Things to look for in a webhost

[quartet-man]

A quick perusal of the sticky (which is pretty old) seems to be focused on companies. I am more interested in what types of things should I look for in a host? We currently have GoDaddy at church and I have never been all that impressed. Now, our webdesigner wants to try to match their price with some bonuses.

I just asked about downtime and backups and asked if he is reselling or has his own servers. What else should I know? I presume GoDaddy would refund what we don't use if we want to change, or would I be wrong? I think they have probably been paid up not too long ago. If no one knows off of the top of their head, I can check that part out. As far as our domains, I am not sure how tough that would be to change or if GoDaddy is as good as anyone else out there. They are though paid up for quite a while and we don't want to risk losing them. :-)

[K A Hall]

Other than the standard Cpanel and access to phpMyAdmin customer service is number one when looking for a host.

I use Godaddy for registering and managing my domains and their customer service is fine for dealing with domain issues when I get confused, such as when moving from one registrar to them. Their domain management interface is awesome as well if you have a bunch which is why I keep them all their. I have never used them for actual hosting so I would suppose that part of their customer service would be fine also.

For hosting I have been using hostingmatters.com for over 10 years. They always go out of their way to help me. Now you can't call them as far as I know but they are very responsive to emails or their ticket system. Even when I have questions that have nothing to do with hosting but more on the how do I do this in PHP kind of thing they have helped me. Their prices are low and none of my sites are ever down that I know of....and I would.

[David M]

Although many don't like GoDaddy, I have been using them for hosting my wife's businesses website. They have done her well and their customer support I would say is very good. Customer support means a lot for someone like me if you are not a website geek who understands how it all works. I didn't know squat and they were good at answering my website questions.

GoDaddy's website builder software is not intuitive and is horrible looking. I had to resort to hiring a professional to design her website.

If you are already a website geek then you don't really need GoDaddy.

[Force Flow]

I use godaddy for domain management and surpasshosting.com for hosting. They're very reasonable and have pretty responsive support services.

[mjkovis]

If you, yourself or others within your congregation are not using the hosting features that come with your web host, then I can only suggest to let your web designer go with what they are comfortable with. Along with that, what they are comfortable with should be within the appropriate budget and if they have a reason to increase that budget, they need to inform you of what and why.

That being said... GoDaddy is a domain registrar, NOT a web host. This is a very common misconception, although they do offer web hosting, they are not a true web host.

What would I look for in a host?

• Speed. #1 priority right now as search engines are weeding out sites that are slow to load (there is a base speed that they use for page load time). Speed is especially important if you plan on using any type of CMS, such as WordPress.
• Support. This is what GoDaddy lacks. Specialized support when it comes to their servers. You want a web host that won't tell you that because you have purchased (i.e. rented) a dedicated server from them that it is your responsibility to provide your own support.
• Features. The big ones are bandwidth per month, memory and storage space. If you need other stuff like email, databases, etc, those are normally fairly standard.
• Price. I don't suggest going with the cheapest hosting you can find. I don't suggest going with the most expensive either. It is much like making your choice based on the "best bang for the buck" theory.
• cPanel. More of a personal preference on the back-end, but I do enjoy using a Linux system with cPanel and WHM installed over IIS and Plesk.

Taking those into consideration and a few recommendations, I have landed with Surpass Hosting over using approximately 7 or 8 different web hosts in the last 12 years. Now, I have had a few hiccups, but they have always fixed the problems quickly and efficiently as well as accommodating me.

Others I recommend:
Web Hosting Services: Linux Server Hosting by Media Temple
Christian Web Hosting - Home Page
Web Hosting & Domain Names by FatCow.com
Web Hosting, VPS Hosting, Dedicated Hosting | InMotion Hosting

[quartet-man]

I have probably narrowed it down to surpasshosting.com, hostingmatters.com or maybe hostgator. Opinions besides already expressed? :-) Also, the designer has me concerned about using a free CMS because he said it is easy to really mess things up. If I get Dreamweaver, would I be better off and would it be easier to add new pages as time goes on?

