Getting started

[Autismne]

OK, I've registered, I have a domain name, downloaded the blue host software. How do I start building my website? Seriously. I'm that lost.

[redsox9]

I'm not sure what you mean by "downloaded the BlueHost software." It sounds like you may have leapt before you looked, but all is not lost.

What is it that you want to accomplish with your account? Are you looking to host a business or personal site? You need to give people here at the forum a few more clues before you can get an answer.

[Ferdinand]

If you want a simple website, I would start with the page wizard inside Cpanel. It's very very basic, but better than nothing.

If you are interested in having a blog I would recommend to install Wordpress via Fantastico (see inside Cpanel).

[Autismne]

I'm not sure what you mean by "downloaded the BlueHost software." It sounds like you may have leapt before you looked, but all is not lost.

What is it that you want to accomplish with your account? Are you looking to host a business or personal site? You need to give people here at the forum a few more clues before you can get an answer.
It's an educational site. Not selling anything. I need a homepage, and 10 additional pages to link to. The page wizard only offers business templates. I was told that BlueHost offers more choices than that.

[Autismne]

I'm not sure what you mean by "downloaded the BlueHost software." It sounds like you may have leapt before you looked, but all is not lost.

What is it that you want to accomplish with your account? Are you looking to host a business or personal site? You need to give people here at the forum a few more clues before you can get an answer.
I tried using Fantastico, but got this message:

Install Templates Express (2/3)
The installation can not be completed:
- You cannot install more than one script in the root directory of a domain.
Click on the browser's Back button to fix reported errors.

[Autismne]

I think part of the problem is the BlueHost does not support Macintosh. I wish your sales dept. told me that.

[areidmtm]

I think part of the problem is the BlueHost does not support Macintosh. I wish your sales dept. told me that.

That wouldn't matter. Fantastico is telling you that you cannot install more than one script in your main public_html folder. Each installation has to be installed in it's own folder. public_html counts as one, public_html/new_folder counts as two etc. When installing a script in Fantastico, it will ask you where to install the script. Tell it to install in a folder within public_html. It should create it for you.

Something to remember about this forum. This is a user to user forum. Generally bluehost employees do not come here.

[Early Out]

I think part of the problem is the BlueHost does not support Macintosh. I wish your sales dept. told me that.This is a user-to-user forum, and none of us has a sales department.

BH supports Macintosh to pretty much the same extent it supports PCs. With either platform, they don't offer much hand-holding when it comes to developing your web content. BH is a hosting service, and they provide lots of tools for managing your content, but not much for generating web pages, per se. What BH provides is largely platform-independent. Anything you install on the server side, of course, is running under Linux/Apache - whether you're using a Mac or a PC is irrelevant.

You need some page-creation software. Not being a MacPerson myself, I'm hard-pressed to recommend a package, but a good cross-platform choice might be Nvu (http://www.nvu.com), which is open source, and free.

[Ferdinand]

As Earlyout said, it has nothing to do with Apple or PC. It seems that you had a wrong idea what Bluehost is offering and furthermore that you don't have the slightest idea how to develop a homepage. But that shouldn't big a too big problem for you. I began like you last summer.

If you need your page urgently I would recommend to ask someone to help you with your project or you start to learn and to read about HTML and later about CSS.

Or you choose another way: you install Wordpress and use the "pages" function of Wordpress to install one or more webpages and you hide the blog function with the posts by making a "page" (and not the posts) your start page. You can do this with plugins easily. With the "blogroll" function of WP you can add as many links you want. Also there many template available** and I am sure you will find one which you like and/or which can redesign for your needs.

Either way you choose you'll need to read and learn.
Good luck!

**Just make sure that it is compatible with the latest version of WP 2.3 which came out last week.


PS: Don't have Mac's the ability to create simple webpages and upload them to your server?

[Autismne]

I've installed WordPress in a folder called WordPress. I still don't see how I'm supposed to build a webpage. Where is the software? Sorry for the cluelessness, but BH sales made this sound simple. It's not.

When I go my URL/wordpress, I get a parked page with a bunch of ads. What's that?

