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Please help: host website with .mac account?

Christopher11

Christopher11

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 10, 2007
707
66
Hi. I am building a website in iWeb. I have a domain name through godaddy.com.

I chose iWeb to design because I have the program. I haven't put a lot of time into it yet.

What I want to know is: is a .mac account, with forwarding and masking from godaddy.com the best option for me? A few words about me.

I am a musician and producer. There will be music and video at my website. I am certain I can keep the size under the 1GB .mac account offers... but I want to make sure this is a good option for me in terms of the forwarding, and the bandwidth .mac offers.

If you feel this may not be my best option...

Are there any other web hosting services that allow me to upload from iWeb created website?

If not, are there any other programs that allow you to build a website and then upload to either their site or to Godaddy.com?

I checked out macwebsitebuilder.com, but they are expensive and seem more strictly oriented towards business. Any other options?

Thank you for any replies!
 
You can export your site from iWeb and upload it to any service provider, but you can't use all the iWeb features. Blogs, password protection and vist counter are the ones I can think of off the top of my head that only work with .mac.

If you only want .mac for your website, dont need the above. I'd say go somewhere else. .mac is great because it integrates with iWeb so well and because of its other features. But not because its a web host.

There are other WYSIWYG website creation programs out there. They are far more flexible and efficient, but also way more complicated to use. (Adobe Golive, Dreamweaver etc....)
 
Mydriasis said:
You can export your site from iWeb and upload it to any service provider, but you can't use all the iWeb features. Blogs, password protection and vist counter are the ones I can think of off the top of my head that only work with .mac.

If you only want .mac for your website, dont need the above. I'd say go somewhere else. .mac is great because it integrates with iWeb so well and because of its other features. But not because its a web host.

There are other WYSIWYG website creation programs out there. They are far more flexible and efficient, but also way more complicated to use. (Adobe Golive, Dreamweaver etc....)
Click to expand...

Okay, thanks so much Mydriasis. I actually have Rapidweaver 3.5, and access to dreamweaver. But I assume Dreamweaver takes some time to learn!

If I used Rapidweaver and uploaded to a site like dreamhost, would I have features like weblog, password protection, and the ability to regularly edit?

For a guy who does his music and video on a mac (using Logic and Final Cut Pro), would you say .mac account with forwarding from godaddy is probably a better bet?

I realize that's subjective. Thanks so much!

Anyone else have an opinion, please feel free to chime in. Thanks...
 
there are ways to get blogs and password protection in RW. the latter is easier, because you just have to get this plugin. You can also make a blog easily by using the plugin that comes with RW, the rapidblog plugin (blogger.com integration), or by following this tutorial (wordpress integration).
:D
 
Dreamweaver isn't hard to learn, especially not if your already have experience in 'pro' apps. (for lack of a better word, maybe I should say are an experience computer users)

It definitly takes more time to create a new site with it, but the results can be better.

So I guess it depends on what you want, and how much you want to invest. Do you want the simple and quick, or the more complicated but potentially better website?

Basic password protection is easy! Regular editing is easy with dreamweaver to any web host, with iWeb its a little more complicated if you dont use .mac. Weblog in iWeb with .mac is about as easy as it gets. The setup is harder with other programms, but the daily use is just as simple.
 
Thanks so much for the replies. I've been checking out dreamhost, and have emailed them, Mydriasis. Is the bandwidth and storage space they offer for a year, level 1 correct? 175. GB storage and 1.75 TB in bandwidth? http://www.dreamhost.com/hosting.html That's a lot! Isn't it?

So yeah, I am considering transferring my godaddy.com domain name to Dreamhost... and uploading to them via Rapidweaver or Dreamweaver.

If Rapidweaver is like a light version of Dreamweaver, then can you sort of graduate to Dreamweaver by opening your files in Dreamweaver, I would think.

If I can set up a website with audio and video, password protection and blogging, a hit counter... with Dreamhost and Dreamweaver (or Rapidweaver), then maybe this is the way to go for me.

I have read about .mac accounts exceeding their bandwidth for the month (actually half month), and then the files don't load! Not cool.

Anyway, thanks so much to everyone for helping me out with this. I look forward to any replies.
 
You don't have to transfer the domain from Godaddy to Dreamhost. You just have to get an account with Dreamhost and change the nameserver at Godaddy. (The adresses for nameserver 1 and 2 will be be in the email where you account information is. It's easier to do this way, especially if you at a later time decides to change your provider.

I myself would never use anybody else than Godaddy for my domains, but that would be mine preferences.

The Dreamhost will be good enough for your needs, especially as your not gonna make a dynamic website. (using a database like MySQL.) It's a static site, and therefor doesn't that much processingpower.

You should be aware of the fact that Dreamhost are overselling, and that they might stop your transfers if they take up too much bandwith. But that would probably not happen unless your music get too popular and become an success. :)

PS: That's per month.
 
