On May 20, 2015, at 12:23 PM, Derek Ellison wrote:
On Wed, May 20, 2015 at 9:53 AM, Samuel Rhoades <srhoades28@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hi Everyone,
I'm really new to web development and only just learning php which
is all
very exciting, but I've hit a roadblock. I've created my first php
website
using XAMPP as a development environment, and it looks great, but
now I'm
totally lost as to how to move it onto a remote server and actually
put it
on the web! I never thought this would be the hardest step for me!
Can
someone help me with the following questions...
1. Which hosting company is the best bang for your buck/easiest to
configure for php applications?
2. Are there any good resources for learning how to get a website
onto that
server?
...I'm totally lost on this step.
3. What should I be using...SSH or SFTP and why?
4. Anything else you think I should know about to make this step
easier in
the future?
Thanks for all the help!
-Sam
--
Sam Rhoades
-*Life Enthusiast*
All the options I mention below assume you want to use Linux as the
OS. I
cannot and will not ever recommend the use of Windows. MacOS , I've
never
used.
1. Which hosting company is the best bang for your buck/easiest to
configure for php applications?
That is entirely up to what resources you need and how flexible you
want it
to be. There are pros and cons to anything and web hosting is no
different.
Since you're new to the web developer world, I'll explain a few
different
types and then give you some hosts I've personally used.
VPS (Virtual Private Servers) have the most flexibility and are fairly
inexpensive today. The great thing about these are they are very
flexible.
They are dedicated environments that you have full control over.
Usually
you manage these servers by way of SSH, but some do have options to
install
server management software. You can install whatever services you
need and
have maximum control. The draw back is pretty much that too; you
have to
set up everything yourself -- usually. Some places, if you pay more,
will
setup web servers for you and even maintain them, with the ability
for you
to still manage everything yourself. This option is a lot of work,
but has
the greatest payoff in my personal opinion. Also, this can be a much
more
secure way to host your site, as long as you practice proper server
management.
VPS:
Cons: More expensive than shared, but not too bad. Normally no
assistance from the hosting company on setting up the public facing
services. More involved setup process
Pros: Gives the most flexibility -- assuming you are willing to
learn.
Can be more secure.
Shared hosting would be the other beast. It's insanely cheap and fully
managed, but has other people sharing the same server. Since it's
managed
by the company, they say what version of software to install
usually. Even
big hosts usually have older version of software to support there
other
hosts. What I mean is, you might get on a shared server that has Php
5.3,
which is old. Not that it's bad, just you might need/want features
of newer
version. Most of the time the company is not able to upgrade the
version
for you.
The other draw back of shared hosting is security. If there is even
one
wrong permission set, by you or the hosting company, other people on
your
server can access your files. I can tell you first hand that it's more
common than you think. Now, this shouldn't just sway you from this
type of
host because, like anything, as long as you practice good management
and
learn about security, you'll be fine.
Shared hosting:
Cons: Shared with other people, which can lead to security issues.
Hosting company maintains software, sometimes older version of
software.
Most of the time, no SSH access.
Pros: Very cheap. Easier to setup, especially for newer folks.
Maintained by the hosting company means you only worry about your site
files.
Here are a few hosting companies.
ixwebhosting: Shared, VPS. Pretty cheap rates for all. Customer
service is
excellent. I'm not sure about the VPS, but shared hosting they
assign a
professional tech to assist you with your issues, free of cost. I
found
this to be very helpful in the beginning. Pretty big company that's
been
around a while. I used them for a few years before I started running
my own
server.
GoDaddy: I have no actually not used them, but they are well
established. I
think you have to pay extra for certain features as well, but a lot of
people use them. Their rates are pretty cheap as well.
2. Are there any good resources for learning how to get a website
onto that
server?
...I'm totally lost on this step.
This question really depends on the type of server you choose.
Shared hosts
have a user control panel that lets you manage your server, which is
really
simple to use. You normally upload the files this way as well. VPS
usually
requires you to setup the web server and any related software such
as PHP
or MySQL. Any good company you go with should have documentation on
how to
get your files up and running.
3. What should I be using...SSH or SFTP and why?
These are mostly two different things.
SSH is a protocol that allows you to manage your server and files.
This is
a less common feature among shared hosting companies (personally
I've never
seen a shared hosting company allow it).
SFTP is FTP over SSH. This is a very secure way to send/receive
files from
your server. I have seen this feature on shared hosting companies,
but it
isn't always an option.
Also, I assume you are asking about this for deploying your files.
What I
suggest is if you have access to SSH, use a version control system,
like
GIT, to deploy your files. This turns moving files into a one or two
commands and allows you to revert changes easily.
So really, it depends on your host on what you have access to. If the
hosting company has a server control panel, such as cPanel, Plesk, or
something else, you can upload the files (usually over HTTPS)
directly from
the control panel. No SSH or FTP needed.
4. Anything else you think I should know about to make this step
easier in
the future?
Be diligent. Web sites can and are a lot of work. Learn from
mistakes and
don't be afraid to get your feet wet. Learn a VCS, I recommend GIT.
Hopefully that helps you in any future project and good luck with your
site! Welcome to the world of web design and administration!
There is one other detail I neglected ot address in my original reply:
access to data base servers in hosting service accounts almost always
cost more than a basic site account with php (without mysql or other
data base server
access)
So while you are using XMAMP, I presume you use it for the mysql data
base. Be prepared
to pay extra for a hosting service account with mysql or other data
base.
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