Beginning the Website—Part 2 of 6
Posted By Charlotte Boyett-Compo on February 8, 2010
Charlotte Boyette-Compo, Author
by Charlotte Boyett-Compo
1st Turning Point Staff Columnist
Copyright © 2010 Charlotte Boyett-Compo
Basic essentials of building a webpage
First Things First: Security
Before setting up a webpage, make sure all the hard work invested in the webpage is stored in a folder on the hard drive and isn’t lost. Go into Documents and Settings and start a folder. It doesn’t matter what label you give it, but make it something simple like My Webpage. Once that folder is established, click on it and begin a sub-folder and give that sub-folder that day’s date. Make another sub-folder titled Graphics. The date folder is where the actual coding of each webpage will go. All graphics will be stored in the designated folder. Also, I would suggest buying an external hard drive and keeping a copy on it in the event of a computer crash. After investing time into putting together a webpage, losing it to a computer crash is a hard pill to swallow.
Additionally, I encourage the author to get a Gmail account that he will use for nothing except storage of the webpage setup. I am recommending Gmail because it is free and will accommodate 7400 megabytes of storage…and that is increasing daily. If more space is needed, there is the option of buying it on Gmail, but that shouldn’t be necessary. There are also online backup sites if that is preferred.
Do NOT use the Gmail account where webpage coding is stored as a contact place for readers! This is a private Gmail account that is a business account; treat it as such. Get another account on Gmail or elsewhere to use for the purpose of reader contact. (Note: it is a good idea to have at least two email accounts for readers to use. One account is for general delivery emails, but if contests are going to be run from the webpage, a dedicated email for that purpose alone should be set up.)
Once a backup system is in place and ready to be utilized, the next step is finding a host.
Step Two: Location
There are several really good hosting services out there, but only two with whom I have dealt: Freeservers and Hostmonster. I have no qualms about recommending either. While Freeservers is the easier of the two to use, Hostmonster is the cheaper and has unlimited disc space and bandwidth, so that’s the one I’ll be using in this series of articles.
Authors can find a list of the current top-ten best web hosts so he can pick the one that suits him best. I don’t know anything about the other nine listed, but I’ve had the IWOFA (Infinite Worlds of Fantasy Authors) website with Hostmonster for going on two years and have had no problems. I’ve had my personal website with Freeservers for over seven years and only once in all that time has it gone down. Although it was inconvenient for me for a few hours, at least the company hadn’t been hacked into, and all my work was not lost.
Be sure as each webpage is built that the coding for it is copied to the external drive as well as to the Gmail account or online storage. If there’s ever a crash, all that will be needed is to copy and paste again. Better that than having to rebuild from scratch!
Coming next time: Your Webhost.
Check out the first article in this six part series by Charlotte: Where in the World is My Favorite Author?
Catch the Windby Charlotte Boyett-CompoISBN: 9781419921896
Riezell Guardian Major Dominia Alamaine has heard about the celebrated sexual prowess of Jaeger Rosakaris The an Tuirc prince’s manhood is legendary and she’s anxious not only to see for herself what all the fuss is about but to experience it firsthand. But the mating doesn’t quite go as she plans. Her love ‘em and leave ‘em attitude won’t work this time for Fate throws a monkey wrench in the gears by bonding the two as eternal mates. Jaeger isn’t that upset about the bonding. As a matter of fact, he’s rather pleased with the situation. Domi is a gorgeous woman with a laser-hot body, sultry lips, and a mind as sharp as an assassin’s dagger. With her at his side, he won’t mind taking over the rule of his home world even though his mother has very lethal plans of her own for the woman he wants to be his bride. Though love has hit Jaeger hard, it will be hatred that will ruin his young life and make it a living hell.
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 Catch the Wind by Charlotte Boyett-Compo |
As usual, Charlee you have provided a world of excellent advice. I found the idea of maintaining two email accounts to be a new one and will most certainly apply it to my own writing. I use Freeserver for another website I maintain and found it to be user friendly.
Hi Charlee:
Thanks for all the good advice. Haven’t been fully satisfied with my current hosting service so am looking into the two you mentioned.
I never considered having a dedicated Gmail account for contests. Good advice. I am enjoying this series.
Thank you for all the useful information. We’re tucking it under our belts and running with it. Also, we love the look of your blog. polished and inviting.