July 1, 201115 yr Basically I've been asked to update a website, and I'd like to host a test version of it somewhere. I'm a digital media student, so learning but keen! I'm comfortable with HTML and CSS but I've just done half a year of Javascript, and I'm just learning there. My cunning plan is to get my own domain and make a copy of the site so I can play about with to my heart's content without actually breaking anything. The website has some static HTML pages and a few Javascript forms. Oh and a https area with a log-in. If anyone could let me know what questions I should be asking of a hosting provider I'd be very grateful! Thanks
July 1, 201115 yr Hi Becca. If it's just static HTML and Javascript then even the most basic packages should support what you're looking for. However, if you require a HTTPS connection to your website, you should ask if your hosting provider supports SSL and weather or not they provide SSL certificates. Usually, there will be an additional charge for an SSL certificate; often you'll also have to purchase a dedicated IP address in order for the SSL to work correctly. Most hosting accounts provided by hosting companies do come with control panels such as cPanel where you can login and manage your website; was this what you were referring to when you were asking for a 'login area'? Kind Regards, Thomas
July 1, 201115 yr Author Hi Thomas, Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it By "Log-in" I meant that there's a log-in area for users of the site. This are the HTTPS pages. However as I'm only using this as a test area I'm thinking perhaps I can do without the HTTPS pages on the test site. (They've already been set up, and I won't be changing them much anyway). Just to be sure (sorry!) if I've got javascript forms on my site, will basic hosting do? Would it come with a database to store data from forms? (Sorry if that makes no sense, I'm comfortable with HTML and CSS but Javascript is pretty new to me!) Thanks again, Becca Hi Becca. If it's just static HTML and Javascript then even the most basic packages should support what you're looking for. However, if you require a HTTPS connection to your website, you should ask if your hosting provider supports SSL and weather or not they provide SSL certificates. Usually, there will be an additional charge for an SSL certificate; often you'll also have to purchase a dedicated IP address in order for the SSL to work correctly. Most hosting accounts provided by hosting companies do come with control panels such as cPanel where you can login and manage your website; was this what you were referring to when you were asking for a 'login area'? Kind Regards, Thomas
July 1, 201115 yr Hi Becca, It all depends what kind of stuff you want the login area to have. If it's simply a matter of having different content for those who login, then yes, this is possible using something using .htaccess which comes with most Linux Shared Hosting packages. Often, MySQL is also offered which is a database management system and can be used to interact with with your web scripts. By the sounds of it, here are the things you wish to look for: Linux Shared Hosting cPanel Control Panel MySQL Databases Apache/PHP with .htaccess enabled Kind Regards, Thomas
July 2, 201115 yr Brilliant thanks so much Off to do some hosting research now ... If its a new site you can go for shared hosting, you can take help of freeindex.co.uk to find reviews of host company you wish to go with.
July 4, 201115 yr May be worth checking out the type of support each company has. Telephone and live chat may be quite important if you are encountering issues etc. As mentioned above though, any shared hosting package sounds like it'd suit your needs.
July 4, 201115 yr Thought about setting a test host up on your own PC/Mac? Also be wary as hosts differ and what one may have installed is not necessarily what the other will, at least with a home setup you're free to install what ever you need to test
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