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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
 Posted - 28 Oct 2013 : 15:53:32
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Okay, this is more of a computer question then an FR/D&D question, but since I know a few of our regulars are comp-saavy, I was wondering exactly what does "owning your own site" entail?
I do not want to hire a hosting company - I am capable of doing all the work myself. I just got some backing for a project I've been wanting to do for a LONG time and was wondering what I would need to get it up and running (recommended servers, software, connections, etc).
As to how it pertains to this site's subject-matter (before I get mod-smacked) - one small part of what I hope to do is host my FR maps on my own page, rather then give DeviantART (and elsewhere) all that free traffic. I HATE internet advertising, and twice I have gotten virus alerts while looking at my own maps at DeviantART (there was embedded malicious code in their ads). Even though it was twice out of hundreds of views, thats twice too many in my book. I do not plan to have any form of advertising on my own server - I hope to have other ways of generating income (and NOT by using other folks IPs, BTW).
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"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 28 Oct 2013 17:34:28
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3248 Posts |
Posted - 28 Oct 2013 : 15:59:04
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| Well, you may need a hosting company, just to give you the server space and to keep hold of the web address you want. I currently use WebHostingPad.com. It costs me about $75 a year, and that includes the fees for the web address and all that comes with it. |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 28 Oct 2013 : 16:08:15
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I don't like other people having control over my content. I know folks who've gotten their own sites and had problems with their providers.
However, that may be the way to go at first. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 28 Oct 2013 16:08:42 |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6383 Posts |
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SirUrza
Master of Realmslore
USA
1283 Posts |
Posted - 28 Oct 2013 : 17:58:06
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I wouldn't recommend setting up the site on your own hardware if you have no experience with the hardware and software you'll need to run the server. A lot of the software isn't free or cheap unless you go open source and even then you'll have to be very comfortable messing with stuff in Linux.
I've had experience with godaddy and never had a problem. I've heard extremely good things about squarespace but I've never personally used them because I know enough HTML to do everything myself (and have 5 different versions of Microsoft Frontpage, including Web Expressions.. yuck!)
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"Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy. |
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 28 Oct 2013 : 18:12:25
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| Personally, I'd buy a domain from Godaddy, host it on Hostgator for like 10/mo and load Wordpress for your framework. Find a theme or buy one and customize away. I've used themeforest.net and they have some really nice work, but you do end up paying 30 to 50 bucks for one. Really worth it for saving time, unless you happen to like coding etc and all that. |
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SirUrza
Master of Realmslore
USA
1283 Posts |
Posted - 28 Oct 2013 : 18:47:43
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quote:
Originally posted by Eilserus
Personally, I'd buy a domain from Godaddy, host it on Hostgator for like 10/mo and load Wordpress for your framework. Find a theme or buy one and customize away. I've used themeforest.net and they have some really nice work, but you do end up paying 30 to 50 bucks for one. Really worth it for saving time, unless you happen to like coding etc and all that.
I've heard of hostgator and heard good things. Godaddy pretty much offers everything these days and I believe they're competitively priced. |
"Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 28 Oct 2013 : 18:58:35
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I just find Go-Daddy's commercials vomit-worthy... I used to think they were a porn site.
Thanks for all the great advice so far. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36876 Posts |
Posted - 28 Oct 2013 : 19:12:10
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I use godaddy as my registrar and host. The only issue I've had with them was recent, when my site was inexplicably down and by the time they responded to my service query, it was back up -- so they gave a "well, it's up now and we don't see any issues..." answer. That pissed me off...
But my site is just a simple thing, purely for my own use and no one else's. It's basically there so that I can put some info into a place where I can always access it, even from my phone. That's why it doesn't matter to me that I used my very limited HTML skills to build simple, black-text-on-white-background pages. I could do more if I wanted to, and use some software or site-building tools, but I don't have a need to do that, nor do I have the time. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Eilserus
Master of Realmslore
USA
1446 Posts |
Posted - 28 Oct 2013 : 19:21:54
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| I never cared for Godaddy aside from domain registration (and can't stand all their hard selling tactics) because their site management tools are a complete mess. And they always change things so you can never find where you need to go. Hostgator CPanel mucho better. |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 28 Oct 2013 : 22:20:57
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You can cut out the middlemen and register your domain name directly through the internet domain registry, www.com ... this means you basically “own“ (well, “lease“) your .com .org .net or whatever, and of course you automatically reserve the privilege to renew this lease (usually annually) before it re-enters public domain.
Copyright laws vary in each nation - and are of course virtually impossible to effectively police on the internet, which connects over borders - but it is generally accepted that anything posted first onto your site is copyright by you (or any other authors you credit). Private (ie, paid) webservers typically retain inactive backups of your entire site (unless you explicitly waive this service) to make it easier for you to reactivate an expired site, and, unless you choose a webserver somewhere in pirateland, they won‘t make this data available online for anyone else without some kind of court order. Some or all of your site might still end up being copied (for a while) in search engine caches or (indefinitely) in wayback archives ... I basically assume that anything I submit online is potentially out of my control forevermore, and the best/only legal recourse is to maintain the site content forever so that there are datestamped electronic records and trails.