[Force Flow]

Dreamweaver is not a CMS, and a big headache to manage and update. I'm involved with a project right now trying to revamp a site that has been maintained through dreamweaver, and the folks who maintained it are kicking themselves that they didn't go a different route earlier.

Saying that a free CMS makes it "really easy to mess things up" is a big falsehood. I'd question whether or not this designer knows what they are doing and if they have actual experience--or if they have done some work, if they are just a one-trick pony.

In general, wordpress has pretty much become the go-to CMS these days. But--it's not wise to run it out-of-the-box as-is. There are a few security precautions to take to plug a few potential holes and weak spots that are common avenues for possible exploitation, like installing the "Better WP Security" and "Secure WordPress" plugins. Note that both plugins overlap a little, so you will need to disable some of the duplicated security options in one or the other.

Wordpress is very easy to use, even for someone without any web development knowledge. It more or less looks and operates like a desktop application. And, in fact, you can update it from a few desktop applications or even by sending an email.

[quartet-man]

Well, he is a professional who does this for a living. He was recommended too, but beyond that I don't know. Here are some things he says.

Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention that if you decide to host, admin, and maintain the site yourself and blow it off the server, I'll charge you a whole lot of $ to rebuild it! Think about it. ;-) If you're seriously considering a CMS, don't make a snap decision about a new hosting provider until I know what you'll be using. Some of the providers out there might not play well with some of the software on the market and adjustments might need to be made to the site structure.

The site uses HTML, CSS, Javascript, and CGI (Perl). Chances are the Javascript won't require more than a basic knowledge of that language, but the CSS is written from scratch, so there might be things in the script that you're not familiar with.] I can highly recommend HostGator, but remember, whoever you go with, you'll be expected to know how to admin your own FTP protocols, Control Panel, scripts, forms, and email accounts. I do it every day, so it's second nature to me. It wasn't when I first started out! I think I have less hair because of learning this stuff! ;-)

[mjkovis]

Originally Posted by quartet-man I have probably narrowed it down to surpasshosting.com, hostingmatters.com or maybe hostgator. Opinions besides already expressed?

I haven't had much experience with Hosting Matters, though I have never heard or read anything bad about them either. Between Host Gator and Surpass, I would say Surpass is a WAY better choice. Host Gator's support has really started to get worse over the last few years.

Originally Posted by quartet-man Also, the designer has me concerned about using a free CMS because he said it is easy to really mess things up. If I get Dreamweaver, would I be better off and would it be easier to add new pages as time goes on?

I won't beat a dead horse with a stick as everything Force mentioned above is exactly what I would have written.

Originally Posted by Force Flow There are a few security precautions to take to plug a few potential holes and weak spots that are common avenues for possible exploitation, like installing the "Better WP Security" and "Secure WordPress" plugins.

I don't necessarily recommend using the plugins to fix these issues as I fix them manually to cut down on PHP requests. WordPress needs a good, fast, reliable host and the more PHP requests that are made from plugins slows down the page speed and load times. This can really become disastrous as your visitors will simply exit and move on to the next related website they can find if your site takes too long to load... These security issues are relatively easy to fix for any type of user that can read directions and I would be more than happy to lend a hand, if you need.

[mjkovis]

Originally Posted by quartet-man Well, he is a professional who does this for a living. He was recommended too, but beyond that I don't know.

There are many web designers/developers and SEO's out there that are self proclaimed professionals who do this type of work for a living. In my experience in the field, they feed on the uneducated to make sure they get paid. Bottom line.

The best thing is to educate yourself in this situation, as Force and I are doing. If any designer is pushing you away from a CMS, especially WordPress, they either:

1. Don't want to mess with it.
2. Don't know how to develop a theme/template.
3. Or in most cases they want to make sure they have you coming back every time you need content edited on your pages so they can pad their wallet for sub-par work.

As mentioned, most of the time it is number 3. A good freelance designer or company will point you in the right direction.

With the few comments you wrote, I am a bit skeptical on this guys actual ability to produce quality work as well as his knowledge.

