Accessing Server Space

[Kayleen]

OK coming from a pretty rudimentary understanding of all of this, I need some clarity on a couple things.

 

 

Here's what I have now:

 

*an ISP I do not like because of limts on email storage (I use Outlook Express/they also provide web mail) - problem with full/bouncing when I go out of town due to spam overload despite heroic measures to fight it and of course the dial up speed - pros: I have eight 10mb chunks of plain server space I can FTP files to to supplement storage for my business website or use for personal websites

*my own domain with a registrar who is forwarding to my actual site hosted on Homestead

*my existing small business website with Homestead (shows up as a subdomain under Homestead) - pros/cons:easy to build with their dragNdrop software but don't like the subdomain showing up, some problems with syncing because I also use CuteFTP to add some categories of additional pages not built in their web builder (photo galleries in separate folders) to my existing site via links on those Homestead built pages

 

 

Here's what I am considering/have already begun implementing to replace/revise/improve the above:

*DSL via my phone company

*basic ISP service also via phone company - no email included - nationwide dialup will be included in one month as new feature

*continuing my Homestead small business website --- for now....

*Just opened 5 email accounts with the domain registrar that are from **** (my existing site) instead of the ISP domain, POP3, web mail and smtp available so I can still use Outlook Exp to manage all my email as I have been doing with the ISP for several years

*finding plain old vanilla server space for a low price so I can still have a place to put excess business files or small personal family pages I want to share

 

So I'm here for the last item on the last list here and thinking that the $4/mo plan would work for me. But wondering:

 

Does this plan allow me to continue to use CuteFTP to upload to my space and manage my folders at the server level? This is what I have been doing with my current ISP and for part of the content on my Homestead site. Once my ISP goes away, I will need a bit more space because it takes away those extra 80mb of space I occasionally use.

 

I see this $4 plan also has POP3, SMTP and Send Mail Support - what do these mean? Would they do the exact same thing as my current email plan with my registrar (described above)? Would I be able to set them up to be me@**** (my existing small biz domain) under this plan? (this last question would be assuming I would cancel the recent 5 email accounts I have set up with the registrar -- actually I may do that anyway as they sold me 50mb storage space with the plan and told me in presales quesions that I could FTP files there and now that I read the Help files, I can only actually access that storage space by using their interface and uploading 4 files at a time -- not acceptable for what I need and definitely not what they promised. In effect, it's 50mb of extra email storage and won't work for what I need.)

 

What are Email aliases and why does anyone use them?

 

 

In looking at the overview page of the plans, all the items in sections Total Access, Advanced, Security, Extras I do not understand. Is there someplace besides the abbreviated pop up windows you provide for each description that could help me educate myself on these things? The reason I ask is that eventually I'd like to get out from under Homestead - I feel locked in there because of that web site builder - and someday I hope to find another way to build my small biz site and uuse Cute FTP (or some internal FTP method within whatever other program I use) to put my site up elsewhere. One of the problems with Homestead as I am currently using it, is that those photo galleries that I upload via FTP are not covered by Statistics. That is not desirable for my business but it's easier to do the galleries that way than to build them in that site builder given the volume that I do. So down the road, maybe I'd end up moving my whole site over but it would be good to understand all of it before that day comes.

 

NOTE: before you running screaming from the room, I do understand databases and some programming. Just not anything in that vein that is used on the web. I can even build effective databases custom for whatever is needed (Lotus Approach) but I don't know about that type of application interfaced with the web.

 

I am also looking at a direct email marketing program called World Merge - is this plan compatible with that? Not sure about restrictions.

 

Ok that's it for now. My head is ready to explode but I need to know so I can decide what I need to do next... eeeeekkkkk!

 

Kayleen

[TCH-Rob]

OK,

 

I am going to give this a shot, let me know if I miss anything.

 

Does this plan allow me to continue to use CuteFTP to upload to my space and manage my folders at the server level?

Yes, you will have no problem with that here.

 

I see this $4 plan also has POP3, SMTP and Send Mail Support - what do these mean?

 

POP3, if you check your mail using Outlook or OE then when you check your mail that is POP3 and sending mail is SMTP, Send Mail is a UNIX mail transfer agent. I would Google them for specific definitions but know they relate to email.

 

Would they do the exact same thing as my current email plan with my registrar (described above)? Would I be able to set them up to be me@**** (my existing small biz domain) under this plan?

Yes and Yes

 

What are Email aliases and why does anyone use them?

 

An alias is like a forwarder. Several accounts pointing to just one. It can make it easier by not having to check multiple email accounts. I dont use them myself but some do.

