Topic: My Own Web Site - help/advice needed

[lyonsden5]

hello all

If you don't know I work from home. I have a CAD drafting service where I do Commercial Plumbing, Mechanical and HVAC Shop drawings for contractors from all over the USA. (Schools, Hospitals, Convention Centers, etc.)

Many of these contractors have gone to using FTP sites to host their CAD files. It makes it much easier to share these files (as most of you already know).

What I need to do is create my own website. I have some html experience and can do a decent site (well, an OK site anyway) using MS front page as well. What I need is to figure out the best way to create my own site as well as find a good hosting company.

Here is what I will need on my site

Home page
Company Profile
Current Projects
Completed Projects
References
Contact
the ability to add or delete pages myself once it's set up
Also possibly a Forum page

Also need FTP access for myself as well as the ability to set up separate password protected folders that can be accessed by anyone with the password. Possibly up and down transfers on those folders (if possible) but at least download. Upload could be done another way I guess. Only a small group would need upload capabilities where as a much larger group would need download access.


In addition, my brother has a software company. Once I figure out my site I want to be able to change his site to be an FTP site as well. Here is the site I created for him now (go easy on me  ) www.drawtech.com It was created with Front Page. I have a couple of questions.
Can I convert it to or add on to it an FTP section where we can upload/download files?

Also can I have it where he can put a software update on his site so his program can automatically look for this update (like most software's can?)


If there is someone here who does this type of thing for a living I may be interested in simply buying the site set up from you. Post here or PM me. I know I could learn to do it myself but time is a factor. I am already working around 70 - 75 hours a week just to keep up with my current work load and I just bid a 10 story hospital today that would add another 800 hours to my backlog (if I get it that is).


Input, thoughts, suggestions, ideas are all welcomed and needed

Thanks in advance 

Rick


EDIT: I do have a friend who does this for a living and have asked him for a price. He is overseas though and I'm afraid the exchange rate might make it too much. 

[RossRoy]

http://www.Site5.com

That's what I use to host my phpDVDProfiler site. At 120$ for 2 years, with 110 GB of storage, 5 TB of bandwidth usage per month, and the possibility to add 110 different domains on one hosting account, that's a very good deal in my book. Comes to about 5$ a month, but you have to pay the 2 years in advance.

You can setup different FTP accounts with seperate username and password, you can even have different home folder for each account so they don't see each other's data.

You can setup plenty (I think it's unlimited, I'd have to check) MySQL databases (if you need it).

I think it's a nice little package, that should be more than enough for most use. Zipped CAD drawings aren't too big usually.

As for the website,  Site5 supports Frontpage extension, but only with Frontpage 2000 or 2002 (because M$ dropped Unix support). Anyway, you could use something like NVu or Kompozer to do the same job (for a WYSIWYG HTML editor).

- Edit -

I just checked, here's the "resource limits":

Disk space:    1159.36 MB    110000.00 MB
Bandwidth (MB):    Click Here    5000000.0 MB
POP accounts:    0    unlimited
Forwarders:    0    unlimited
Autoresponders:    0    unlimited
Mailing lists:    0    unlimited
Email filters:    0    unlimited
FTP accounts:    1    unlimited
Domain pointers:    0    unlimited
Parked Domains:    0    9999
Sub-domains:    3    unlimited
Mysql DBs:    3    unlimited

[lyonsden5]

Thanks Sebastien. I'll check it all out.

[Achim]

I'll add a recommendation for Site5!

I use them as well, as does Andy (ajm) and richierich. The basic site can do everything you require and is really inexpensive, as Sebastien pointed out.

Don't be concerned about the "FTP accounts:    1    unlimited". It is possible to set up additional users who then can then access designated folders and do whatever they need there (more than one user per folder is possible). I host deadman(36g)'s phpdvdprofiler and TomGaines and MadAcid have access to a folder called headshots (not sure it's still in use).

Their support service is rather quick and good too.

If you decide to use them, you could use this link when you sign up

[RossRoy]

If you decide to use them, you could use this link when you sign up

Hey, hey! Don't steal my referrals 

[Achim]

Oops

Of course, if you have a referral link, he should use yours... (seriously) But you better post it soon then

[RossRoy]

Oops

Of course, if you have a referral link, he should use yours... (seriously) But you better post it soon then

I didn't even know there was a referral link to be posted... I just knew there's a referral system, but never really looked into it

[lyonsden5]

OK... got my site. That was the easy part. Thanks to both Sebastien and Achim for your input.

Now, does anyone know where I can get some good advice on how to set-up and access different FTP sites? The info I have found so far online ihas not been helpful.

Thanks in advance 

[Achim]

Now, does anyone know where I can get some good advice on how to set-up and access different FTP sites? The info I have found so far online ihas not been helpful.

First of all, that is actually a little ambiguously explained on their part... They don't really have true FTP accounts that you can set up. So, the way you access your site with FTP (ftp://ftp.ricks-site.com/ or so) can not be used by others at all.

But no worries, you can have something that will allow people to FTP into your site and download/upload files.

You need to set up users somewhere in the Site management panel (NOT the dashboard!). Those people are then assigned a folder (incl. related subfolders of course) they can access (theoretically they could access a site there). You can also allow several users to access the same folder.

E.g. I have a folder called "/deadman36g" which is used by, well, deadman36g for his phpdvdprofiler. I have another folder called headshots which can be accessed by MadAcid and TomGaines.

Each user can be assigned a quota, so that hey don't go crazy and use up your bandwidth...


If you find it already, let me know, otherwise I'll look up where exactly to set up the users.

[lyonsden5]

thanks Achim. I'll check it out later today and let you know what I find.