[Force Flow]

Originally Posted by quartet-man Well, he is a professional who does this for a living. He was recommended too, but beyond that I don't know. Here are some things he says. Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention that if you decide to host, admin, and maintain the site yourself and blow it off the server, I'll charge you a whole lot of $ to rebuild it! Think about it. ;-) If you're seriously considering a CMS, don't make a snap decision about a new hosting provider until I know what you'll be using. Some of the providers out there might not play well with some of the software on the market and adjustments might need to be made to the site structure. The site uses HTML, CSS, Javascript, and CGI (Perl). Chances are the Javascript won't require more than a basic knowledge of that language, but the CSS is written from scratch, so there might be things in the script that you're not familiar with.] I can highly recommend HostGator, but remember, whoever you go with, you'll be expected to know how to admin your own FTP protocols, Control Panel, scripts, forms, and email accounts. I do it every day, so it's second nature to me. It wasn't when I first started out! I think I have less hair because of learning this stuff! ;-)

eep

He's trying to use scare tactics to get your business? That's certainly not a tactic I tend to rely on...

1) Host control panels are fairly straight forward. Once you familiarize yourself with them, you won't have too much trouble performing standard administrative or maintenance tasks. Granted, an end user might have trouble with it, but for someone who's tech savvy and familiar with the web, they'll do just fine.

2) If you do go with surpasshosting, their support team is pretty responsive, and can help you with the control panel and basic site administration.

3) If you happen to obliterate your site or accidentally delete something, surpasshosting has backups they can restore from. Or, you can access them yourself from the control panel.

4) I'm not sure where he's getting the idea that most sites are built on perl as the back-end language. They're not. A large portion of them are built on PHP, which is especially popular with web enthusiasts (however, business environments have tended to go with other languages). I'm also not sure what he means by building CSS from scratch.

5)

Some of the providers out there might not play well with some of the software on the market and adjustments might need to be made to the site structure.

False. A large number of hosts are standard LAMP environments (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP). Wordpress, and many other CMSes are designed with that in mind. Some even support additional configurations, such as different platforms and databases. Any web application worth its sand has a version check page in order to inform you if the software and versions of the software running on the server are inadequate.

Wordpress takes 5 minutes to install, and even has a guide for "the 5-minute install".

6) He's just trying to confuse you by throwing a lot of terms out at you all at once. Most of them are simple concepts that are easily understandable with a one-line explanation.

Originally Posted by mjkovis I don't necessarily recommend using the plugins to fix these issues as I fix them manually to cut down on PHP requests. WordPress needs a good, fast, reliable host and the more PHP requests that are made from plugins slows down the page speed and load times. This can really become disastrous as your visitors will simply exit and move on to the next related website they can find if your site takes too long to load... These security issues are relatively easy to fix for any type of user that can read directions and I would be more than happy to lend a hand, if you need.

For ease-of-setup, and as long as the site doesn't get slashdotted, it'll be fine. If you're concerned about a lot of traffic, there's a whole collection of caching plugins that are available.

Yes, a number of the things those two plugins do can be done manually, but until you're ready to dive into the guts of wordpress, you can rely on the plugins. I used to make many of those changes myself, but it's just quicker and easier to use the plugins, unless site performance becomes a real issue. PHP is quick as long as there are no serious errors in the code.

Note that too many plugins will slow down the site, so don't install them willy-nilly. Think of it like having too many programs load at startup on a windows PC.

[quartet-man]

Originally Posted by Force Flow 4) I'm not sure where he's getting the idea that most sites are built on perl as the back-end language. They're not. A large portion of them are built on PHP, which is especially popular with web enthusiasts (however, business environments have tended to go with other languages). I'm also not sure what he means by building CSS from scratch.

He is talking about our site that he has essentially built now.
So Wordpress would work with an existing site and the way it is put together? Does surpass offer basic editors or anything that will allow basic updates at least'?

I really appreciate the info you two have given. I think I am going to ask him about the CSS.


EDIT:
Here is what I sent:

What did you mean when you said you built the CSS from scratch?

The other people I looked at all were going to be able to build it so I could use a CSS.

