Dreamhost | Sofie Estolloso Hofmann Designs International

How to Change the FTP Password

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 @ 5:30 pm by Sofie Hofmann

FTP means File Transfer Protocol. It is recommended and always a good practice to change your File Transfer Protocol password once in a while for security reasons.

How to Change the FTP Password via DreamHost Control Panel

Proceed to DreamHost.

Click the first link “Web Panel” at the bottom of the page to log in at the DreamHost Control Panel.

How to Change the FTP Password

You will be redirected to the “DreamHost: Login” page.

1. Supply the email address and password that you used when you signed up for a web hosting account with DreamHost at the “DreamHost: Login” page to log in at the web control panel.

Click the button “Login”.

How to Change the FTP Password

You will be redirected to the “DreamHost Web Panel > Home : Welcome” page.

You will read the following text:

Welcome to your DreamHost Control Panel!

This is the control center of your DreamHost account. From here you can configure literally any aspect of your account in no time at all!

When you signed up, we automatically set up your first FTP user, your domain registration (if you so selected), your domain’s hosting with us, and your first email address (just to forward to your current email)!

If things aren’t working yet you may have to wait a day for the new DNS information to propagate across the whole Internet.

Now, you can go install in just one click some weblog software, a forum, a poll, an online store, or even a wiki!

2. Click the link “Manage Users” on the left side under “Toolbox” above the “Main Menu” or click the link “Users” on the right side under “Let’s Get Started”.

How to Change the FTP Password

You will be redirected to the “DreamHost Web Panel > Users : Manage Users” page.

You will read the following text:

Manage user accounts

Create new users or modify existing user accounts. The fun starts HERE!

3. Find the user you would like to modify and click “Edit” under the column “Actions”.

How to Change the FTP Password

You will be redirected to another “DreamHost Web Panel > Users : Manage Users” page.

You will read the following text:

Editing User: anyusername (on serve)

Full Name: AnyUsername

Home Directory: /home/anyusername

Enhanced security?

User Account Type:
FTP account – file transfer access only.
SFTP account – allows SFTP (SSH ftp)/FTP file transfer access.
Shell account – allows SFTP/FTP plus ssh access.

Shell Type:
Disallow FTP?:

CPU Reporting:
Enable user CPU usage statistics
(unavailable on DreamHost PS)

New Password:
leave blank for no change

New Password Again:

Pick a password for me
revealed on next page

How to Change the FTP Password

Leave the other information as it is.

4. Supply the new password on the blank field corresponding to the text “New Password” and “New Password Again” or Click the box corresponding to the text “Pick a password for me”.

Click the button “Save Changes”.

You will be redirected to another “DreamHost Web Panel > Users : Manage Users” page.

You will read the following text:

Manage user accounts

Create new users or modify existing user accounts. The fun starts HERE!

Success!

Successfully edited user anyusername ! Their new password is [samplenewpassword] . The changes will take a few minutes to take effect.

How to Change the FTP Password

That’s it.

If you would like to check if your new password works, wait for a few minutes before signing in at the WebFTP, the web based FTP client of DreamHost.

You can read the complete details on how to sign in at the WebFTP at the blog entry, How to Set Up a Website, that I wrote a few months ago.

How to Install WordPress, How to Set Up a Website

Tuesday, October 12, 2010 @ 11:50 pm by Sofie Hofmann

I have discussed topics like how to start a Website, how to register a domain name, how to get a web host, how to set up a Website, and how to set or change nameservers. Almost everything that have been discussed on those topics were required for a Website to be available online.

If you are determined to have a Website and you do not have any idea on how to design a Website, there are free publishing platforms out there which you can use. One of those easy to use publishing platforms as well as CMS Content Management System softwares is WordPress.

I will not discuss what is WordPress but I will give you an idea on how to install WordPress at DreamHost using its “One-Click Installs” feature.

How to Install WordPress at DreamHost

Proceed to DreamHost.

1. Supply the email address and password that you used when you signed up for a web hosting account with DreamHost at the “DreamHost: Login” page to log in at the web control panel.

Click the button “Login”.

You will be redirected to the “DreamHost Web Panel > Home : Welcome” page.

You will read the following text:

Welcome to your DreamHost Control Panel!

This is the control center of your DreamHost account. From here you can configure literally any aspect of your account in no time at all!

If things aren’t working yet you may have to wait a day for the new DNS information to propagate across the whole Internet.

Now, you can go install in just one click some weblog software, a forum, a poll, an online store, or even a wiki!

How to Install WordPress, How to Set Up a Website

2. Click the link “One-Click Installs” on the left side under “Toolbox” above the “Main Menu” or click the link “Free Website Software” on the right side under “Let’s Get Started”.

You will be redirected to “DreamHost Web Panel > Goodies : One-Click Installs” page.

You will read the following text:

One-Click Software Installation

Fantastico, shmantastico! DreamHost now has its very own one-click software installation!

All software listed here has been judged best in its class by us, not to mention being open-source and completely free!

Unless you choose our “Easy mode,” you are also responsible for upgrading your old installations (you can do it from here!) should any critical security holes be discovered!

You have four (4) options:

Install new website software – Easy mode

Modify / remove previously installed software (easy)?

Install new website software – Advanced mode

Upgrade or remove previously installed software – Advanced mode

But since you are just going to install WordPress, you have two (2) options:

Either to Install new website software in easy mode or to install new website software in advanced mode.

DreamHost says:

“In easy mode, you cannot access the files for the installation (so you can only use the themes/plugins/languages we’ve included), but installation, upgrades, and maintenance are all handled for you!”

