# I want to make a website for my farm



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

so where do I start? Rather clueless here. LOL


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Cyngbaeld said:


> so where do I start? Rather clueless here. LOL


It depends on what you want, whether you have a budget, and how much time you're willing to put into it. You can get a website up for free and very little effort of you use a free hosting service with a web-based page generator, but if you want your own dot.com name with no advertising on the page you'll need a small budget of $25 to $50 per year. 

Think about these questions:

1) Do you want or need your own dot.com name?
2) Have you ever worked with html, and are you willing to learn?
3) Will your page content be static, or will it be updated from time to time? How often?
4) Are you willing to put up with advertising banners or pop-ups?
5) How much time are you willing to devote to learning to put up a web page?
6) What is the purpose of your web site?
7) Are you willing to commit a small budget to your web page?
8) Will you be selling anything at your web site?


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## Charleen (May 12, 2002)

I started mine free with Page builder on yahoo geocities. We've now 'upgraded' our yahoo account and no longer have the 'geocities' in our web address. We're also paying $8.95 per month now, but it's a farm expense that I can write-off. It's going to be a slow going if you've got dial-up and want photos on your site, but it wasn't too hard to learna nd it's easy to maintain. And I have NO computer experience.

I'm sure there's others out there that are better/faster/easier/ etc etc


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Charleen said:


> We're also paying $8.95 per month now


$8.95/month? Good grief, you must need huge resources for your web site. What do you get with your hosting account?


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## Charleen (May 12, 2002)

Nevada said:


> $8.95/month? Good grief, you must need huge resources for your web site. What do you get with your hosting account?


LOL, see this just goes to show how little I know. I guess I'm spending too much and there's cheaper available? Please share !


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Charleen said:


> LOL, see this just goes to show how little I know. I guess I'm spending too much and there's cheaper available? Please share !


I hate to do that because Ladycat operates her own web host business, but most small hosting accounts go for around $2.95/month. I know one place that will do it for 99 cents (50 meg account).


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## gccrook (Nov 21, 2003)

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=163624&highlight=web+host


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## Charleen (May 12, 2002)

Thank you all for your information and links. Sorry Cyngbaeld, I didn't mean for this to drift from you, but I guess it does answer your questions.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

No problem. Glad to learn all I can. The amount of info is overwhelming and hard to sort out. 

I am willing to spend some, don't want to spend too much of course.
On slow dial up.
Will be selling hatching eggs.
Have never worked with html and really don't want to, mainly because I transpose letters and it strains my eyes to try to sort stuff like that out.
Main purpose is to promote rare and endangered breeds of poultry.
Don't want this to tie up my life for days/weeks on end, have too much else to do.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Cyngbaeld said:


> No problem. Glad to learn all I can. The amount of info is overwhelming and hard to sort out.
> 
> I am willing to spend some, don't want to spend too much of course.
> On slow dial up.
> ...


Okay, good.

First you need to select a dot.com name (a domain). Go to godaddy.com and try to find a name that suits you. Get a name with .com, not anything else. If you get a .info or .org name people will assume the .com and won't be able to find you directly. Godaddy.com is a domain registrar, so if you find a name you like that isn't taken you'll need to register it. That will cost you $8.95 to register it for 1 year. If you have difficulty finding a name you like, post back here.

Next you need to open a web hosting account. Basically a web host is a service who rents you hard drive space in a server computer that is always connected to the Internet and can display your web page to the world. After you register a domain name (previous paragraph) post back and I'll give you some thoughts on hosting providers.

You should be able to maintain your own domain name and hosting account for under $20/year.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Picked out a domain name. Looking at godaddy and they have some specials? Domain 1.99 with hosting. 
Deluxe: 100,000 MB Disk Space, 1,000,000 MB Data Transfer, 1000 Email Accounts, Unlimited Forwarding accounts, 25 MySQL Databases, SQL Server 2000, Free Linux Items or Free Windows Items $5.59/mo
Is that a good deal?


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## Guest (Feb 15, 2007)

Umm, yeah, that's a GOOD deal. It's so good I'm having trouble believing it.


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## Guest (Feb 15, 2007)

Nevada said:


> I hate to do that because Ladycat operates her own web host business, but most small hosting accounts go for around $2.95/month. I know one place that will do it for 99 cents (50 meg account).


 Mine starts at $2/mo and I'm a very helpful host.


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## Teresa S. (Mar 2, 2006)

pay the extra penny and go with ladycat~! I'm sure she would be more helpful~!


