Can't access new Domain

[Trudye]

I have a very novice question. I just acquired a Domain name. I want to FTP some HTML pages up to the site. But I don't have a Username or password to enter into the connecttion dialog box. So when I try to connect I am getting "failed".

What do I have to do to upload to my new site? I am planning on writing some ASP, VBScript pages do I have to have a Host? If so does anyone know of a very, very cheap one?

Also my IP address is 213.168.224.xx.xx. I have never seen an IP address that long. Do I have the correct IP or is that IP the result of a redirect?

Thanks so much
Trudye

 

[MichiganRon]

That's not a valid IP address. Are you sure it's not 213.168.224.xxx:yyy? The xxx would be the last octet of the IP address and the yyy might be a port number.

Just purchasing the domain is not enough. A domain name is just a name. Before creating a website you need to assign the domain to a place, or host (IP address). If you've already done that, then contact your hosting company and get the username and password to FTP the account.

Finally, it may take a few days for your domain name to "point" to your hosting company. Domain names are required to be assigned to one of seven (I think) primary DNS servers on the Internet. DNS servers translate your domain name to an IP address. Once it is in a primary DNS server, it can replicate out to leaf (secondary) DNS servers. This process may take a few days. Until then, when you enter your domain name into the browser your DNS server won't know where to go.

Check with your hosting company. They can get you a username and password. They usually take care of the DNS stuff too. If you don't have a hosting company, you'll need to get one to start the ball rolling.

Good luck,
-Ron

We all play from the same deck of cards, it's how we play the hand we are dealt which makes us who we are. -Me

 

[coachdan]

Trudye,

If all you did is buy the domain name, you will not have anything but a placeholder site that usually says something like "Coming Soon..." You have to have a host that will give you space on their webserver. There are many cheap ones out there - price depends on your needs. Once you purchase server space from a host, you will need to get the IP's from them so you can move your domain to their servers. Once you have requested your domain to be moved (from whoever you purchased the domain from), it will take a few days to a week usually to propagate throughout the web. At that point, once you get notice from the host, you will get access to a control panel (usually) or an FTP address where you can upload files to. Make sure you shop around to get all the specific goodies you need, like Front Page extensions if you are using FP or ASP (or PHP) support if you plan to use scripting. Good luck!!

coachdan32

http://www.highviewheat.com/index.asp

http://www.kristensfastpitchworld.com/index.asp

 

[Trudye]

Thanks a lot Ron and coachdan. I took Ron's advice and I have been shopping around. But it is hard to find a Free IH that fits my needs. I want to use the site to develop ASP and VBscripts. The problem is the Free sites I have run into are Linux, Apache which does not support my needs.

The cheapest IH I found was 7.95/month. Which is more than I wanted to spend. If you know of a IH that is preferably Free or WORSE case 5.00/mo please let me know.

Thanks again
Trudye

 

[MichiganRon]

Trudye,

Are you set on using ASP & VBScript? If not, take a look at a free scripting language like PHP. It will run on apache and there are free hosting services out there who will allow you to run PHP too.

If you'd prefer to use ASP then you will find it very difficult to locate a free hosting service which has ASP available. This is because ASP must be run on a Microsoft IIS server, which is much more expensive (licensing) from a server standpoint than apache/linux. The hosting companies will pass that cost along to you.

In addition, expect to get what you pay for, no matter which platform you write for. Cheaper hosts will often provide less support, less bandwidth, more downtime, etc. There's often a reason why they are less expensive.

Anyway, check out

http://www.tophosts.com/

for info on hosting companies. They're a pretty good source of this type of information.

Good luck,
-Ron

We all play from the same deck of cards, it's how we play the hand we are dealt which makes us who we are. -Me

 

[Trudye]

Thanks Ron. I have a question I inquired with an IH that supported FrontPage but not VBScript/ASP. Why would VBScript require an IIS server and not ASP?

Not an important question basically just an observation.

I want to stay in the VB family my focus has been VBA, VB6, and now VBScript. And since VBScript and ASP work well together I decided on ASP.

It's more marketability than personal preference.

Happy Holidays
Trudye

 

[MichiganRon]

Trudye,

I'm not sure that I understand the following statement:

"Why would VBScript require an IIS server and not ASP?"
ASP does require an IIS server. Visual Basic is basically a Microsoft programming language, so VBScript also requires a IIS server (if I'm not mistaken).

"It's more marketability than personal preference."
I won't argue with you whether or not persons with VB/VBA/VBScript/ASP experience are marketable. They are. But they are no more marketable that those with experience in other programming and scripting language. Most customers don't care how a job gets done, only that it's done professionally and bug-free. Of course there are many customers out there who DO care what technology is used, but most don't.

In my opinion, you would be more marketable if you knew MORE than just ASP/VBScript. If you want to focus your expertise on ASP, that's fine. But don't limit yourself to it. What happens when you run into a client with deep pockets but that client doesn't want to deal with Microsoft products? If all you know is ASP, you'll lose that bid to someone with other experience.

Anyway, enough ranting on my part. Good luck with your domain name stuff.
-Ron

We all play from the same deck of cards, it's how we play the hand we are dealt which makes us who we are. -Me

 

[Trudye]

Thanks Ron for responding.