“In advanced mode, you have full control (the software is installed to your web space), but installation and maintenance is a tiny bit more involved.”

You can install WordPress in whatever mode you like but in my case as I would like to have full control, I always install WordPress in advanced mode.

How to Install WordPress, How to Set Up a Website

Well then, let us install WordPress in advanced mode.

3. Click the link “Install new website software – Advanced mode”.

You will be shown all the softwares that you can install and you will read the following text:

What software would you like to install?

How to Install WordPress, How to Set Up a Website

Install to:

Please be sure there are no files there now

Create a Database for me automatically: Uncheck this option if you want to create your database manually or use one of your existing databases.

Note: Submitting this form will set your domain to run PHP as a CGI if it isn’t already! (Which is probably fine!)

It should take less than 10 minutes to install your new software.
We will email you further instructions at (email address) when it’s complete

In this case:

4. Click WordPress.

5. Select the domain name at the dropdown menu corresponding to the text “Install to”.

For example your domain name is “sehdi.com” or “mysehdi.com”.

Select the domain “mysehdi.com” if you would like WordPress to be installed on that domain name.

You have the option to install it under the domain name “mysehdi.com” itself or at a folder.

You can write at the field provided next to the the domain name the folder like “mywp” or “wp”.

It would look like this:

Install to: http://www.mysehdi.com / mywp

How to Install WordPress, How to Set Up a Website

After that, there is a need to create a database.

Read “Create a Database for me automatically”.

You can leave it checked if you would like the database to be created for you automatically.

You can uncheck it if you would like to create your database manually or use one of your existing databases.

If for instance, you unchecked it.

You will be shown the following text and you need to fill out the blank fields provided:

Select a database to use:

New Database Name:
Try putting your domain name in front of your database name if the name you want is already taken.

Use Existing Hostname:

Create a New Hostname:
There is a delay while DNS propagates for new hostnames..(The domain must use our DNS!)

First User:

How to Install WordPress, How to Set Up a Website

In this case and if for instance you have no database yet:

Select “Create a database now” from the dropdown at the corresponding text “Select a database to use”.

You can write “mysehdidatabase” or “databasename1” at the field corresponding to the text “New Database Name”.

Select “Create a new hostname now” from the dropdown corresponding to the text “Use Existing Hostname”.

You can write “mysql” or “host” or myhost” or whatever you like at the field provided corresponding to the text “Create a New Hostname”.

Select the domain name “sehdi.com” or “mysehdi.com” that you already added before.

Adding the domain name was discussed on the topic how to set up a Website.

If for instance again, there is no existing username yet.

Select “Create a new user now” from the dropdown corresponding to the text “First User”.

Supply the necessary details at the blank fields provided.

New Username: databaseusername (example only)

New Password:

New Password Again:

But for example, we checked the box with the text “Uncheck this option if you want to create your database manually or use one of your existing databases” corresponding to the text “Create a Database for me automatically”.

With that, the database will be created for you automatically once you click the button “Install if for me now!”.

How to Install WordPress, How to Set Up a Website

6. Click “Install it for me now!”.

You will be redirected back to the “DreamHost Web Panel > Goodies : One-Click Installs” page.

You will again read the following text but with “Success” message:

One-Click Software Installation

Fantastico, shmantastico! DreamHost now has its very own one-click software installation!

All software listed here has been judged best in its class by us, not to mention being open-source and completely free!

Unless you choose our “Easy mode,” you are also responsible for upgrading your old installations (you can do it from here!) should any critical security holes be discovered!

We do not provide technical support for this software beyond the initial installation. For technical support, contact the software authors at the official sites linked below.

How to Set Nameservers, How to Change Nameservers

Tuesday, September 28, 2010 @ 6:08 pm by Sofie Hofmann

One of the requirements when you set up a Website and for the Website to be online is to be able to set the nameservers correctly. You need to make sure that the DNS or domain nameservers of your domain name is pointing to your web host.

I already wrote a little bit about this topic on my blog entry, How to Start a Website, but there were no illustrations. This time, I included a few images so you will have a better idea on how to set the nameservers or change the nameservers.

I will again use GoDaddy and DreamHost in this example. As I have mentioned on my past blog entries, aside from being comfortable using GoDaddy and DreamHost, I like the features of GoDaddy as a domain registrar and DreamHost as a web hosting provider.

How to Set Nameservers or How to Change Nameservers

Proceed to GoDaddy or your domain name registrar.

1. Login by supplying your username and password.

How to Set Nameservers, How to Change Nameservers

You will be redirected to “My Account” page where you will see your domain name.

2. Click the domain name, for example, DOMAIN-NAME-WHATEVER.COM.

How to Set Nameservers, How to Change Nameservers

You will be redirected to the “Domain Manager – Domain Details” page.

3. Click Set Nameservers under “Nameservers”.

How to Set Nameservers, How to Change Nameservers

A pop-up window will open with this text:

“If you are hosting your Web site with us (you have a hosting account with us associated with this domain) or you want to Park or Forward your domain, we will automatically set your nameservers for you.”

But if your web host is different from your domain registrar, you need to change the nameservers.

How to Set Nameservers, How to Change Nameservers

Click “I have specific nameservers for my domains” if your web host is different from your domain registrar.