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Cyngbaeld said:


> Picked out a domain name. Looking at godaddy and they have some specials? Domain 1.99 with hosting.
> Deluxe: 100,000 MB Disk Space, 1,000,000 MB Data Transfer, 1000 Email Accounts, Unlimited Forwarding accounts, 25 MySQL Databases, SQL Server 2000, Free Linux Items or Free Windows Items $5.59/mo
> Is that a good deal?


It's a much better deal to go with Ladycat.

*Godaddy.com Hosting:*

$1.99 for domain registration + 12 x $5.59 for hosting = $69.07/year

*Ladycat's Hosting:*

$8.95 for godaddy registration + 12 x $2.00 for hosting = $32.95/year

You'll save $36.12/year by having Ladycat host your web site.

A couple of other points to think about -- 

* First, you'll never use 5% of the hosting capacity the godaddy.com hosting package offers. In fact, you'll probably never use more than 10 megabytes of disk space, never use more than 50 megabytes of monthly data transfer, and probably never use any kind of SQL database. 

* I mentioned 99 cent per month hosting in an earlier post. While that price can be found, you won't get the kind of support Ladycat can give you. For an extra $12/year, hosting with Ladycat is worth many times the price differential. If you were an experienced web page builder then poorly supported 99 cent hosting would be fine, but in your case I think Ladycat offers a great value. 

I was hoping Ladycat would drop in to this thread and offier her services.


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## Guest (Feb 15, 2007)

Dang, Nevada, I need to hire you for promo services!


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i seem to remember yahoo had some good services when i had an account. i never conducted business with it though. i did think it was a bit on the expensive side. the page building tools are pretty easy to use though.

it sounds like ladycat has a lot to offer. i will be starting a site within the next few months, so we may have to chat.

about domain names...does anyone really own one anymore? has that been settled? i remember some legal drama about ownership a year or three ago.


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## lharvey (Jul 1, 2003)

Hosting is just like many many other things now.

There are the small mom and pops. There are the bog boxes.

It really doesn't matter how cheap it is. It doesn't really matter how much you get. I does matter on the server stats and uptime and how easy is it to get tech support should you need it.

Hosting plans are a dime a dozen.

The real thing is. Is this intended host just a reseller for someone else who really doesn't have control over the servers? Or, does this host actually own and run their own servers and can physically get their hands dirty when push comes to shove.

Interesting.

Lee


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## Snowdancer (Sep 23, 2002)

This question has perfect timing for me too. I was just on Godaddy last night and the name I wanted was available-one obstacle down 38 more to go. 
I want to open a small online store and have SSL with a shopping cart and merchant account. 

Godaddy has a variety of plans, ladycat do you have similar options?

My html is marginal at best. I designed & administer an active message board so I'm not afraid of trying my hand at new things.


What options sound best for my needs?


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

KY Guest said:


> What options sound best for my needs?


A good way to have a leg-up on starting a web site is to begin with a template, which is a generic web site that you can download and customize to your needs. Most of the work is already done in the template. All you need to do is change the title and content.

Many templates are free. Just search at Google for free templates. Just look for one that you like & suits your needs. Here's a good place to start:

http://freesitetemplates.com/templates/browse/speed-demons/


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## Guest (Feb 15, 2007)

KY Guest said:


> This question has perfect timing for me too. I was just on Godaddy last night and the name I wanted was available-one obstacle down 38 more to go.
> I want to open a small online store and have SSL with a shopping cart and merchant account.
> 
> Godaddy has a variety of plans, ladycat do you have similar options?
> ...


 You would still need to buy a domain from a registrar. I always recommend godaddy. 

After you purchase the domain, I would set the account up and give you the nameservers to point your domain at.

If you want SSL, you have to purchase that, which I would then install in your account. You may need a dedicated IP for the SSL, which I have available. I have installed SSL with and without dedicated IPs. I can do it without IF nobody else in your shared IP is using SSL. If you do need a dedicated IP, it costs a little extra.

I have shopping cart software preinstalled (even more than one kind to choose from), and I also have preinstalled templates that you can edit with your content. Or you could download your own template from somewhere. There are thousands of templates available all over the Internet, both free and paid.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

ladycat said:


> If you want SSL, you have to purchase that, which I would then install in your account.


Of course, a beginning website shouldn't need SSL. Paypal is the way to start (maybe the way to stay), so purchases are simply directed to Paypal. Since no sensitive information is entered before the customer is sent to Paypal, SSL isn't necessary.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Ladycat, looks like you have a new customer. LOL


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## Guest (Feb 15, 2007)

Nevada said:


> Of course, a beginning website shouldn't need SSL. Paypal is the way to start (maybe the way to stay), so purchases are simply directed to Paypal. Since no sensitive information is entered before the customer is sent to Paypal, SSL isn't necessary.


 You're right. A beginner should stick with Paypal until they get the hang of everything.


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