Website Hosting and Development

[BookEmDanno]

I'm trying to fathom out the best way forward to set up a website to advertise my services.

Any advice please on:

The amount of bandwidth to buy;

The site development software to use;

- Something like WordPress or Joomla which resides on the host server where I only need an internet connection to develop it.

- Something like Serif Webplus, which is software on the local machine where the site is published to the host server.

[Chris]

I would have thought that there were more appropriate forums to help you with this. However my thoughts are:
Don't worry about bandwidth. It's webspace you buy, and until you have planned your website it is impossible to advise on how much to buy. Bandwidth will become a consideration if your website becomes very popular and attracts a large number of hits. It depends on the number of pages, the number of photographs etc.

As for the software to use - it all depends on the level of your knowledge. I use a text editor, write in html and upload via FTP. Of the software you mention the Serif program is by far the easier to use. But there are many good programs to enable you to create your own website without any previous knowledge. The difficulty comes when you want to make changes. This often presents problems. My advice, if you do not want to pay someone to build your website, is to learn to build your own. It isn't difficult to learn basic html and to create a simple site which you will be able to elaborate as you gain experience. The fact that you know how you have made the site makes it so much easier to alter, adapt, enlarge or repair it which you certainly will wish to do.

Personally I would always prefer to develop a site on my own machine rather than editing on the server.

[BookEmDanno]

Thanks for that.

It occurs to me that a Punch performer is likely to get involved with the two most disobedient devices I know, namely, a sewing machine and a computer. Advice on the internet about sewing machines tends to be in English. Computer forums often seem to be written in Klingon and are inhabited by the po faced.

Any more non-technical responses would be most welcome. Something like 'I have two giggle bytes a month, 10 pages, a video and 69 photos and have never gone over.' (A giggle byte seems friendlier than a gigabyte.)

As an aside, I saw that in 'Punch and Judy Rebooted' Mr Punch had a laptop. I'm surprised he has the patience to use it, let alone try to sell on Ebaby.

As a further aside, the more I thought about the Ebaby joke and the concept of selling babies, the more disturbed I became. The press reports about the new show referred to no more dropping the baby. Well, my baby is well and truly thrown. I'm not sure which is funnier, throwing the baby down the stairs or selling it.

[James]

As ever with Punch I think the answer is not to think too deeply about it, just laugh at the joke and move on. Selling a real baby is just as bad as putting a person into a mincing machine and making them into food, but with a puppet you should be able to laugh.

[Chris]

Now come on
You throw around

The site development software to use;
- Something like WordPress or Joomla which resides on the host server

and

Something like Serif Webplus, which is software on the local machine where the site is published to the host server

which is gobbledegook to most non-techies.
I waste time trying to give you a helpful answer at the technical level your question implies and answering the specific things you ask, you come back with

Any more non-technical responses would be most welcome.

The words "timewaster" and "ungrateful" come to mind.

The answer I should have given in the first place is that I supply hosting for many many entertainers at £25 per year with a basic 20mb of webspace and 100mb bandwidth per month. This seems adequate for most. Anyway I have never charged anyone extra for exceeding their bandwidth.
If you want me to build your website for you, or include website building software in your hosting package then I will give you a quotation. You will need to contact me privately.

[BookEmDanno]

Oh dear! Perhaps I have joined the ranks of the po faced Klingon speakers.

I was guily of jargon and I am not ungrateful for Chris's reply.

I was trying to elicit basic experience of customers of website hosting who do not have much technical knowledge.

I think timewaster is a little harsh. My question was serious, if unfortunately worded.

Parts of my second post were indeed somewhat flippant. Perhaps I'm not so po faced after all.

[BookEmDanno]

May I try again with this one, please?

Is anyone willing to give:

● The name of the company they use for hosting their website;

● The name of the package they buy from that company;

● Whether they've had any problems?

[Chris]

Why not try chris@punchandjudy.com
The name of the package is "What you want."