People manage their own sites all of the time and many with less knowledge and savvy than I. I don't see why it is a big issue. Servers typically have backups if something damages the site, so I would think I would be covered there within reason.

People also change servers frequently. I am not sure why that would be a big deal too. From what I see, at least some hosts are good about making sure your site gets setup correctly

Something like Wordpress is built to be flexible so it can be useful to many people and needs.

Hosts too would need to be flexible or limit themselves to the types of customers they can get. I don't understand why this site seems to be so inflexible in different hosts, CMSs etc. I certainly don't want to be pigeonholed with one server or way of editing when there seems to be plenty of choices out there that are supposed to work for most if not all people.

[mjkovis]

Originally Posted by Force Flow Yes, a number of the things those two plugins do can be done manually, but until you're ready to dive into the guts of wordpress, you can rely on the plugins. I used to make many of those changes myself, but it's just quicker and easier to use the plugins, unless site performance becomes a real issue.

I think Mr. Force and I can agree to disagree here as we both have our own techniques and workflow with developing for WordPress. We could probably save that argument for another day in its own thread. His advice is definitely fundamentally sound and correct though. Plugin usage will ultimately be decided on who designs/develops the site, as they may or may not fix the security issues initially during development.

Originally Posted by Force Flow Note that too many plugins will slow down the site, so don't install them willy-nilly.

Yes. So true. Plugin happy WordPress users can really hurt a site/blogs functionality.

Originally Posted by quartet-man So Wordpress would work with an existing site and the way it is put together?

No. WordPress is just a software platform that you use to help in development of the site. If you have a current site that has already been coded, you cannot just install WordPress and expect it to integrate. The designer/developer must code the template for the site. WordPress or any other CMS acts as a dynamic editor so you may update the content of your site, add pages and/or write blog articles/posts.

Originally Posted by quartet-man Does Surpass offer basic editors or anything that will allow basic updates at least'?

No. Unless you are using some sort of CMS, I don't recommend doing any type of updates on your own. Leave it to a professional. You can use a simple text editor to edit PHP or HTML files, if and ONLY if you know what you are editing.

Originally Posted by quartet-man I really appreciate the info you two have given. I think I am going to ask him about the CSS.

No problem. If possible, I would recommend calling around to other design studios and freelancers to speak with them about this situation. Never hurts.

Think of it this way... Developing a website is no different than building a home or purchasing a new car. Searching for the right designer is also no different than finding the general contractor to build the home or the right dealership to purchase the car from.

Originally Posted by quartet-man What did you mean when you said you built the CSS from scratch? The other people I looked at all were going to be able to build it so I could use a CSS.

FYI - CSS is what is called a cascading style sheet. Style sheets are used along with HTML code to add style, color and layout to your site as a separate file from your web page or they can be embedded into your code (rarely done as there can be a lot of styles which can bloat the size of your web pages). Sounds like you kind of confused this point up in your email. Creating styles for a site can be indeed started from scratch as most websites are unique from each other. The way he explained this to you is exaggerated.

[Force Flow]

A good designer/developer will try to help you understand some of the terminology...not try to confuse you with it.

From your use of the term CSS, I wasn't sure or not if you were clear on what CSS was or not. Here's a brief overview:

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is the language used to style the HTML. The position of elements, background colors, font colors...that sort of thing. All that information is inside of a stylesheet with the file extension .css. If you view the source on any website, you will see one or several in the header.

So, while CSS is intended to specify the look and appearance of a page, the HTML is responsible for the page's structure and content.

In terms of wordpress, there is a default template which is styled so that you can use it out-of-the-box. Additionally, there are hundreds of free templates available that you can use (but with varying degrees of quality--hey, they're free). There's also hundreds more you that you can pay for, which tend to be of a slightly higher quality.

The templates include PHP code for interacting with wordpress and the wordpress database for retrieving data and displaying it as HTML--like post titles, the date a post was written, and the content within a post. Then, the HTML is used to add basic structure to the site, and the CSS specifies the look and appearance of the HTML and its content. Javascript is sometimes involved, which can add interactive elements, but it certainly isn't necessary.