4. Replace the current nameservers, if there are any, with DreamHost nameservers if your web host is DreamHost.

The Dreamhost nameservers are the following:

NS1.DREAMHOST.COM
NS2.DREAMHOST.COM
NS3.DREAMHOST.COM

Enter NS1.DREAMHOST.COM at the space corresponding to Nameserver 1

Enter NS2.DREAMHOST.COM at the space corresponding to Nameserver 2

Enter NS3.DREAMHOST.COM at the space corresponding to Nameserver 3

Nameserver 1 and Nameserver 2 are required and you will see that if there is an asterisk near it. An asterisk normally indicates that something is required.

Click the button “OK” after you supplied the new nameservers.

How to Set Nameservers, How to Change Nameservers

A pop-up window will open with this text:

“Your changes have been submitted. Please allow a few minutes for the changes to take effect.”

5. Click the button “OK”.

How to Set Nameservers, How to Change Nameservers

That’s it!

To check if you set the nameservers successfully, leave the page first, wait for a few minutes, then go back to the page again.

If the new DreamHost nameservers are already listed under the Nameservers, then you were able to set the nameservers successfully.

You will have to wait for 48-72 hours for the DNS to propagate though. Sometimes, it does not really take the DNS to propagate that long but your domain registrar will always tell you to wait for 48-72 hours or maybe less than 48 hours for security purposes.

I am not going to explain to you what is DNS propagation. It is important for you to know though that this process is needed.

You will know if the DNS have propagated once you see that your Website is online.

Most of the time, the web host has a temporary “coming soon” page. If you see that page, then the DNS have propagated.

Disclosure: As an affiliate, if you decide to register a domain name with GoDaddy, and get a web hosting account with DreamHost, I am going to earn from it.

How to Set Up a Website

Monday, September 13, 2010 @ 4:48 pm by Sofie Hofmann

I have written about this topic before, Setting Up a Blog, at Problogit.com but it was not so detailed.

Before I proceed, I would assume that you already registered a domain name with a domain registrar and signed up for a web hosting account with a web hosting provider. If not, I suggest that you read the details first on how to register a domain name and how to get a web host.

I will use DreamHost on how to set up a Website in this example. I am comfortable using DreamHost as I have been its customers for three (3) years now. I like its control panel and the features that it offers.

How to Set Up a Website

Proceed to DreamHost.

Click the first link “Web Panel” at the bottom of the page to log in at the DreamHost Control Panel.

How to Set Up a Website

You will be redirected to the “DreamHost: Login” page.

1. Supply the email address and password that you used when you signed up for a web hosting account with DreamHost at the “DreamHost: Login” page to log in at the web control panel.

Click the button “Login”.

How to Set Up a Website

You will be redirected to the “DreamHost Web Panel > Home : Welcome” page.

You will read the following text:

“Welcome to your DreamHost Control Panel!”

“This is the control center of your DreamHost account. From here you can configure literally any aspect of your account in no time at all!”

2. Click the link “Manage Domains” on the left side under “Toolbox” above the “Main Menu”.

How to Set Up a Website

You will be redirected to the “DreamHost Web Panel > Domain : Manage Domains” page.

You will read the following text:

“Domain Management”

“View and modify the hosting configuration of any of the domains on your DreamHost account.”

3. Click the link “Add New Domain / Sub-Domain”.

How to Set Up a Website

You will be redirected to another “DreamHost Web Panel > Domain : Manage Domains” page.

You will read the following text:

“Fully Hosted”

“Upload your site to our servers and we’ll serve it up!”

You will also read other details like Domain name, Users, Files, and Paths, Web Options, Google Hosted Services among others.

How to Set Up a Website

4. Supply the necessary details at the blank fields at the “DreamHost Web Panel > Domain : Manage Domains” page.

Under “Domain name”…

Domain to host:

Supply your domain name like “domainname.com” without the quotes.

Do you want the www in your URL?

Choose one of the three options, namely, leave the domain name with or without WWW, add WWW and redirect the domain name without WWW to the domain name with WWW, or remove WWW and redirect the domain name with WWW to the domain name without WWW.

Under “Users, Files, and Paths”…

Run this domain under the user:

Use the dropdown and “Create a new user” like “domainusername” without the quotes.

Web directory:

Supply your domain name like “domainname.com” without the quotes at the field corresponding to “/home/username/”.

How to Set Up a Website

Under “Web Options”…

PHP Mode:

Leave the recommended one as it is.

Extra Web Security?

Check the checkbox. Leave the others unchecked.

Under “Google Hosted Services”…

Check both the checkboxes if you would like to use the services of Google. You’ll need to set your domain up with Google separately from this set up here. Just follow the instructions after you click the link to Google. (I might also write about this topic later on.)

You can also leave the checkboxes unchecked. You can set it up later.

Under “Visual Confirmation”…

Please complete the following CAPTCHA:

5. Click the button “Fully host this domain”.

You have done it.

How to Set Up a Website

You will be redirected to the page where you were before, at the “DreamHost Web Panel > Domain : Manage Domains” page.

This time you will read the following text:

“Success!”

“”domainname.com” has been added to our hosting system!”

“Since it takes some time for new DNS information to propagate, it may take up to a few hours for your new domain to start working.”

This is assuming that you already change the DNS at the domain registrar where you registered your domain name. If not, you need to change or set the DNS then at the domain registrar. I wrote a little bit about this at the topic, How to Start a Website, but I might also write a detailed one later on.

The domainname.com must be using the nameservers of DreamHost for it to work.

NS1.DREAMHOST.COM
NS2.DREAMHOST.COM
NS3.DREAMHOST.COM

You can check the domain name “domainname.com” if it has been been added under “All hosted domains on this account”.