MacSociology said:
You don't have to transfer the domain from Godaddy to Dreamhost. You just have to get an account with Dreamhost and change the nameserver at Godaddy. (The adresses for nameserver 1 and 2 will be be in the email where you account information is. It's easier to do this way, especially if you at a later time decides to change your provider.

I myself would never use anybody else than Godaddy for my domains, but that would be mine preferences.

The Dreamhost will be good enough for your needs, especially as your not gonna make a dynamic website. (using a database like MySQL.) It's a static site, and therefor doesn't that much processingpower.

You should be aware of the fact that Dreamhost are overselling, and that they might stop your transfers if they take up too much bandwith. But that would probably not happen unless your music get too popular and become an success. :)

PS: That's per month.
Click to expand...

Thank you for posting, MacSociology. Do you mean forwarding and masking? With godaddy to Dreamhost? Or is it still "Christopher.com", but with some kind of configuration through godaddy?

Actually, I am planning for success. Mydriasis, do you anticipate Dreamhost will start to limit your bandwidth, despite the storage and bandwidth they gave you in your agreement with them?

Thanks so much.
 
No, it's neither forwarding nor masking. The nameserver is the server who take care of bringing the users to the right server in the network.

The nameserver's adress is usually something like ns1.dreamhost.com (and ns2 for the secont one.) The reason I told you this is that it's easier to continue to use Godaddy instead of transfering the domain to Dreamhost. I mentioned this because I was unlucky once and lost a domain because of the hoster stole it from me. (he wouldn't let me transfer my domain to another hosting provider.) This probably won't happen, but I just recommend it as it can happen. Even though I don't believe Dreamhost would do something like this.

About the bandwidth: I don't believe they will do it. Your site will probably never gonna be so big that you'll use more than 1000 GB. Probably not even 100 GB.

I run a few websites myself, and the biggest one use approx. 700 GB. And that one got a LOT of users.

Most websites use less than 50 GB a month, and personal websites less than 10 GB.
 
Christopher11 said:
Are there any other web hosting services that allow me to upload from iWeb created website?
Click to expand...

iWeb can export your content to a folder on the desktop. Then you can upload that folder to any web server you want.

I use my own computer at home as a web server. (Mac OS ships with all the software you need for this) For a low volume web site it works fine.
 
Thanks, ChrisA. Thanks to all.

So, i spent most of the day trying out software Rapidweaver trial, a friend's Dreamweaver, and iWeb, and researching web hosting, and what i've found is:

i like iWeb. It just seems to work for me and the kind of website i want to set up. Short of learning Dreamweaver, iWeb seems to be the right solution for me!

But, i don't want a .mac account. I don't think i want it. I think i want to go with Dreamhost or someone like them. I like what they offer for the money. I think it's great.

What i want to do then, is set up a website that features my music, some pictures, has links to different pages depending on what your needs or interests are regarding the music. A page with videos.

The ability to email me. The ability to post comments. Also, sometime soon, i would like to give users the ability to click on a link, make a paypal payment, and then download a video!

So, this is my dream. It looks like Dreamhost, or someone like them, might be best for me. Can i do it with iWeb?
 
MacSociology said:
The Dreamhost will be good enough for your needs, especially as your not gonna make a dynamic website. (using a database like MySQL.) It's a static site, and therefor doesn't that much processingpower.
Click to expand...

Careful, he wants comments, hit counter, safe email etc. He'll need MySQL, CGI and PHP. But Dreamhost has that, as far as I know.

Christopher11 said:
Can i do it with iWeb?
Click to expand...

You can only use the blog, password, speacial slideshows and hit counter features of iWeb in combination with .mac. Everything else (including your movies, pictures and music) you can load up to any server. (as far as I know)
 
Okay, well what if I used another piece of software to upload a blog? For example, could I use the software wordpress to install a wordpress powered blog at my Dreamhost website?


THanks very much.
 
I have never done it but yeah I think that would work. You can make a static link from within iWeb to the folder that contains your blog.:)
 
Just thought i'd let people know, here is what the Dreamhost tech wrote back. Sounds good...


Yeah from the little that I know of iWeb it sounds like it tries to take
care of everything. You could easily install Wordpress. We have a thing
called the one-click install. This sets up wordpress for you. Wordpress
really takes care of itself as far as updates and themes go, so it makes
maintenance pretty easy.


We have a hit counter script that you can place on your site.
http://counter.dreamhost.com/


You wouldn't need to transfer the domain, you could merely set the domain
to use our name servers. That way Dreamhost controls all your DNS
settings. Then when you install a new subdirectory or database or
whatever it automatically gets added to your DNS settings without you
needing to do anything extra.


If you got any more questions just let me know.


 
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