Some wordpress templates are very dynamic in that you have some control of the presentation of the site--such as the layout and the color scheme. So, if you like the style of a particular template, but not the colors, sometimes they have they have features built-in where you can make changes without ever having to edit any code.

[quartet-man]

I knew CSS's function and what the letters stood for, but not much beyond that. Would something like Seamonkey allow me to update the site? As it is, I have updated our current site (NOT the one he has been working on) with GoDaddy's basic HTML editor. I do know a little HTML from back in the day, but that was close to 10 years ago.
I told him from the get go I needed something I could update. He mentioned there were various CMSs available of differing quality and difficulty. I am going to have to insist he finds a way for me to edit it as that was one of the original things I said I needed.

Edit: So, what I guess I need to know now is does each CMS require certain custom things on his end in order to play nice with that particular CMS? I am trying to find a way to make what he has done work with my needs to edit. It is his problem as far as that was a requirement from the beginning, but I really don't want him to lose all or a lot of his work if possible even if he messed up.

Edit two: My bad on the CSS thing. I had a typo above that the designer caught. That might have made you guys think I was more confused about it than I was.

Line two under the edit on the 8:18 a.m. post above should have been use a CMS not CSS.

Here are some answers received: (his answers in [ ] and I added a few notes to you all here). I didn't include my notes sent back to him.

In regards to what the CSS from scratch:
[I don't use a CSS generator. I write it catering to the needs of each individual site.]

[I think you're confusing CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) with CMS (Content Management System). This site is built so it can be edited with a CMS. You just need to choose the one you're comfortable with as you will be the admin of it. As we've previously discussed, there are free ones and pay-for ones. They all have a learning curve, even those custom built by other developers].

[I don't know anyone who changes servers frequently. I don't understand why anyone would. Each host server has their own protocols—hence, that's why I don't like GoDaddy. They make things far more complicated than need be, plus their control panel for the administrator is not as complete in its offerings or as user-friendly as the industry standard that I use.]

NOTE: I meant to change my thing about changing servers frequently to what I intended which was essentially people change servers everyday (meaning someone not that each person changes servers often).

[Built initially as blogging software, WordPress is great for a lot of things. If you want to use it as your CMS, that works for me. Again, you're the CMS admin once the website files are loaded onto the server; it's your show and you run it however you want to. All I've been trying to get across is that everything has a learning curve and you just need to decide which method you want to go with. Converting a site not built in WordPress can be tricky, but if you know WordPress and have the time to do it, it shouldn't be a problem.]

[In a nutshell, this site will work on any host server it's loaded on to and any CMS worth having will work in order to manage it. You just either need to decide what system you're comfortable with or I'll choose one for you. Either way, again, you have to admin it if you're taking on that role.]

NOTE: What other type of CMS do you guys recommend (besides Wordpress I guess) and if I change hosts will they help in converting the finished site to their server as far as scripts etc.?

[Force Flow]

Originally Posted by quartet-man I knew CSS's function and what the letters stood for, but not much beyond that. Would something like Seamonkey allow me to update the site? As it is, I have updated our current site (NOT the one he has been working on) with GoDaddy's basic HTML editor. I do know a little HTML from back in the day, but that was close to 10 years ago. I told him from the get go I needed something I could update. He mentioned there were various CMSs available of differing quality and difficulty. I am going to have to insist he finds a way for me to edit it as that was one of the original things I said I needed.

Are you talking about editing the design of the site, or editing/adding content?

With a CMS, you don't need any additional programs.

If you're editing the design/template, I've just been using notepad++, a browser, and the firebug plugin. Seamonkey works for some people, but since I had gotten used to working with the expensive tools (ie, dreamweaver), it's hard to go back to the free WYSIWYG editors (note--I was more or less just using dreamweaver to locate and select elements on the page, but since I can do that now with less expensive tools, I've pretty much stopped using dreamweaver).