Take notes of the FTP user, FTP server and password like the examples below. Write them down.

The FTP user is “domainusername” without the quotes.

The FTP server is “serve.dreamhost.com” without the quotes. The server was provided by the web host. If the DNS has propagated, you can change the FTP server to your domain name like “domainname.com” without the quotes.

The FTP password has been generated for this domain name. If you would like to change the password, you can do so. You will be provided with a link so you can change your password. (I might also write about this topic later on.)

How to Set Up a Website

Finally, to check if you have set up the Website successfully, launch the net2ftp, the web based FTP client of DreamHost.

Click the link “WebFTP” under the domain name “domainname.com” at the “DreamHost Web Panel > Domain : Manage Domains” page like at the image above to launch the net2ftp.

You will be redirected to the “net2ftp – a web based FTP client” page.

Supply the necessary details at the blank fields at the “net2ftp – a web based FTP client” page if the net2ftp Login page looks like the image below.

Username, Password

How to Set Up a Website

Supply the necessary details at the blank fields corresponding the text below if the net2ftp Login page looks like the image below.

FTP server:
Username:
Password:
Initial directory:

How to Set Up a Website

The “Initial directory” is optional, you can leave what has been provided, in this case “/domainname.com” without the quotes which you supplied as the web directory under “Users, Files, and Paths” when you added the domain name. You can also leave it blank.

How to Set Up a Website

If you did not supply anything under the “Initial directory”, you will be redirected to the page like the image below. Click the folder, the domain name “domainname.com” to see the files under that folder.

How to Set Up a Website

If you supplied “/domainname.com” without the quotes at the “Initial directory”, you will be redirected directly to the domain name “domainname.com” folder like the image below.

If you have the same files inside the “domainname.com” folder like at the image, then you were able to set up the Website successfully.

How to Set Up a Website

Finally, to check if the domain name is active, check the page or the domain name at the browser. If you see the page like the page below as you have not created any pages yet, then you did it. You were able to set up the Website successfully.

How to Set Up a Website

That’s it! Congratulations!

Actually, it does not end there. You still need pages for your Website but that is a different topic which I might discuss later on. If you would like to install WordPress, that is also another topic which I will discuss later on.

For the meantime, plan what pages do you need for your Website. For more information about this topic, read this blog entry, Setting Up a Blog, at Problogit.com.

How to Get a Web Host

Wednesday, September 1, 2010 @ 8:18 pm by Sofie Hofmann

Getting a web host is simply choosing a web host and signing up for a web hosting account with the web hosting provider.

Choosing a web host or a web hosting provider may not be easy but signing up for a web hosting account is as simple as registering a domain name. Despite the simplicity of signing up for a web hosting account, I decided to give you an idea on how to do it as a follow up to my blog entry on how to register a domain name.

These two topics, registering a domain name and getting a web host, are very important. You cannot set up a Website without a domain name. You cannot set up a Website without a web host, whether paid-hosted site or free-hosted site.

I will be using DreamHost as the web hosting provider in this example. I am therefore disclosing here right away that if you decide to open a web hosting account with DreamHost using my referral link, I will earn from it as I am an affiliate of DreamHost.

It is not only because I am an affiliate of DreamHost but because I have also been its customer for three (3) years now. I find its features enough for my Website needs and its control panel is easy to use. For one thing, DreamHost offers a free trial.

How to Sign Up for a Web Hosting Account with DreamHost

Prepare your credit card in case you need it.

Proceed to DreamHost.

Click the button “Sign Up NOW”.

How to Get a Web Host

You will be redirected to the “Signup, Start your Free Trial!” page.

1. Supply the necessary details at the blank fields at the “Signup, Start your Free Trial!” page.

Email, Confirm Email, Password, Confirm Password

Remember the email address and password very well. Write them down.

Click the button “Continue”.

How to Get a Web Host

You will be redirected to the “Signup, Pick a domain…” page.

You have two options with notes below.

2. Choose either of the two options at the “Signup, Pick a domain…” page.

Register a new .com/net/org/info domain for me.

Note: The domain name is free with a hosting plan after free trial period.

You will be charged today to secure the Domain Registration during the free trial.

Following the free trial, the charge will be applied to the hosting cost, making the registration free.

The domain name will remain yours if you decide to close your hosting plan.

I already have a domain, please provide me with the information I’ll need to transfer it.

Note: You can still register a free domain later or use this option to add a free dreamhosters.com subdomain.

How to Get a Web Host

If you choose to register a new domain name, supply the domain name at the provided Domain field.

If you already have a domain name, supply the domain name at the provided Domain field.

If you choose to try a DreamHost subdomain name, supply the subdomain at the provided field like “subdomain.dreamhosters.com” without the quotes. Replace “subdomain” with your own name or whatever word you would like to use as a subdomain name.

Click the button “Continue”.

How to Get a Web Host

You will be redirected to the “Sign up, Pick a plan…” page.

You have three options with “Free Trial Offer Details” notice below.

3. Choose any of the three free trial offers at the “Sign up, Pick a plan…” page.

You can choose a one (1) month plan, one (1) year plan or two (2) years plan. It gets cheaper the longer the period you choose.

Free Trial Offer Details

Your free trial of DreamHost membership will begin when you complete the signup process. If you cancel anytime during your free trial, you will not be charged. To cancel online, simply visit the “Manage Account” section of DreamHost control panel and click the “close this account” link.

If you are enjoying your time with DreamHost, do nothing and your membership will automatically continue at the normal subscription rate for the payment period you select here.

The free trial is for first-time customers only.

