auto installs in your control panel..Good host for a first site i would say..


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## rainforest123 (Dec 29, 2004)

Thanks. 
I will research as w & gpig have suggested. 

Sincerely, 
RF123


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