Web hosts will offer the “back end“ stuff your site needs to work pretty, including Flash and Java tools, extensions (like FrontPage) for various document and database support, etc etc. They also usually promise decent server performance and bandwidth, 99%-plus uptime, redundant connections and power supplies and all the rest. They often offer backup services, online and offline storage, security/vault features, and a variety of freebie gizmos like hit counters and guestbooks and forum support. The better ones will help you with search engine optimization, DNS prioritization, and anti-malware/hacker stuff ... they even give ya some email addresses and scan your stuff for spam and all that.
You shouldn‘t need to pay more than $50/year for basic personal website hosting, unless you get really excessive traffic. You can google “internet web host“ to find lots in your area, or in other/foreign regions if you prefer. Avoid anything that tries to sign you up with spyware agencies like AdClick.com ... you‘ll just annoy visitors who refuse to submit to Big Brother datamining/tracking methods. |
[/Ayrik] |
Edited by - Ayrik on 28 Oct 2013 22:23:34 |
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SirUrza
Master of Realmslore
USA
1283 Posts |
Posted - 28 Oct 2013 : 22:50:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
But my site is just a simple thing, purely for my own use and no one else's. It's basically there so that I can put some info into a place where I can always access it, even from my phone. That's why it doesn't matter to me that I used my very limited HTML skills to build simple, black-text-on-white-background pages. I could do more if I wanted to, and use some software or site-building tools, but I don't have a need to do that, nor do I have the time.
Damn Wooly, I do the same thing. LOL. Though I did run 2 well traffic sites for awhile. |
"Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy. |
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 28 Oct 2013 : 22:55:28
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| It's funny how touchy some of you are getting about Godaddy's marketing/selling tactics. Think WoTC (or any company) doesn't do the same kind of thing? |
Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way. -Steve Martin
Amazon "KindleUnlimited" Free Trial: http://amzn.to/2AJ4yD2
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 29 Oct 2013 : 02:51:55
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Yes, they all do. You'll never see an 'unattractive' woman in a car commercial.
The only difference is, Godaddy crosses a line. The fact that nearly everyone thinks its a porn site - to the point where they make fun of this in their own marketing - just proves that its all intentional. subliminal = okay, overt = gross.
A few years ago (probably like 20 now... damn I'm old) there was a company by the name of 'FLICK' that came around the NY area, and they decided to slap their logo (their company name) on the top of every cab in the city. Problem is, the 'l' and 'i' in their name was so close together in their logo, that it looked liked another word - proudly sported in HUGE letters on top of every cab... and NY has an INSANE number of cabs.
After a very short time (and numerous complaints) the city made the cabs remove the advertising, and when the company tried to say it was their right to advertise their company name any way they wanted, the city basically told them to 'bugger off'. Sometimes I love where I live (but not always). The point is, YES, you can advertise anyway you want, but have some class while you are at it.
However, that won't stop me from using them if I find they are the best option right now. I have my own code (of ethics), but I also live in the RW and know that boycotting anything is just plain useless. Good business means sometimes putting your values aside (hopefully so you can do 'more good' in the long run with the profits... at least thats the idea).
Anyhow, lots of good discussion so far - thanks for everyone's input once again.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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HardKano
Learned Scribe
Canada
158 Posts |
Posted - 29 Oct 2013 : 03:51:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I don't like other people having control over my content. I know folks who've gotten their own sites and had problems with their providers.
However, that may be the way to go at first.
I own a place in powweb.com for 5 years now and i never got any problems with em. I was hosting my company website on ! |
There is only one thing that will never change : Evolution |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3248 Posts |
Posted - 29 Oct 2013 : 11:41:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I don't like other people having control over my content. I know folks who've gotten their own sites and had problems with their providers.
However, that may be the way to go at first.
They don't really have control over it, but until you can get your own server and a dedicated T1 to handle the traffic, it's the best route. |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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HardKano
Learned Scribe
Canada
158 Posts |
Posted - 29 Oct 2013 : 11:54:57
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| And the most expensive :P |
There is only one thing that will never change : Evolution |
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SirUrza
Master of Realmslore
USA
1283 Posts |
Posted - 30 Oct 2013 : 13:24:46
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Anyhow, lots of good discussion so far - thanks for everyone's input once again.
If you do go with godaddy, look at the bright side, you know plenty of people here have experience or accounts with them and can help you out if you don't want to deal directly with their people, who are very helpful btw. |
"Evil prevails when good men fail to act."
The original and unapologetic Arilyn, Aribeth, Seoni Fanboy. |
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New site?