Click the button “Continue”.

How to Get a Web Host

You will be redirected to the “Sign up, Account Contact Info” page.

4. Supply the necessary details at the blank fields at the “Sign up, Account Contact Info” page.

First Name, Last Name, Street Address, City, State/Province, Postal Code, Country, Phone

Click the button “Continue”.

How to Get a Web Host

You will be redirected to the “Sign up, Just a little more…” page.

5. Supply the necessary details at the blank fields at the “Sign up, Just a little more…” page.

Pick First Server Username, In what city were you born, How did you first hear about us (optional), Promotional code or email address that referred you (optional)

Do not forget to check the box with the text “I agree to abide by DreamHost’s Terms of Service and Anti-Spam Policy. I also accept the terms of the domain registration agreement. I am also…”.

Click the button “Continue”.

How to Get a Web Host

You will be redirected to the “Sign up, Payment Info” page.

6. Supply the necessary details at the blank fields at the “Sign up, Payment Info” page.

Card number, Expiration Date

You will not be billed until your free trial ends. Cancel online anytime.

With the very important notes:

Cancel anytime – really!

For your convenience, we take your payment information so that your membership will not be interrupted after your free trial ends and to serve as security for any domains you may register. If you cancel prior to the end of your free trial, simply pay for the domains you’ve registered (if any) and you will not be charged for anything else.

Once your free trial period has expired, you are authorizing us to automatically charge you for your membership at the price of the hosting plan you have chosen.

You may change your card information or cancel your charge authorization anytime by visiting the “Billing” section of your DreamHost control panel. To cancel online, simply visit the “Manage Account” section of the DreamHost control panel and click the “close this account” link.

We accept all major credit cards, along with ATM or debit cards that have a Visa, MasterCard, or American Express logo.

Your card information is safe. We use SSL encryption technology to secure our transactions. We value your privacy. Please see our privacy policy for details.

Click the button “Continue”.

How to Get a Web Host

You will be redirected to the “Sign up, Almost Done…” page.

7. Click the button “Continue” at the “Sign up, Almost Done…” page.

How to Get a Web Host

You will be redirected to the “Sign up, Would you like to add a private server?” page.

Do not check anything, you can do that later.

8. Click the button “Continue” at the “Sign up, Would you like to add a private server?” page.

How to Get a Web Host

You will be redirected to the “Sign up, Would you like to add…” page.

Unique IP Address, Premium Phone Support, VPN Access, Gmail and Google Apps

Do not check anything, you can do that later.

But you can check “Gmail and Google Apps” if you like to run Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs all @yourdomain. Your email will be hosted with Gmail. These applications are for free.

9. Click the button “Continue” at the “Sign up, Would you like to add…” page.

How to Get a Web Host

You will be redirected to the “Sign up, Welcome to DreamHost” page.

With the notes below:

Your free trial will begin as soon as your account is approved! We will send you an email with your FTP/shell password when this happens.

In the meantime, please continue to the https://panel.dreamhost.com/ to further configure your account.

Thank you for choosing DreamHost!

You are not finished yet.

10. Click the button “Continue to our web panel” at the “Sign up, Welcome to DreamHost” page.

How to Get a Web Host

You will be redirected to the “DreamHost Login” page.

11. Log in by supplying the necessary details that you used when you signed up at the Login page.

Email Address or Web ID, Web Panel Password

Click the button “Log In”.

How to Get a Web Host

Once you are inside the DreamHost Control Panel, you will see “Welcome to your DreamHost Control Panel!” with some notes.

You will also see “Approval Call”.

“You’re almost done! Below is a 4-digit confirmation pin. Click on the button below and we’ll call you asking for the 4-digit pin. All you have to do is enter it and your account will be approved!”

12. Click the button “Call Me!” and you are done.

How to Get a Web Host

Wait for the call and that’s it.

After the call and if your account has been approved, you can start exploring the control panel and set up your Website.

Well then, sign up for a web hosting account now with DreamHost. It is so easy!

How to Start a Website

Wednesday, August 18, 2010 @ 8:28 pm by Sofie Hofmann

I actually wrote at ProBlogit.com about starting and implementing a blog. It is almost similar to the topic how to start a Website if you just replace the word blog with Website. I will simplify it here but I will always be referring you to the blog entries that I wrote at ProBlogit.com especially if I find it not necessary to rewrite them as I definitely discuss things thoroughly there.

I would assume that you already have a business or a topic, your hobby perhaps, that is why you would like to have a Website.

But before everything else, allow me to use the word business here instead of hobby or any other terms.

1. Get a Domain Name

First, get a domain name for your business Website.

Your domain name should be the same with your business name. It is ideal if your business name has two syllables or three syllables. How would you know if your business name is still available as a domain name. Well, check if the domain name is still available by going to the domain registrar’s Website.

I always use GoDaddy to check if the domain name is still available. If your business name is no longer available as a domain name, find an alternative. Just keep on searching until you find one that is related to your business.

Once you find the right domain name for your business Website, register the domain name.

Read more about this topic, Domain Name or Free Subdomain Name, Choosing a good Domain Name and Registering a Domain Name, at ProBlogit.com. I discuss this topic thoroughly on those blog entries. You should not neglect this topic at all. It is very important. Your domain name is your online business identity.

2. Get a Web Host

Second, get a web host to host your domain name for your business Website to be online.

I have several web hosting providers and I have been using DreamHost to host several of my blogs and sites. I find DreamHost easy to use. I also tried Lunarpages and it was fine. I have not tried BlueHost though but when it comes to price BlueHost costs lesser than DreamHost.

