Website design, hosting & costs

[stera]

Just wondering if anybody 'tinkers' in website design, etc.

Just looking to get an insight into how websites are designed, hosted and some rough costs assosiated, as I know they will range.

Thankyou!

[Mark351]

I have for years. Currently doing a Java-based webapp which is an expensive option as Java hosting costs more than your average HTML/PHP hosting.

Design is expensive if you're not doing it yourself. Start with a HTML editing suite and grab a template from somewhere like www.oswd.org.

Hosting is cheap, especially for basic sites using mobs based in the US. A google search will uncover hundreds, so do a bit of research and find ones with good feedback. Some will add features like databases, shopping carts etc. If you need something custom and can't do it yourself, expect to fork out $$$.

[Quasi]

For hosting check out www.gisol.com as they can do 150Gb space and unlimited traffic for as little at US$5.95 per month. Along with that is a free domain, facility to run 2 more domains, 20 sub-domains, and both POP3 and SMTP email servers, choice of either Windows or Linux hosting. PHP 4 is enabled, if that's your thing, and they have live chat support.

If you hit the site, you can check out 'More Info' and view the full list of features.

I've been with them for years.

[Falcon_Phill]

Originally Posted by Quasi

For hosting check out www.gisol.com as they can do 150Gb space and unlimited traffic for as little at US$5.95 per month.

Nobody does unlimited traffic, no matter what they say.

If your starting out, id go with someone like mdwebhosting.com.au - for a start they are Australian and ive only had my site go down once in 2 years so far. With one of their hosting plans there are alot of auto database setups for a website, which means you can click one link in your control panel and it will setup a whole website for you to configure, as well as a forum and other things. Unless your going to run a mega massive file hosting website i severely doubt you will need 150gb of space - stick with what you need, or just a bit more. If you want to get into designing your own stuff as well as databases, then get a better plan with mysql/php support which is what you will need to run the site off. But like i stated before if your starting out then id just go with html websites or one that sets itself up for now. DeathXR mentioned a good site, oswd.org, its been around for years and certainly helped me when i started out.

[GT-E]

There are 2 types of Web page makers, Designers and coders

Designers will do the look and feel of the site. Choose the colours and pictures, design the layout and content. These people are usually the creative type and generally do not code sites.

Coders are the people who do the background stuff like programming, database and code writing. These people are the techies that generally have no concept of colour and design.

I have only ever come across a handfull of true all rounders. While both can do bits of each job, very few understand the full gamit of a propper website design and coding.

As for hosting, depending on what your your site will do will depend on where you host it. A high bandwidth site that will use a lot of Gigabytes of data from all over the world would be best hosted in the USA, as most overseas links favour the USA for connectivity due to the high content delivery from there.

If you are selling or appealing to a Australian audience, then host local.
When starting out, do not try to reinvent the wheel. Pick a language like PHP and a database like MYSQL and learn it throughly. Use public templates and applications and build from there.
Myself I have no web design experience, but have several staff that do and have been in the industry for 16 years, so I have seen it change alot over this time.

[matt-chops]

Originally Posted by Falcon_Phill

If your starting out, id go with someone like mdwebhosting.com.au

I agree with Phill. I host with these guys and recommend them to my clients. I have never witness any down time on sites hosted here.

[BOOSTDEF]

Im a coder. Mainly in PHP.

Design is far out of my league.

I can do very cheap domain/hosting/design packages though. PM me if you are interested.

Cheers.

[WASP]

I'm not sure if you are after something at a professional level, or more of a personal website. Our Adelaide based agency looks after clients such WorkCover Corporation, Health Partners, The Mitolo Group, CanDoGroup of Charities, Codan Group, Adelaide Entertainment Centre, DECS, Distinctive Homes, Animal Welfare League to name just a few. We're also a national gold partner of WebCentral, Australia's largest web hosting company.

You can check us out here: www.cdaa.com.au
Hosting Division: www.cdaahosting.com.au

We also recently created the KPM Motorsport recently: www.kpmmotorsport.com.au

PM me know if you have any questions.

Colville