Using SiteBuilder 2.0 and WordPress

[skeezix]

My website and blog are hosted by Yahoo! Small Business. I used SiteBuilder to create the website and now that I've worked with it for three years I'd rather not have to learn another application.

Question: Is the Sitebuilder tool referred to on Bluehost the SiteBuilder(TM) provided by Yahoo?

I am using WordPress 2.0.2 for my blog and have had it "up to here" with the lack of support by Yahoo and the problems trying to upgrade to a more recent version of WP, namely version 2.3 (and shortly, version 3.0).

Question: What version of WP does Bluehost install?

Thanks in advance for any opinions and replies you care to give.

[Ferdinand]

Concerning Wordpress. BH, better said Fantastico, is currently installing WP 2.2.2. This in NOT the latest version of WP, since on Sept. 8 WP released a security update to version 2.2.3.

I would not recommend to run an outdated version of WP for longer than a few days - I know how it feels when a blog gets hacked, it happened to me recently (albeit almost probably through an unsafe plugin and not WP itself).

Therefore I would recommend a manual install of WP. It might take an hour longer or so to install WP manually compared to using Fantastico, but having installed WP manually you will know everything you will need to know to update WP by yourself in the future.

By the way, WP 2.3 is scheduled for Sept. 24 (http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_2.3). We will see how long Fantastico will need to roll out the new version.

[Stash]

Upgrading to a later WP is quite easy. BlueHost does have excellent support and you will be quite happy with them. I can upgrade it for you when you move here for free. Regards

[Ferdinand]

You are right upgrading WP usually takes less than 5 minutes. Most time needs the backup which I usually do before a bigger update and I surely will do it before upgrading to WP 2.3 which will contain some major changes.

[2notch]

A note of caution on upgrading to 2.3. The Category tables are going bye-bye in 2.3 and will be replaced with Tag tables. This will probably make many themes and plugins choke.

What will happen is people will upgrade through Fantastico (when 2.3 is there), their blogs will go south and panic will reign. No matter that all their previous upgrades through Fantastico went flawlessly.

Recommendation: Wait until all the bugs are out of 2.3 and theme fixes and plugin fixes have had time to catch up.

Note: Upgrading from 2.2.2 to 2.2.3 requires only a few core file replacements. There are no database changes and you don't have to run upgrade.php.
The article is here: http://wordpress.org/development/2007/09/wordpress-223/
Look for the "files changed" link.

[Ferdinand]

2notch is right. The upgrade to WP 2.3 will cause some headaches. Almost all themes needs to be upgraded. For example the development of my theme has been discontinued and I have to do it manually. Also several plugins are incompatible with WP 2.3.

For more information see here:
Preparing for WP 2.3 (http://wordpress.org/development/2007/09/preparing-for-23/)

[skeezix]

Thank you all for your replies.

Can you tell me what html or web site tools BH offers? I'm used to SiteBuilder 2, the freebie at Yahoo. I realize it has its problems, but I do like its navigation bar and button tools.

Thanks in advance

[skeezix]

Okay, gotcha. I now have a virgin install of WP2.2.2 in my BH root. That means no blog yet, and I have not modified anything.

I downloaded a copy of version 2.2.3 and I went to the "files changed" link and saw the files I need to replace.

Do I need to modify any of the downloaded 2.2.3 files before I upload them? If so, can you direct me to a procedure I can follow?

Thanks for your help!

[Ferdinand]

You don't need to change anything in the WP files. Just upload all WP 2.3 files (it's WP 2.3 right?) via FTP (I use Filezilla) to your blog folder on BH. Afterwards go to the WP dashboard and it will run the upgrade.php automatically.

See Wordpress.org (http://codex.wordpress.org/Upgrading_WordPress)

PS: For future updates it is recommended to backup your blog and your WP database and to switch off all plugins before the update.
I just updated to WP 2.3 without any problem...

[Ferdinand]

I forgot to ask. Did you install WP via Fantastico?
If yes, I don't know how a manual update will work with this.

Anyway, if you have a spare hour I would recommend to install WP manually, since it gives you complete control over future updates. And I would start with a clean install of WP 2.3 and not with a previous version, since there are some major changes in WP 2.3.

[skeezix]

Yes, I used Fantastico to install 2.2.2. And yes, I had planned to update to 2.2.3 because I don't yet know if my theme will survive version 2.3...

I can always delete the 2.2.2 files and do a fresh install of 2.3 per WP instructions.

I have not created mySQL database yet - should that be done before or after the update?