It is not only because I am an affiliate of those web hosts that is why I include them here but because of the features of the web hosting they offer. Add to that, they have been around in the business of web hosting for quite some time now.

Read more about this topic, Choosing a Web Host, at ProBlogit.com. This topic is again very important. Even if you do not understand the terms that I wrote on that blog entry, they are very important for your business Website.

3. Set up the Website

Third, set up the Website to be available online.

Now, this is the very crucial part of starting a Website especially if you want to set it up yourself as it is a little bit more technical. Unless of course, you asked someone to do this for you.

After you have registered the domain name and after you opened a web hosting account, you need to set up your business Website. This process is needed so that your business Website will be available online. Without this process, there is no way to get your business Website online.

Read more about this topic, Setting Up a Blog, at ProBlogit.com.

But there are very important things regarding adding the domain name and setting the nameservers (DNS) which I failed to mention at the blog entry, Setting up a Blog, especially if you registered your domain name at GoDaddy and you would like DreamHost to host your business Website.

Add Domain Name

It is not enough that you opened a web hosting account. You need to add manually the domain name to be hosted.

If your account is at DreamHost, go to DreamHost Control Panel.

Go to DreamHost and login.

Click Website Hosting.

Click Add New Domain.

Supply the necessary details.

Examples:
Domain to host: domainname.com
Web directory: domainname.com

If you have no username yet, try to create one first. Go back to this page later and supply the necessary details again. Remember though that the username and password that are needed in adding a domain name should be different from your username and password when you accessed the control panel.

Then, click fully host this domain.

You will see the domain name if it is already listed once you click Manage Domains.

Set DNS (Domain Nameserver)

Make sure that the DNS of your domain name is pointing to your web host.

Go to your domain name registrar and login.

Click Manage Domains.

Click the domain name to be able to change the nameservers.

Click set Nameservers.

For example, the Dreamhost Nameservers are the following:

NS1.DREAMHOST.COM
NS2.DREAMHOST.COM
NS3.DREAMHOST.COM

Enter NS1.DREAMHOST.COM at the space corresponding to Nameserver 1

Enter NS2.DREAMHOST.COM at the space corresponding to Nameserver 2

Enter NS3.DREAMHOST.COM at the space corresponding to Nameserver 3

Nameserver 1 and Nameserver 2 are required and you will see that if there is an asterisk near it. An asterisk normally indicates that something is required.

You will have to wait 48-72 hours for the DNS to propagate though. I am not going to explain to you what is DNS propagation. It is important for you to know though that this process is needed.

You will know if the DNS has propagated once you see that your business Website is online.

But for you to know this and while waiting for the propagation, you create at least a simple page for your Website.

How to create a simple page?

Go to your web host or web hosting provider Website and login.

Let me illustrate this using DreamHost Control Panel.

Click Manage Domains.

Once you see the domain name, click WebFTP.

Another window will appear and supply the necessary details.

Example:
FTP server: domainname.com
Initial directory: domainname.com (same with Web directory at the Add Domain Name section)

If the DNS has not propagated yet, use your web server.

See what is Your Web Server by clicking Account Status on the top right side of the control panel and just add dreamhost.com to it with dot also before dreamhost like server.dreamhost.com.

Once you are inside the WebFTP, look for the index page, normally index.html or index.htm or index.php. It could also be default instead of index. Whatever text is inside that page, you will see that online later on once the DNS has propagated. But you can also change the text inside that page by editing it, by clicking edit, just follow the same instructions when creating a new file.

If you do not see any index or default page, create a new file.

Click New File.

Supply the file name, index.html or index.php at the box corresponding New file name.

You see [Enter Code Here].

Just delete everything and replace it with “Hello World” without the quotes.

Save it by clicking the floppy disk icon.

With that, once the DNS has propagated, you will see that text online on the page that you created.

To see the page, just type your domain name at the browser’s toolbar.

There are other technical things needed to be discussed but for the meantime the above instructions will suffice.

4. Get a Web Design

Fourth, get a web design for your business Website.

Part of starting a Website is for your business Website to have its own identity by having your own web design.

There are several ways in getting a web design.

You can hire a web designer to do a web design for your business Website.

You can make use of a ready made web design made available to you by your web hosting provider.

You can install WordPress and make use of its default theme.

If you install WordPress:

You can also use your own theme by hiring someone to design a theme for your business Website.

You can also make use of the WordPress themes made available to you by your web hosting provider.

You can also make use of the other WordPress themes which require uploading to WordPress.

But you might need the expertise of someone in installing WordPress if you do not know how to install the database.

I will write about this topic, how to install a database, later on.

5. Promote the Website

Fifth, promote your business Website.

Part again of starting a Website is for you to promote your Website.

It is not just enough that you have a Website. Your clients may know about it but if you need more clients, then your prospective clients must be able to find you if they search for a product like yours.

Read more about this topic, Ways on Promoting a Blog, at ProBlogit.com.

Well then, starting a Website would entail:

Getting a Domain Name

Getting a Web Host

Setting up the Website

Getting a Web Design

Promoting the Website

That’s it. I hope that what I explained here will help you in your endeavor starting and setting up your own Website.

Disclosure: As an affiliate, if you decide to register a domain name with GoDaddy, and get a web hosting account with either DreamHost, BlueHost or Lunarpages, I am going to earn from it.