Edit: So, what I guess I need to know now is does each CMS require certain custom things on his end in order to play nice with that particular CMS? I am trying to find a way to make what he has done work with my needs to edit. It is his problem as far as that was a requirement from the beginning, but I really don't want him to lose all or a lot of his work if possible even if he messed up.

I'm not quite clear on what you're asking, but if you're talking about merging your existing site with a CMS, the short answer is you can't.

The long answer is that you can copy content and add it to the CMS. If you want to use your current design, it will need to be revamped in order to work with a CMS, since each CMS has its own way of doing things behind the scenes.

Edit two: My bad on the CSS thing. I had a typo above that the designer caught. That might have made you guys think I was more confused about it than I was.

Yep.

Here are some answers received: (his answers in [ ] and I added a few notes to you all here). I didn't include my notes sent back to him. [I think you're confusing CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) with CMS (Content Management System). This site is built so it can be edited with a CMS. You just need to choose the one you're comfortable with as you will be the admin of it. As we've previously discussed, there are free ones and pay-for ones. They all have a learning curve, even those custom built by other developers].

Ok, this was reasonable enough response.

[I don't know anyone who changes servers frequently. I don't understand why anyone would. Each host server has their own protocols—hence, that's why I don't like GoDaddy. They make things far more complicated than need be, plus their control panel for the administrator is not as complete in its offerings or as user-friendly as the industry standard that I use.]

He's misusing the term "protocols", but otherwise correct for the most part. Yes, don't use godaddy. Ever. They are a domain registrar, not a hosting provider. Godaddy just uses the hosting component as an upsell, and doesn't put much into it. Use a real host (like surpasshosting), and you'll get all the benefits of a real host.

[Built initially as blogging software, WordPress is great for a lot of things. If you want to use it as your CMS, that works for me. Again, you're the CMS admin once the website files are loaded onto the server; it's your show and you run it however you want to. All I've been trying to get across is that everything has a learning curve and you just need to decide which method you want to go with. Converting a site not built in WordPress can be tricky, but if you know WordPress and have the time to do it, it shouldn't be a problem.]

A CMS lets *you* do things without having to go to the designer all the time. It's meant to be a simple GUI that simple and straight-forward and easy to use.

Yes, if you've never used a CMS before, you will have to familiarize yourself with it, but it's straight-forward, there are plenty of tutorials, and there is a large community support base. With wordpress, support is certainly not lacking.

NOTE: What other type of CMS do you guys recommend (besides Wordpress I guess)

Wordpress is by far the easiest and most complete. I've used a handful of others over the years, but they just tend to be clunky and confusing.

If you want to get a general idea of how things work without doing the initial set-up, sign up for an account on http://wordpress.com. That is the hosted version of wordpress. You're a bit limited as to what you can do in terms of administration, but it will give you a good general feel of how to use it.

Note that wordpress.com is different than wordpress.org. The dot-org is for the one you can download and run on your own host.

and if I change hosts will they help in converting the finished site to their server as far as scripts etc.?

I would move away from godaddy and set up the site on surpasshosting. That way, you won't have to move it later, which can be a bit of a pain (the difference in absolute file paths is probably the only major thing besides updating your DNS settings for your domain. The file paths can be updated in the config file or the admin panel in the CMS).

If you move, just zip up all the files in your account, download them, upload them to the new host, and unzip.

Then, on the old host, export and download the database(s) from the host's control panel, set up the database containers and database users on the new host, then upload & import them to the new host with their control panel.

[quartet-man]

Originally Posted by Force Flow Are you talking about editing the design of the site, or editing/adding content?

1. Editing/adding content on existing pages as a minimum
2. Possibly add new pages that do not exist at the moment. (i.e. if I want to make a page say for the history of the church which isn't in existence currently.)

With a CMS, you don't need any additional programs. If you're editing the design/template, I've just been using notepad++, a browser, and the firebug plugin. Seamonkey works for some people, but since I had gotten used to working with the expensive tools (ie, dreamweaver), it's hard to go back to the free WYSIWYG editors (note--I was more or less just using dreamweaver to locate and select elements on the page, but since I can do that now with less expensive tools, I've pretty much stopped using dreamweaver).