 

Is there someplace besides the abbreviated pop up windows you provide for each description that could help me educate myself on these things?

You can ask here if you wish on each specific item or give Google a go for an in depth definition.

 

I am also looking at a direct email marketing program called World Merge - is this plan compatible with that?

 

I am not familiar with that software but be very carefull with it, we look down on SPAM here.

 

Oh, and ditch the Homestead account. The water is warmer here.

[Kayleen]

Dear Rob,

 

Those answers were great. Thanks for wading through all I wrote. I know it was a lot - I am on a mission....

 

Anyway here are a couple more things:

 

I am also looking at a direct email marketing program called World Merge - is this plan compatible with that?

I am not familiar with that software but be very carefull with it, we look down on SPAM here.

 

This would not be spam. I need to communicate with my existing clients, to provide them with sign up forms and order forms and other items they need to do business with me. I am thinking of up to 200 emails/people once or twice in advance of the events they will attend that I will be covering. I provide service at those events but they need those forms to get it and of course it's chaos at the event, so details like this sent before would be genius, and I cover 12 -20 events annually. I THINK that maybe the Send Mail Unix Mail transfer thing is what World Merge uses because it states in it's specs that it bypasses your regular email and the limits that can be imposed to "normal" email.

 

Oh, and ditch the Homestead account. The water is warmer here

 

Well, I would like that. The main consideration is replacing that Sitebuilder they have. I am very dependent on it and I want to build my own site and maintain it so I can easily update rather than using a designer/webmaster. Many of the online easy WYSIWYG builders are too simplistic, only canned templates and no ability to drag and drop from scratch. OTOH, I'm not sure I can justify Dreamweaver costwise and most especially the big learning curve for it when I am not doing sites for others. I am in digital photography, high end, so my learning curve on tech stuff is already really high and with no end in sight as it just keeps up a fast pace of evolution. This fact makes that Sitebuilder at this point just seem irreplaceable given that I already know it. Do you have any suggestions of programs that might be good to evaluate?

 

What I know I do not want/need:

Front Page

Requirement to code HTML rather than WYSIWYG

Photo resizing feature

 

I know I need:

a drag and drop style builder

ability to insert small bits of code on some pages

flexible for complete layout (background, colors, text boxes, pdf links)

Some type of navigation wizard to keep it simple on all pages as added

Ability to implement rollovers for some images (before/after shots)

 

That's about all I can think of. If you can point me in the right direction for some software that might work to replace Sitebuilder, that would be great. Any other advice much appreciated.

 

Best,

Kayleen

[TCH-Rob]

You might want to look into Cute Site Builder. It should fit the bill and we have MANY users here that use it that would be happy to help out if they can.

[TCH-Don]

Hi Kayleen,

Cutesite Builder is like the online web page builders

but runs on your computer.

We have our own forum for

Cutesite builder here.

 

You can see many family members here using it

and you can look at their sites to what can be done with it.

 

If you have any questions please ask

our family.

[Kayleen]

Hey guys, thanks so much for the idea. I will check out CuteSitebuilder. Globalscape has been sending me ads for it as I am a registered CuteFTP owner. But I hadn't looked closely at it. I guess I had been intimidated that it was a template only type program. I'll look into it and thanks again!

 

 

Kayleen

[TCH-Don]

The templates are fine to start with,

but its not that hard to create your own.

Check out Samis Site

and Kevins Site for lots of help with Cutesite Builder.

[ThumpAZ]

I looked into the Wolrd Merge product you mentioned and see that it is something of a local SMTP engine with a powerful interface.

 

It does not use the SMTP server associated with the site here, so the fact that you said you are looking into DSL is important. If this program does what I think it does, then you will need this.

 

The program actually makes your local computer into the SMTP server and connects with the remote servers for sending mail. The only real problem with this type of setup is that a good number of administrators and ISPs these days use reverse DNS lookup on inbound mail as an Anti-SPAM function. If their DNS records show that your mail server ir a IP address A, and the mail coming to them is coming from IP address B, they might block it. This looks to them as either a spoofed sender or relayed message, which constitutes probably 80% of SPAM out there.

 

Other than that, you should have no issues using the World Merge program, and it will only get you in trouble if someone who really does not want messages tracks the mailserver from TCH or your registrar (depending on where you put your Mail Exchange "MX" record) back and then files an abuse complaint.

 

One thing you didn't ask, but I will volunteer here is that, if at any time you realizer that a larger account is needed by you for personal or business, the upgrade is only a help desk ticket away... that and a few more bucks

 

Be sure to stop by the Introductions forum whenever you sign up so we can officially welcome you into the Family.