How to locate Databases or phpMyAdmin at the DREAMHOST Control Panel

Tuesday, January 5, 2010 @ 5:04 pm by Sofie Hofmann

I shared with you the steps on how to locate databases or phpMyAdmin at the PLESK control panel and the steps on how to locate databases or phpMyAdmin at the H-SPHERE control panel.

Now, let me share with you the steps on how to locate MySQL Databases and/or phpMyAdmin at the DreamHost Control Panel.

1. Enter your Control Panel username at the Email Address or Web ID field.

2. Enter your Control Panel password at the Web Panel Password field.

3. Click Log In button.

How to locate Databases or phpMyAdmin at the DreamHost Control Panel

You will be redirected to the DreamHost Control Panel.

Welcome

Welcome to your DreamHost Control Panel!

This is the control center of your DreamHost account. From here you can configure literally any aspect of your account in no time at all!

4. Look for Databases.

If you see Databases…

5. Click the text Databases with the icon.

How to locate Databases or phpMyAdmin at the DreamHost Control Panel

You will be redirected to another page.

MySQL Databases

MySQL Database Management

Be sure to review the MySQL documentation in our wiki!
To access a database from the command line, use:…

You will also see the text Add New Hostname with 3 columns under it, the Hostname column, Web Administration column, and Actions column.

6. Click the text phpMyAdmin under the Web Administration column of the corresponding Hostname that you would like to access.

How to locate Databases or phpMyAdmin at the DreamHost Control Panel

And You will be redirected to the MySQL and phpMyAdmin page.

If you will be required to login…

7. Enter your database username at the Name field.

8. Enter your database password at the Password field.

9. Click Log in button.

And you will be redirected to the MySQL and phpMyAdmin page.

You are now at the MySQL and phpMyAdmin page.

Warning:

Do not do anything at the phpMyAdmin unless you know what you are doing.

Take note of all the icons especially the delete icon all the time.

One mistake and your database might be gone in just one click.

To see your database…

10. Click Databases, then Database name.

That’s it!

Now that you know the link to the phpMyAdmin, please bookmark it.

Sometimes, you do not have to login at the Control Panel to access the phpMyAdmin.

You can go directly to the phpMyAdmin.

Just enter your database username and database password to access your database.

Upgraded to WordPress 2.7 “Coltrane”, Host Compatibility Problem

Saturday, December 13, 2008 @ 9:52 pm by Sofie Hofmann

I upgraded four sites from WordPress 2.6.5 to WordPress 2.7. The upgrading went smooth except for one problem, and that is host compatiblity problem. I’m guessing here but I think it is really the problem.

First of all, I upgraded Sehdi.com from WordPress 2.6.5 to WordPress 2.7 but every time I accessed the dashboard and the other pages, the pages were hanging or crashing. I always had to refresh the pages. I thought it was just a browser problem. To find out, I upgraded Weggis.net hosted at another web host. The upgrade went fine. I had no problems at all.

With that, I upgraded SofieHofmann.com hosted at the web host where Sehdi.com is being hosted as well, just to see if my guess was right. I had the same problem accessing the dashboard and other pages. To confirm if the problem was really host compatibility, I upgraded Psap-parola.org hosted at another web host, but not where Weggis.net is being hosted. Upgrading Psap-parola.org from WordPress 2.6.5 to WordPress 2.7 went fine too.

I even used both Safari and Firefox just to test if it was indeed a browser problem but using both these browsers, the pages at Sehdi.com and SofieHofmann.com were still hanging and crashing.

Sehdi.com, Sofiehofmann.com and Psap-parola.org are being hosted here in Switzerland. What I like about my web hosts here is that, the pages are fast when being downloaded. Weggis.net is being hosted at Dreamhost. It is also fast but honestly, as I see it, not as fast as the three other sites hosted here in Switzerland.

I planned to transfer Sehdi.com and Sofiehofmann.com to another web host but I thought that it would take a lot of work as I have other sites riding on one of those domains. And so, as much I did not like doing it, I downgraded Sehdi.com and SofieHofman.com from WordPress 2.7 to WordPress 2.6.5.

I plan to upgrade these two sites once I already transferred them to another web host, and most probably one will be at Dreamhost. One problem I have if I transfer all the other sites to the other web host here in Switzerland, some Swiss web hosts are too security problem conscious (safe_mode is on), and so the built-in automatic upgrade of WordPress will not be put into use. I already tested it.

I could not even use the flash image uploader and the plugin automatic upgrade of WordPress as safe_mode is on. I can always ask my web hosts to turn it off but I think the way they think too. So I’ll just transfer the other one at Dreamhost. With Dreamhost, I can make use of the one-click install and one-click upgrade for plugins and same with the new automatic WordPress upgrade feature every time there is going to have a new version or release of WordPress.

I still have five more sites to upgrade, but having problem like this, I have to delay upgrading them until I will be able to transfer them to another web host.

I tried to fix the mod_security problem with the following codes at the .htaccess but nothing happened. I still can not use the flash image uploader and the plugin automatic upgrade features. I haven’t tried the other possibilities of solving this but if you have any tips, I will definitely appreciate it.

<ifmodule mod_security.c>
SecFilterEngine Off
SecFilterScanPOST Off
</ifmodule>

Well then, if you are upgrading to WordPress 2.7, make sure that your web host have tested WordPress 2.7. I checked what my other web host have at this time, it is still WordPress 2.3.3. But I no longer use their tools, I install whatever I need to install on my own. The other web host, at least, they have WordPress 2.6.1.

Dreamhost has the latest WordPress 2.7, of course. Did you notice that I’m loving Dreamhost now? Oh well!