[Ferdinand]

I've installed WordPress in a folder called WordPress. I still don't see how I'm supposed to build a webpage. Where is the software? Sorry for the cluelessness, but BH sales made this sound simple. It's not.

When I go my URL/wordpress, I get a parked page with a bunch of ads. What's that?

You need to go to URL/wordpress/wp-admin

For more information see here: Wordpress.org (http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress#Famous_5-Minute_Install)
Maybe you need to start with Step 5 (run istall.php).

[Autismne]

the same parked page comes up on the admin page as well. I don't see anything on WordPress.com

[Autismne]

My account has been sitting on the GoDaddy servers all weekend because the tech guy at BlueHost didn't move it over like he should have. :mad:

[areidmtm]

I don't think that you understand the technical language here. You don't have to move the domain, all you do is change the name servers to ns1.bluehost.com and ns2.bluehost.com

Did you ask to have to domain "physically" transfered to bluehost or just pointed? There are several steps that a domain owner (that's you) must do before the domain can be transfered to another domain. If bluehost was really supposed to transfer the domain, you had to complete steps before they could do anything.

When you sign up for an account with bluehost, they will not transfer the domain until you actually initiate it. Just point the nameserver to bluehost and you'll be fine.

Make sure you know all the facts before you start blaming.

[Autismne]

You weren't privy to the phone conversation I had with BlueHost last week. I was told everything would be ready in 30 minutes, and I didn't have to do anything. If there was something else I needed to do, fine. It would be nice if somebody could have told me that. That's what I thought the forum was for. I'm out of here.

[areidmtm]

If you already have talked to support about this problem what would you like us users to do about this?

[Early Out]

You weren't privy to the phone conversation I had with BlueHost last week. I was told everything would be ready in 30 minutes, and I didn't have to do anything.I wasn't privy to that conversation, but I don't think anyone at BH would have told you that they would create your web pages for you. From the time you signed up, on the other hand, I don't doubt that your account was up and running within 30 minutes. When I signed up, my domain was "live," and I was able to start uploading my stuff within an amazingly short period of time.

But to repeat what I said earlier, BH is a web host - it provides space for you to put your stuff. It doesn't create content for you.

[Autismne]

I was told my account would be live in 30 minutes. That was Friday night. My account still isn't live. That's all I'm saying.

Don't fret, I'm not asking anyone here for help. :)

"From the time you signed up, on the other hand, I don't doubt that your account was up and running within 30 minutes."

[Ferdinand]

So, did you contact BH via livechat in the meantime? :confused:

[Basil]

Provide a link to your website.

[Autismne]

Live chat got me live today. It's too bad BH doesn't offer help for people who would like to learn this.

[felgall]

Bluehost arrange so that when you purchase hosting it is available almost immediately. While it may take several days for your domain to propogate everywhere you can access the site to set things up without it. What you do with the site once you have it provided that you abide by the terms of service is up to you. Bluehost support do not have the expertise to be able to support the millions of different scripts that can be installed onto their hosting.

There is a reasonable chance that another member who visits these user forums may have experience with the particular script you decide to use (particularly with commpn ones such as those available from Fantastico) and so you can sometimes get answers to questions about setting up such scripts from these forums. A better forum to get help with installing scripts would be the one associated with the particular script you are trying to install.

[Ferdinand]

Live chat got me live today. It's too bad BH doesn't offer help for people who would like to learn this.
It seems that you have a complete wrong idea of webhosting. BH and all other providers I know give you the space to do _your_ programming and they won't tell you how to do it.

BH is actually doing more than many other providers by providing so many software like Wordpress e.g. via Fantastico which you can install with a few mouse clicks. Only the sitebuilder script they offer is not very good, there are others who offer a better script, but these I know in my country are much more expensive than BH. Also most providers I know don't offer livechat.

For every script you can install via Fantastico you will find a support forum on the web. Especially Wordpress has a great community. If this does not suit you I would recommend to ask someone (a friend or a professional) to do the webdesign for you, or you buy some books on web design and start reading and learning....