Setting up a website can be a complicated undertaking, especially if you haven’t ever created your own website before.  The first thing you will need to will be to find a reliable and affordable web hosting service.  There are a lot of different web hosts out there, how do you choose which one is right for you?

If this is your very first website, you should look for a web hosting service that also sells domain names.  This way you won’t have to worry about the technical procedures of making sure that typing in your domain name actually sends people to your site.  The web host will take care of it for you!

For most beginners, shared web hosting is the best option.  This means that your website will be hosted on a single server with many other websites, but you will still have total control over the look, feel and content of your site. Shared hosting is cheaper and will allow you to build an audience for your website while you learn how to do all of the coding and technical stuff behind the scenes.

You will also want to look for a web host that comes with Fantastico.  Fantastico is an excellent application that installs a variety of website materials into your databases for you.  With Fantastico you can easily install website software with just the click of a button!

Having good customer support is a must-have for those who are in the “infant” stages of setting up web hosting.  Look for a service that has a phone number that you can call for support 24/7.  The last thing you want to do is wait for e-mails from tech support to help you figure out how to fix your website!

Web hosting is something that is best learned “on the go.”  As you work with it, you will learn which options you really need and which things you can do without.  Most website owners learn by doing, so don’t panic if you still feel a little bit like you’re feeling around in the dark, trying to learn the layout of the land!

Phishing is a nasty business in which someone tries to get you to give out your username and password information to an unauthorized party.  Phishers take this information and use it to steal your personal information and, in many cases, your money!  How can you protect yourself from these scammers?

1.  Never ever click on a link sent to you in an e-mail unless that e-mail is from a person that you know personally.  Phishers are clever and they have figured out how to make “dummy” addresses that look official!  These links will usually take you to a site that was made to look exactly like a “real” site but that is only set up to collect your information.

2.  When you are visiting a membership site and you are taken to a page that says “You have signed out! Please re-login to resume your session” manually type the URL of the membership site’s home page into your web browser and re-login that way.

3.  When entering financial information into a website always make sure that the site is secure.  Look for the padlock that is displayed in the bottom corner of your web browser—it is there to illustrate that your information is being sent over a secure system, and not being entered into a cleverly disguised opt-in form!

Spotting a phishing scam can sometimes be tricky.  These scammers are clever and can create e-mail addresses and websites that look 100% legitimate.  Keep an eye out for the two most common mistakes phishers make:

1.  “Dear [INSERT NAME] or Customer,” if the e-mail is not addressed specifically to you, it is likely that it is a phishing scam!

2.  The URL looks strange.  Many phishers will transpose just a couple of letters of a site’s address or they will use the correct word but it will be as a subdomain.  For example: “realstie.com” or “realsite.otherbusinessname.com.”

Remember, there is no such thing as being too careful when it comes to protecting your personal information!

There are plenty of people out there who have tons of experience in building web sites from scratch. They understand how to quickly install scripts and make sure everything looks good to the website’s visitors. But, what if you aren’t one of these people? What if you are someone who knows that they want to build a website or blog but you aren’t sure that you have the time (or the patience) to learn how to properly install the scripts you need? If you are one of these people, there are two things you need to know:

1) you are not alone and

2) it was for you that Fantastico was developed!

Fantastico was developed by the team at Netenberg–the same team who introduced Take 4, AccountLab Plus and Controller to Internet users. Fantastico, now known as Fantastico De Luxe, is an auto installer that was created to allow web users to install a large variety (40+) of web scripts with just a few clicks. Fantastico offers users easy installation of all of the following:

Blogs (Wordpress)
Content Management Systems
Classifieds
Customer Support Systems
Discussion Boards
E-Commerce Platforms
Billing Software
Image Galleries
Mailing Lists
Polls
Project Managers
Site Builders
Surveys
Wikis

All web users need is to find a web hosting provider that already has Fantastico (McKremie) installed and they can have a fully functional website up and running in minutes. Fantastico has truly become a godsend for those who do not have the time or motivation to learn how to do the complicated coding that they’d be facing if they were to try and install each of these scripts without the help of an auto-installer.

All of this makes Fantastico sound almost too good to be true. The truth is that there are a few (not many) drawbacks to Fantastico as well. The biggest drawback is that Fantastico does not give users a choice when it comes to deciding which features of a particular script they would like to install. It simply installs the most recent version of the script it has in its library. This can lead to problems later on when a script is updated or upgraded and it takes the Fantastico team a while to upload the latest version of the script to their service. Another large drawback comes from the ease in which installation can occur. Users who aren’t careful could end up accidentally uninstalling a script just as quickly as it was originally installed. This could be disastrous for users who do not regularly back up their web sites.

The most popular use of Fantastico for our hosting clients is to install Wordpress. For those who are interested in installing Wordpress on a McKremie hosting account all they need to do is:

1) Login to their cPanel account

2) Find the icon that says “Fantastico De Luxe” and click it

3) Click on Wordpress icon or link and press install now button

4) In this next screen it will ask what directory you want the blog software installed in. If your website is a blog and or you want your blog to be the main entry page then you don’t have to enter anything into the directory field. Fantastico will automatically install the software on the top level of your domain.

i.e. www.yourdomain.com

However, if you want the blog to be an extension of your website then you need to specific that directory. (also know as a folder)

i.e. www.yourdomain.com/blog/

Once the installation process is over you will see confirmation that you successfully installed Wordpress. You will be given a chance to have your username and password emailed to an email address that you specify.