I'll take it.

I'm not quite clear on what you're asking, but if you're talking about merging your existing site with a CMS, the short answer is you can't.

Not the site that is up currently, but the new design he has almost completed which is not on our server. He has a copy on his so I can look at it, but that is temporary.

The long answer is that you can copy content and add it to the CMS. If you want to use your current design, it will need to be revamped in order to work with a CMS, since each CMS has its own way of doing things behind the scenes.

So, I will have to redo the work he has done within the CMS?

Yep. Ok, this was reasonable enough response. He's misusing the term "protocols", but otherwise correct for the most part. Yes, don't use godaddy. Ever. They are a domain registrar, not a hosting provider. Godaddy just uses the hosting component as an upsell, and doesn't put much into it. Use a real host (like surpasshosting), and you'll get all the benefits of a real host.

We had a college student (the former webmaster actually) who chose or helped choose GoDaddy by what they offered and the price. He got his credentials and works in IT out of state at a charity.

A CMS lets *you* do things without having to go to the designer all the time. It's meant to be a simple GUI that simple and straight-forward and easy to use. Yes, if you've never used a CMS before, you will have to familiarize yourself with it, but it's straight-forward, there are plenty of tutorials, and there is a large community support base. With wordpress, support is certainly not lacking. Wordpress is by far the easiest and most complete. I've used a handful of others over the years, but they just tend to be clunky and confusing. If you want to get a general idea of how things work without doing the initial set-up, sign up for an account on WordPress.com — Get a Free Blog Here. That is the hosted version of wordpress. You're a bit limited as to what you can do in terms of administration, but it will give you a good general feel of how to use it. Note that wordpress.com is different than wordpress.org. The dot-org is for the one you can download and run on your own host.

But if he has already designed the site, it would be hard to do, correct?

I would move away from godaddy and set up the site on surpasshosting. That way, you won't have to move it later, which can be a bit of a pain (the difference in absolute file paths is probably the only major thing besides updating your DNS settings for your domain. The file paths can be updated in the config file or the admin panel in the CMS). If you move, just zip up all the files in your account, download them, upload them to the new host, and unzip. Then, on the old host, export and download the database(s) from the host's control panel, set up the database containers and database users on the new host, then upload & import them to the new host with their control panel.

I will have to see. The hosting is a charitable donation by a member. Surprass is more. I may have to pay the difference myself, but think it would be worth it.

To reiterate, the designer has designed the site using the languages mentioned above. Nothing has been uploaded to our server yet. I have not chosen a CMS. What position does this put me in as far as what I need to do with the files he gives me? If I choose a CMS, do I have to redo his work into the CMS or can I simply use it to edit his work as far as changing content? If you have answered above, no need to again, I am just trying to be clear in stating and then understanding.

[Force Flow]

Originally Posted by quartet-man 1. Editing/adding content on existing pages as a minimum 2. Possibly add new pages that do not exist at the moment. (i.e. if I want to make a page say for the history of the church which isn't in existence currently.)

Adding content is easy. Type it in a text box and hit the submit button. That's it.

The hosting is a charitable donation by a member. Surprass is more. I may have to pay the difference myself, but think it would be worth it.

For comparative purposes, I'm paying $6/mo right now for a shared hosting account.

So, I will have to redo the work he has done within the CMS?

Is there or isn't there a CMS in place? I thought you were just working with static pages through dreamweaver.

To reiterate, the designer has designed the site using the languages mentioned above. Nothing has been uploaded to our server yet. I have not chosen a CMS. What position does this put me in as far as what I need to do with the files he gives me? If I choose a CMS, do I have to redo his work into the CMS or can I simply use it to edit his work as far as changing content? If you have answered above, no need to again, I am just trying to be clear in stating and then understanding.

If it's just the HTML/CSS that's been worked on, then yes, you can add PHP code to it to make it a wordpress template. If he used Perl in addition to that, the Perl code would have to be scrapped.

But--it's a fair amount of work to create a template from scratch. Take a look at some of the free templates available and see if there's anything you like.

