New Web Site Advice

rocky raccoon

I am looking for a little help if anyone has any advice. I am designing a simple html website on Dreamweaver CS4 for my parent's holiday homes. I was wondering if anyone knew of any free application that could be installed in the code that would allow someone, without access to the hosting account, update special offers, etc. I have used Google Calendar before which is kinda what I am looking for but I don't need a calendar, just a table.

VMotion

rocky raccoon, have you ever considered going with Wordpress? Will give you the ability to edit the text and tons of free plugins for calendars etc.

rocky raccoon

VMotion wrote: »

rocky raccoon, have you ever considered going with Wordpress? Will give you the ability to edit the text and tons of free plugins for calendars etc.

I have tried using wordpress before but don't know how to set it up. When i download wordpress l get loads of files and i have no idea how to go about it and where to start. I would also need to complete the website offline then upload it there is a live website up and running. Do i have to download wordpress for each wordpress site i construct?

dahamsta

Who are you hosting with? Most reputable hosts have automatic installers these days that'll have you up and running with WordPress in minutes.

rocky raccoon

I am with GoDaddy. I previously installed it on the site and it is at domainname.com/wordpress but when I click on the admin it says "No input file specified". I can't take the existing site down until I have the new one ready. I came across Google Docs this morning which may solve my problem. I think I can set up a Gmail account and using Google Docs install the URL of a small table into the html code. If this is similar to Google Calender it will allow anyone with the Gmail details access to change what is in the table but will not affect the code.

But I do agree that a WordPress site would look better and would be simpler if I knew what I was doing with it.

dahamsta

The only advice I can give in that case is to find a decent host. GoDaddy are scum of the earth.

rocky raccoon

Well I have to make do with it until it is time to renew then I'll consider changing hosting. I have no issues with GoDaddy myself.

rocky raccoon

As i can't change my hosting company at present can anyone tell me where i start in setting up a wordpress site?

yoyo

rocky raccoon wrote: »

As i can't change my hosting company at present can anyone tell me where i start in setting up a wordpress site?

• Download the zip file and extract it on say to a folder called Wordpress on your desktop. Make sure when you extract it you choose to keep the folder structure intact.
• You should have a folder structure such as wp-content, wp-includes etc. and also a index.php amongst other files in this folder.
• Login to the Go Daddy hosting control panel, and choose MySQL Databases. Make a new MySQL 4/5 Database and call it whatever you want. Also create a new user for the database (make sure its a dba permissioned one) and take note of the username and password. Further take note of the Database Host name and the database name. This is a simple enough procedure that might sound complicated. There is likely to be a wizard which will do much of these steps for you.
• Now using your FTP program upload the entire wordpress folder you extracted to your webroot folder, generally wwwroot or htdocs depending on operating systems/configuration.
• When Wordpress is uploaded simply navigate to your website and the wordpress installer should start. You then just need to enter the database details you saved earlier and the installer will populate the database automatically. The next stage is setting up the default admin account and
• other settings.

There is a good installation tutorial here. It should cover the other simple tasks you may need to do such as changing permissions on certain directories, etc.
(I'm assuming you have a webhosting package with PHP and MySQL support enabled.)

Nick

VMotion

rocky raccoon wrote: »

I can't take the existing site down until I have the new one ready.

You can install it on subdomain, say test.yourdomain.com and work on it as much as you want without disrupting the main site.

rocky raccoon

Cheers yoyo, I'll give that a shot as soon as I have a free hour.

ket

I think wordpress is the best for you as because it is simple and user friendly to use.

StupidLikeAFox

You could also install Wamp or Xamp on your computer, this allows you to simulate a server on your pc so you can work on the site locally. When the site is finished you just transfer it to your online host and youre done.

I find it a lot easier to work with as you are using windows to browse the site file structure and you dont have to upload and download files to edit them