singingcrow

Hi there,

Right now my business website is in a template supplied by a company who I use for online appointment scheduling. It's working fine except no one can find my site unless they're referred to it by a friend or any directory I've listed with, because the template is written within a form. I'm also ready to make my website feel special and more inviting, perhaps with integrated feedback forms and an email form, and perhaps more, so it would have to be expandable - maybe other languages.

So my question is when looking for a host how do I really know what I need? I don't know how much space or storage I need, and am confused.

I've been reading the forum here and have looked at all the suggested hosts, so that's not what I'm looking for here. If you could, could you please be more specific as to how much space a web page needs, or what the potential need for feedback or a small forum could be?

Thank you! And have a wonderful day!!!

__________________
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Tascam US-122 Interface

Fear is but a wall of illusion to that which will make you happy.

lindmar

Start with some basic shared hosting.

There are decent providers out there. Then, monitor your stats and if you need more upgrade from there
Another good resource for quality and affordable hosting is bluehost.com

YES, you can find way way cheaper, but bluehost is pretty good for the money.

Oakbridge

There is no definitive answer, it would be like asking what kind of office space you'd require. Or what colour shirt you should wear to your next client meeting. No two businesses' requirements for a web site are the same.

My best suggestion would be to look at some sites on the web and find some that look like something that would fit your company. Then from there draw up a list of pages you'd like to see on the site. Once you have that information, it can be a little easier to determine what kind of site you need and how big it will be.

For example, there are static sites and there are dynamic sites. Static sites have all of their pages created and stored on the webserver. They can be created by a template, but each page and all of it's content is stored as a file. Dynamic sites typically work off of a back-end database or they use things like Java or Javascript. They dynamically create the individual pages on the fly based on things like what the user might have typed into a search field.

We are using a good example of a dynamic site here on ehMac. Other examples of dynamic sites are most ecommerce sites. The developer creates a page layout with placeholders for the different information that is returned from the database. A simple example would be a product page that might have a spot where the description goes, a spot for where the picture goes, and a spot for where the price goes. In addition the page might have a standard logo, and navigation buttons (i.e. next product, last product, new search, etc.) There is only one 'product' page stored on the webserver, but it knows when it is called that it has to talk to a database first. The webserver sends the database some information, using search criteria. The database sends it back the description, picture (or filename of the picture), and price.

If you look at this page right now you'll see 'showthread.php?t=46090' in the location window. The item after the question mark is telling the database to bring back thread number 46090.

If you want to show products and you've got 3-4 products a static site will work. If you have 3,000-4,000 products a static site really isn't practical, it would require that you create a page for each product. That is where a dynamic site really shines.

This is work that my company does. I'd be happy to assist you offline if you'd like.

Hope this helps,

__________________
Steve Smith

Oakbridge Information Solutions
ssmith@oakbridge.ca
Master Daylite Partners
Certified Daylite Trainers
FileMaker Business Alliance
MoneyWorks Consultants

groovetube

looking around on the web is a good idea. It gives you a good idea of the kind of presentation that appeals to you. When I first talk with a comany about doing a website, I generally write a proposal that covers the process of building the site for the company, detailing things like visual presentation, the technology to be used, structure, how it would benefit the company etc.

Getting a few different proposals from web companies can give you a nice idea of how they would approach building your web presence before deciding on who you use.

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singingcrow

Oh! I knew there was a reason I love this site.... I've just discovered how ignorant I am on the subject! Thank you!

Well, I guess I'm going to start poking around then and go from there.

If anyone else would like to add anything please feel free. Like I said I have a lo to learn.


Thanks!

__________________
12" Powerbook G4 1.5! It's small,shiney, beautiful, and it has brains too!
Tascam US-122 Interface

Fear is but a wall of illusion to that which will make you happy.

MacDoc

Put your site in your signature as a start. Little easier for people to help.

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singingcrow

Thanks MacDoc. I suppose that would help. I guess I wasn't sure if I'd be crossing the line.

In any case, my site is now in my siggy for all to see.

__________________
12" Powerbook G4 1.5! It's small,shiney, beautiful, and it has brains too!
Tascam US-122 Interface

Fear is but a wall of illusion to that which will make you happy.