WordPress Flash Uploader, Adobe Flash Player 10, Userplane Applications

Wednesday, October 29, 2008 @ 12:40 pm by Sofie Hofmann

I just redesigned Pandan.ph Website and made use of the gallery feature of WordPress. The downside was I was not able to use the WordPress Image Flash Uploader to upload the photos, only the normal WordPress Image Browser Uploader.

For clarification, Flash uploader is an image uploader making use of the flash so you can upload pictures in bulk while the Browser uploader is when you can only choose one file or photo to upload to your WordPress site.

I did not mind using the Browser uploader because I did not have too many pictures to upload. I was able to upload everything and Pandan.ph Website is now online with the new photo gallery.

When I finally uploaded the new WordPress theme of Pandan.ph, activated it, and then announced that it has been redesigned, I thought of changing its front page look and put a Live Web Chat into it. I already have an account with Userplane, so I thought of using one of its applications. Unfortunately, it was not showing up unless I upgrade my Adobe Flash Player. I downloaded the new Adobe Flash Player 10 and installed it.

With the new installation, I tested 3 Userplane applications to no avail. I surfed the web and looked for answers to the problem. According to Adobe site, and to my understanding, I should have uninstalled the Adobe Flash Player first before installing the new one. That I didn’t know. I do not even remember what version of Adobe Flash Player I was using before I installed the Adobe Flash Player 10. With the new information, the only way to uninstall the software was by using the Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller. I downloaded the Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller available at the Adobe site. I uninstalled the Adobe Flash Player and installed it again.

I thought everything will be resolved but no, the Userplane application was still giving me the message that I should upgrade to the new Adobe Flash Player. I thought again, maybe something went wrong with the installation and the Adobe Flash Player 10 I downloaded before was corrupted. So I downloaded the Adobe Flash Player 10 again. I uninstalled and installed the software but still to no avail.

I did not implement the Live Web Chat at the site. I also looked for other WordPress Live Web Chat Plugins but at that time I did not like to register again with another site. I thought that I will just implement the Live Web Chat later. I will still have to look for an alternative.

I resumed working as I am redesigning several of my sites right now especially the photo galleries. I tested uploading photos to my other WordPress sites, the Flash uploader was still not working. I surfed the web and again, looked for answers to this problem. I found out that WordPress Image Flash Uploader is not compatible with Adobe Flash Player 10.

I do not work too much with flash, so having read that it is better to use Adobe Flash Player 9 for the meantime, I downloaded Adobe Flash Player 9 from the Adobe site. I uninstalled Adobe Flash Player 10 and installed Adobe Flash Player 9.

Well, WordPress Image Flash Uploader worked but only in one of my sites. That site is in fact hosted with Dreamhost. I find it really funny because I always like my web hosts here in Switzerland but right now I’m getting quite satisfied with Dreamhost so far. I can only use the Browser uploader at the other sites being hosted at my 2 other web hosts. The Flash uploader does not work at all. The reason why I was not able to use the WordPress Image Flash Uploader with Pandan.ph because it is being hosted at one of my web hosts here, and not with Dreamhost. I will have to contact my other web hosts to know what is wrong.

I hope that this problem will be resolved soon. It’s not fun uploading photos one by one, you know. 🙂

Related Links: WordPress, Adobe, Userplane, Dreamhost

References:
WordPress › Support » Image/Media Uploader problems?
WordPress › Support » Flash Player 10 Beta breaks file upload
Flash Player 10 Beta | SWFUpload
Flash Player 10 – Continued | SWFUpload
Troubleshoot Adobe Flash Player for Intel-based Macs
How to uninstall the Adobe Flash Player plug-in and ActiveX control

Upgraded to WordPress 2.6.2, WordPress Plugin Automatic Upgrade

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 @ 11:45 pm by Sofie Hofmann

I finished upgrading all the sites using WordPress. I really had no plan to upgrade from WordPress 2.6 to WordPress 2.6.2 as I did not have any problem with it. I even skipped upgrading to WordPress 2.6.1. I know that WordPress 2.7 is going to be released this coming November. So, I thought I will just wait for WordPress 2.7.

But I changed my mind, so I finally upgraded all the websites using the publishing platform WordPress as a CMS (Content Management System). Upgrading to WordPress 2.6.2 did not cause any problem. Even when I upgraded several WordPress Plugins by clicking “upgrade automatically”. It worked just fine and no problem at all.

I actually just tested the WordPress Plugin Automatic Upgrade to see if it works, and if it is safe to use it. It worked, that is because I did the testing at the site where Dreamhost is the web hosting company. The last time I made use of it with a different web host, it did not work. I just got errors. But clicking “upgrade automatically” works with Dreamhost. I think this is again a plus for Dreamhost.

I will try to test this WordPress Plugin Automatic Upgrade at my other sites hosted at a different web host other than Dreamhost. I will see if I will still encounter any problems. As of the moment, there’s nothing to upgrade as I also upgraded all the WordPress Plugins by uploading them together with the WordPress 2.6.2 files.

By the way, I’m not talking about a certain WordPress Automatic Update Plugin here but the built-in One-click or Automatic Upgrade feature of WordPress which was included in WordPress 2.5 when it was released on March 29, 2008. It is different from the update notification which lets you know if ever there’s a new release of WordPress or there’s a new available updated version of a WordPress Plugin that you are using. The update notification feature was included when WordPress 2.3 was released on September 24, 2007.

I guess, no upgrading will be done until WordPress 2.7 which will be released on November 10, 2008 if everything will be fine as planned by WordPress.org.