Any content can pretty much be copied and pasted into the CMS.

Don't feel like you have to be stuck with something you don't like just because some time has already been sunk into it. Remember what Microsoft did with Longhorn? Sometimes you have to take a few steps back once you figure out what you really want to do.

[mjkovis]

^ What Mr. Force said.

Totally agree, so I'm not going to re-type out what he has written.

[quartet-man]

Originally Posted by Force Flow For comparative purposes, I'm paying $6/mo right now for a shared hosting account.

Ours is around $50. a year, but I would be willing to pay the difference. Is that with a contract or anything?

Originally Posted by Force Flow Is there or isn't there a CMS in place? I thought you were just working with static pages through dreamweaver.

I think he may have used Dreamweaver. From what he said I should choose a CMS, so there isn't one in place.

Originally Posted by Force Flow If it's just the HTML/CSS that's been worked on, then yes, you can add PHP code to it to make it a wordpress template. If he used Perl in addition to that, the Perl code would have to be scrapped. But--it's a fair amount of work to create a template from scratch. Take a look at some of the free templates available and see if there's anything you like.

Well, I told him that I needed a site that I could manage. So does this mean he should have used a CMS from the beginning and I am going to have a lot of work or tough time in utilizing his created content and design into one?
Basically we have submitted the text and some pictures and he has designed the site. He has found other images, chosen the design and colors etc. We are paying him I think $1500. and if I have a problem if I am going to have to do a lot of work to make it work within a CMS since I told him from the beginning that I needed it to where I could edit, add and manage. Am I correct in this way of thinking or am I being unreasonable?

Originally Posted by Force Flow Don't feel like you have to be stuck with something you don't like just because some time has already been sunk into it. Remember what Microsoft did with Longhorn? Sometimes you have to take a few steps back once you figure out what you really want to do.

Understood, but I am under pressure to get it done and up yesterday. It has gone on for a while in getting a budget, , getting the budget raised, finding someone (the first I found was too high and they refused to raise the budget), the second I wanted ended up having a conflict of interest with his job at the college and couldn't do it etc. I do like the design and looks of what he has done well enough and would like to use that but with a CMS. The second person I mentioned above showed me a couple of CMSs and I chose one (dotnetnuke). This one didn't take that approach. Maybe he is used to designing sites he maintains or maybe he thought he could talk me into that. I don't know, but before I pay him I want to make sure I get what I told him I needed to have (without being unreasonable).

[Force Flow]

Originally Posted by quartet-man Ours is around $50. a year, but I would be willing to pay the difference. Is that with a contract or anything?

Shared Web Hosting Solutions by Surpass Hosting

• $7/month (month to month)
• $6/month (1 year payment)
• $5/month (2 year payment)
• $4/month (3 year payment)

Looks like they changed the payment scale slightly since the last time I looked. You can always contact them and see if the year payment is a lump sum or every month. I pay every month.

Well, I told him that I needed a site that I could manage.

And I'm surprised he didn't recommend a CMS, or more specifically, wordpress. Like I've been saying this whole time, it's something you can manage. If you can navigate this forum, you can navigate wordpress.

So does this mean he should have used a CMS from the beginning and I am going to have a lot of work or tough time in utilizing his created content and design into one?

That's what it sounds like.

Basically we have submitted the text and some pictures and he has designed the site. He has found other images, chosen the design and colors etc. We are paying him I think $1500. and if I have a problem if I am going to have to do a lot of work to make it work within a CMS since I told him from the beginning that I needed it to where I could edit, add and manage. Am I correct in this way of thinking or am I being unreasonable?

I'm not exactly sure how he is setting things up for you, but it sounds like it may be a bit of a headache to deal with.

Your requests are perfectly reasonable.

For a custom design, $1500 is about the ballpark figure that I would expect of a true professional who has a large portfolio under their belt.

Understood, but I am under pressure to get it done and up yesterday.

Well, for comparative purposes, I can get a basic wordpress site up and running in an afternoon. Granted--this doesn't include a custom designed template, but I can add a free one that's available on wordpress.org or just use the default wordpress template.