You are 100% correct about not limiting myself. I have never used PHP or JavaScript. I just thought VBScript would be easier and quicker to pick up since I had been studying VB 6.0 and using VBA for years.

I am (VERY) happy to hear someone is picking up contracts. It's been so long since I had a contract I am thinking of getting a REAL job (smile).

If you don't mind my asking where do you find your contracts? It's not like I'll be any competition for you since I am just now becoming fluent in VBScript and I don't know PHP or JavaScript. However learning them will be my next project.

I tried Codelance's and Elance's sites. Codelance doesn't seem to have anything that fits in my genre. Elance has people bidding 5 - 11 dollars per hour. Or bidding 200 for a project with very sketchy specs.

I also subscribe to ITMoolight and they are a lot better. However I have yet to get selected to do a contract. I'm not quite sure what the problem is in that situation. I point them to my website that has a PowerPoint presentation of my past work in a effort to demonstrate that I can do complex database analysis/design/development.

Thanks again for all your help I won't bore you any longer.

Trudye

 

[MichiganRon]

Trudye,

If you don't mind my asking where do you find your contracts?
In a word: Networking. Customers telling customers telling customers. If you would prefer to do local work only, place an advert in the classified section of some local papers. Or better yet, ask family and friends if they know of anyone who might want/need some web work done. Start small. Don't try to conquer Mt Everest if you've never hiked through a meadow. Your work might start slowly, but if you do good work at a fair price it will just snowball from there when you ask your customers to tell their colleagues.

If you don't mind working "world wide", the web (pun intended) is a great place to find work. As you have seen, there are plenty of people on many web sites out there who are willing to "low ball" a bid just to get their foot in the door. Be cautious about this though. At least with the family and friends plan (pun intended again) you're dealing with someone you know. On the web, it's easy to get ripped off or taken advantage of.

AT ALL TIMES: Have a legal contract that explicitly states the details of the project (starting date, ending date, etc). Both parties MUST sign the contract before any money is changed hands or work is started. In fact, you might want to have a lawyer look at your contract to see if it would hold water in a court. If you don't have a generic contract written up, office supply stores sell legal packets in their business software section. There packets often have a bunch of legally binding blank contracts which you can tweak to your needs.

I don't really have any websites to recommend for finding contract work. I haven't had enough experience with any of them to really feel comfortable with a recommendation. Google "contract work" and see what you come up with.

Any way, good luck with your adventures in web development and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

-Ron

P.S. I have one last suggestion: Visit tek-tips on a regular basis, even if you don't have any questions. The best way to learn is to teach. So answer some questions from time to time and read what others have to say. You'll find that you'll learn a lot from this web site, even if you don't ask any questions.

We all play from the same deck of cards, it's how we play the hand we are dealt which makes us who we are. -Me

 

[Trudye]

Thanks Ron I'll take your advice to heart.

Have a safe holiday
Be well,
Trudye

 

[coachdan]

Trudye,

I use

http://www.webhost4life.com

, the basic plan is just $4.95 a month and supports ASP, VBScript, and FrontPage. I have never had any downtime with 2 sites for over a year. There support is only OK, but other than that I have been real happy.

coachdan32

http://www.highviewheat.com/index.asp

http://www.kristensfastpitchworld.com/index.asp

 

[Trudye]

Thanks so much Coach for the input sounds like a plan


Trudye

 

[Wullie]

From webhost4life.com - Unlimited/Unmetered Bandwidth

This should ring so many alarm bells. Any host offering this is telling lies, there is no way that they can do this.

Just a few things to read:

http://www.findmyhosting.com/truthunlimited.htm

http://www.tutorial-world.com/showtutorial.cfm/tutid/2218906383

http://www.isp-planet.com/hosting/unlimited_bandwidth.html

http://www.buffyguide.com/webmasters/whatisbw.shtml

Hope this helps

Wullie

http://www.freshlookhosting.com

http://www.tutorial-world.com

http://www.freshlookdesign.co.uk

The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails. - John Maxwell

 

[Trudye]

Thanks Wullie for the heads up, I will shop before I buy.

Happy Holidays
Trudye

 

[coachdan]

I have never been assessed any charges for bandwidth on either of my sites. Both have small amounts of hits though - more of a personal site. My hits are generally in the hundreds per month on both.

coachdan32

http://www.highviewheat.com/index.asp

http://www.kristensfastpitchworld.com/index.asp

 

[Wullie]

That's the point though mate, when someone starts to get a high turnover of hits, there is no way that they can continue to support them when they are using more bandwidth than the host can allow.

If unlimited bandwidth hosts really were unlimited, why do all of the sites getting a lot of hits not go with them?

From their Terms & Conditions:

System Abuse - Includes, but is not limited to, excessive use of CPU resources or disk space, installing IRC bots, excessive use of resources leading to the decrease of the system's performance or other CGI scripts that use a disproportionate amount of system resources. UMA will determine what constitutes system abuse.

Hope this helps

Wullie

http://www.freshlookhosting.com

http://www.tutorial-world.com

http://www.freshlookdesign.co.uk

The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails. - John Maxwell