Susan G

Russell.Whaley


I'm very happy with 1&1 internet. I have their Linux business package, which is $10/mo for 3 included domains, 250GB storage, and unlimited bandwidth.  So far, the service has been very reliable, and their support staff very helpful.  I'm happy to recommend them.

If by chance you end up going with them, would you consider using my affiliate link?  Thanks!

Hi Russell-

I guess you win! I followed that link and it looked just like their regular order page -- was I supposed to see something different, or is that how the "affiliate link" works? Anyway, before I knew it, I'd placed an order, so I guess I have a website.

Now for some content... ;)

Thanks-

-Susan

Rats! It looked like I had a cage match with Beagle and Craig brewing... I guess we'll all have to get along now...

Thanks - hope you have good luck with your site. 

Cheers,

Russ

Susan G


So I was checking out some website building software (can't tell if 1&1 offers anything free) and came across weebly.com, which offers software and free hosting. The reviews look pretty good, too. Have I made a mistake already? I'm so confused...

-Susan

1&1 does offer some software "free" with hosting packages... but it's not really all that exciting - mostly things you can get elsewhere, and because they host it, your customization ability is restricted. They also include a "web site builder" with most of their packages - sort of a "click and build" type of setup that will provide you with a basic website without a lot of headache.  I tried it when I first subscribed, but it didn't do what I wanted, so I moved on.

What are you wanting to do with your website? My usual suggestion for the person who wants a website but doesn't have a lot of experience with building one from scratch is to use the WordPress platform. It's a complete system that will do anything from a basic blog up to some pretty sophisticated activities.  The software is free, fairly friendly to work with, and has a large user base which is very generous in sharing knowledge, technique, and so on. For a couple examples of websites based on WP, take a look at www.zion-umc.org or www.russwhaley.com.  (FYI, one of my personal sites, and the site I set up for the church I serve).

I'd be glad to help you get rolling, and I'm pretty sure there are others in the CH who use WP and would offer you some assistance.  Let me know what works for you. 

Russ

Hi Russell-

I'm still waiting to hear from 1&1. Actually I'm going to call them in a bit, since I'm not sure what's supposed to happen next. I thought I'd get an email saying the domain was ready to go or something, but all that's on my account page is my contract & customer id #. I guess that's all I need to get going?

Anyway, thanks for the WP suggestion -- I've seen that mentioned elsewhere, too. And for the generous offer of help, too -- I just might take you up on that!

I have to ask them, too, if I made a mistake going with the Linux package. It was one of those things where I just kept clicking through to the end...

Thanks again-

-Susan

When you're first getting started, it does take a little bit for everything to come together; the domain has to be registered and propagated through the internet... I think it was 3-4 days before my package had totally come together. 

Hang in there!

Ok, that makes sense. There's something weird going on, though, since the payment's not showing up in my PayPal account even though I now have a 1&1 Customer & Contract ID.

I'll call them next chance.

Thanks again-

-Susan

Susan G


Hi All-

I need to set up a website, and I'm looking for recommendations. One video I saw suggested GoDaddy for registering domain names and HostGator for hosting, but there are lots of options out there (WebHostingHub, FatCow, JustHost, etc.) and I'm new to this, so I figured I'd ask the experts.

WebHostingHub is rated highly here, and it's among the least expensive.

What do you folks use?

Thanks!

-Susan

Hi there Susan,
 
I don't know what type of yearly budget you are looking for, but man, for the best webhosting, best web based management portal to manage your web site, etc...I highly recommend:
 
www.startlogic.com
 
I have been with them for years now...
never had any issues..
 

Russell.Whaley

Susan G


So I was checking out some website building software (can't tell if 1&1 offers anything free) and came across weebly.com, which offers software and free hosting. The reviews look pretty good, too. Have I made a mistake already? I'm so confused...

-Susan

1&1 does offer some software "free" with hosting packages... but it's not really all that exciting - mostly things you can get elsewhere, and because they host it, your customization ability is restricted. They also include a "web site builder" with most of their packages - sort of a "click and build" type of setup that will provide you with a basic website without a lot of headache.  I tried it when I first subscribed, but it didn't do what I wanted, so I moved on.

What are you wanting to do with your website? My usual suggestion for the person who wants a website but doesn't have a lot of experience with building one from scratch is to use the WordPress platform. It's a complete system that will do anything from a basic blog up to some pretty sophisticated activities.  The software is free, fairly friendly to work with, and has a large user base which is very generous in sharing knowledge, technique, and so on. For a couple examples of websites based on WP, take a look at www.zion-umc.org or www.russwhaley.com.  (FYI, one of my personal sites, and the site I set up for the church I serve).

I'd be glad to help you get rolling, and I'm pretty sure there are others in the CH who use WP and would offer you some assistance.  Let me know what works for you. 

Russ

Hi Russ-

That Methodist Church site looks beautiful! (I'm getting an error on your other site.) I got Wordpress installed after some delay, and I'm finding it very frustrating to work with, but I'm sure it's just my inexperience & impatience. Some stuff I'm looking for on the forums will have a few promising posts, and then the thread is closed before I find what I'm looking for. :(

One thing I'm hoping you can help me with is putting different images on the header of each page. For example, my home page has tabs at the top (below the header image) for additional pages, and I want each of those to have a different image at the top. I edit a page, load an image and set it to "Use as featured image", but I always see the same image as on the home page. This is with the default "Twentyten" theme, which supports this feature AFAICT, but I can't get it to work.

I'm not totally against digging in and doing some scripting, but I was hoping to avoid that. It's been a few years, and I didn't like it that much when I was doing it!;)

One example of something I thought would be easier than it turned out to be was changing the default UL style from a square to a disc. There's no way other than editing the .css, correct? I was hoping for a dumb interface where I could select the items and tell it to list with round bullets. :)

Anyway, if you could point me in the right direction with the page header images I'd be very grateful! I'm not aiming for anything nearly as sophisticated as what you've got going on, but I would like to get this sorted out.

Thanks very much!

-Susan

Hi Susan,

I know the others have you sorted out with that 1&1 site which looks amazing to me as well. But I just wanted to throw something else in that you may want to look at. It's a bit more expensive but they've been wonderful to me. I use the Linux Deluxe package which has some really nice features and it's $8.75 per month. They have Windows hosting if you need that as well. http://www.mydomain.com/hosting/

Good luck in your search. :)

Thanks for that recommendation, Danny -- I'll keep it in mind!

-Susan

Finding the right web host is not always is. When I first compared the different web hosting companies I was overwhelmed by the pile of information. I then asked some friends which web hosting provider they are using and they recommended IX webhosting. Due to this I have chosen this provider and I am very satisfied with them. They fulfill my requirements best.