pctoolbox.co.uk

Last week we looked at Domain Names, this week, Hosting! To have a website that is accessible to everyone it needs to be stored on a computer somewhere, and one that is permentantly connected to the internet as well. This can be done yourself on a computer at home but if you are thinking along those lines then these posts are not for you. Most people, especially beginners choose to host their website with a hosting company.

A Web Hosting company will provide space on a server where you can host (store the files of) your website. They also often offer other features such as:

• POP3 email accounts
• Database support (e.g. MySql, MSSQL)
• Site Building Tools
• eCommerce Tools

For a starter site you are unlikely to need a hugely expensive package, Brandstar’s hosting company Wildhosting.co.uk offer a starter package for just £12.50+vat, which is perfect for many, especially home users. Things to look for when buying your hosting pacakge:

1. Amount of Disk Space, usually measured in either MB (Megabytes) or GB (Gigabytes)
2. Bandwith – when a visitor comes to your site and views it they use some of the bandwidth you have been allocated to download the text information, images etc.
3. Email accounts, it is far more professional to have sales@mycompany.com rather than my_company_sales@hotmail.com!
4. The platform the server offering hosting on, either Linux or Windows. If the tool you want to use is written in PHP then you will want a Linux host, if it is written with asp/aspx then you will want a Windows host.

Often Linux hosts have Fantastico installed which helps beginners install tools to use on their website, such as WordPress, which we will look at next week! This saves you uploading your own choice of tool to your site and configuring the database!

A few exampls of hosting companies:

• Wildhosting
• 123-Reg *
• Fasthosts
• Rackspace
• GoDaddy

So there we are, hopefully you know enough now to start investigating which hosting package you want. Next week we can talk through some tools you can use to build your site!

*this link is an affiliate link, we have to run the site somehow if you want a link without the affiliate link then try this one: www.123-reg.co.uk. Please note, our affiliate status has no effect on us recommending 123-Reg.

The following blog will take you through the easy steps of how to set up an Auto-Response for your website/email address for those using cPanel. Then of course how to delete it

How To Create an Auto-Response

1. The first step you need to take is to open up your web browser and type into your address bar ‘www.yourwebsite.domainsuffix/cpanel’ e.g. ‘www.grae.co.uk/cpanel’ or ‘www.pctoolbox.co.uk/cpanel’.
2. You now need to log in to your C Panel. Enter your user name and password in the designated boxes. Then click OK. If you have forgotten your password please ask your hosting provider, e.g. WildHosting. WARNING- You are now entering the main control area of your site. Do not make any changes unless you know what you’re doing. If incorrect changes are made, your website may not function correctly.
   
3. Now just click on the ‘Mail’ icon.
4. Click ‘Auto-Responders’.
5. Then select ‘Add Auto-Responders’.
6. Now you need to fill in the form. Here are the features we recommend to change (click on the picture to see a larger example of the filled out form):

• In the ‘Email’ section put the name part of your email address (e.g. we have put admin) and then choose your address from the drop down.
• We suggest in the ‘From’ section that you put something like auto-repsonse@youraddress.co.uk e.g. auto-response@grae.co.uk.
• We suggest in the ‘Subject’ box you put ‘%subject%’. This will insert the subject from the email which the response is replying to.
• Leave the character set as ‘utf-8′
• Type the Body (text) of your email.
• Then Click ‘Create/Modify’.

Then Click ‘LogOut’.

How to delete an Auto-Response

1. Follow the steps 1-4 from ‘How to Create an Auto-Response’.
2. Click delete.

Then Click ‘LogOut’.

Did you find this tutorial helpful?

Before using a new product it is always helpful to know what users of it really think. That is the reason for this todays blog. There are many blogging tools available, some free like WordPress and others costing some of your hard earnt cash. So is WordPress really any good? Well here are my thoughts…

I haven’t been using WordPress too long but I have spent a lot of time with it over the last couple of months, from setting up, customising and generally playing with its capabilities. The first blog I released powered by WordPress was the Brandstar site, follwed by this pc toolbox site and there is a third non IT site on its way!

Ultimately I think it is an amazing tool and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to friends, family or clients. But why do I think that, is the most important question!

Firstly the Basic Install – Even if you just use the basic installation of WordPress without changing the theme or adding any plugins it boasts with a huge number of excellent features.

• Ease of use – within a few minutes (literally) you can be posting your thoughts on your own weblog. The only experience you really need is the ability to fill in an online form.
• The ability to have static pages as well as your blog really makes it more than just a blogging tool.
• Easily link to other bloggers with the “BlogRoll”.
• Spam prevention checks users comments to keep your site clean and tidy.
• User registration.
• Multiple Blog Administrators, Authors and Editors.

So out of the box the is plenty to get started with.
Themes – There are a huge range of free themes for WordPress that can be very easily installed, as simple as 1.2.3

1. Download your chosen theme
2. UnZip the downloaded theme
3. Upload the theme folder to your WordPress directory (you will need an FTP program to do this, I like Filezilla)

Plugins – To make more of your WordPress blog there are a huge number of plugins available, here are a few we have installed on PC Toolbox:

• Sociable – allows you to add the links to bottom of your post enabling visitors to share your post on some of their most favourite sites such as Digg.
• Adsense Deluxe – allows you to add GoogleAds to some / all of your posts.
• WP Polls – A Polls plugin built with Ajax. Easy to install and use and works well.

Fantastico – Many web hosts running a variant of linux have Fantastico installed which enable a very easy installation of WordPress in the first place, so users need very little knowledge of websites to get it installed. Need a webhost for this? Visit Brandstar’s webhosting company Wildhosting.co.uk and they will get your sorted.

Any questions or thoughts just leave a comment!

Happy Blogging