Archived Thread

NFT: Website Creation / Webhosting Recommendations

Trainmaster : 6/14/2017 5:22 pm

I organize a small volunteer event that occurs every 2 years. Similar events have simple websites that allow potential attendees (numbering in the few dozens) to register, view simple photographs and tables in order to make various event selections.

I've done a fair amount of programming (engineering models) years ago, I'm decent with Excel, but I've got very limited website creation experience. Another host of my event offered to help me by creating a website for the event in 2016, but he flaked on me near the last minute. I chose GoDaddy as the web hosting service and did what I could myself.

A host of a similar event created a custom application that runs "behind?" the website and offered it to me. The application requires the LAMP software bundle / service stack. Long story short getting this application running on GoDaddy turned out to be a nightmare for him.

My site with GoDaddy expired (I still have the domain name I originally used into 2019). I'm looking for different relatively low cost web host that will support LAMP, but be easier to use (I found GoDaddy's tools to be rather clunky).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions / recommendations.

I'm not sure you're going to find easier to use

Giantology : 6/14/2017 5:34 pm : link

Just about every single web host is quite clunky and the smoothest route is for more advanced back-end developers to connect to a Host via the Terminal/Command Line.

You can also ask the Event Host who created the back-end application what web host they are using or have used in the past.

Don't really have any specific hosting recommendations off the top of my head, but there's a lot of options out there (link below has a comparison of different hosts):
LAMP Hosting: Compare Hosting - ( New Window )

You can keep the lamp stack and

mattlawson : 6/14/2017 5:44 pm : link

Install wordpress easily with godaddy. WP it's the most used website publishing tools in the world and has tons of features teams and plug-ins that you will like and will benefit SEO.

Thanks for starting Trainmaster

ctc in ftmyers : 6/14/2017 6:15 pm : link

Let me piggyback if I may.

Thoughts on WIX from the guru's?

Go Daddy is the worst

Vanzetti : 6/14/2017 6:42 pm : link

You talk to a different person each time and have to explain every problem from the beginning. Seriously the worst company I have dealt with in my life. Most of the programmers have an attitude and you have to threaten their job to get any form of decent service.

I cant overemphasize how bad a company this is

Vanzetti, So If GoDaddy Is So Bad

Trainmaster : 6/14/2017 8:20 pm : link

(And I agree), what are good ones?

What exactly do you need on the site?

KWALL2 : 6/14/2017 8:59 pm : link

A registration form? A few images.

How many people register?

What else? Give me details or post an example of the type of site you need.

What I Need

Trainmaster : 6/14/2017 10:16 pm : link

1) A menu with 10 or so choices
2) The ability to link to pictures and / or tables
3) A registration form with an ability to pass the registration data to a LAMP using separate application
4) Relatively low annual cost

Sample1 (registration currently not active):

BayRails

Sample2 (registration currently not active):

SoundRail

Sample3 (registration currently not active):

MinnRail

Examples from 1998?

KWALL2 : 6/15/2017 12:43 am : link

I can't see them on my phone. Design is brutal.

Is mobile important to you? Anybody using mobile to signup? Can't do it on these examples.

What do you mean by 10 menu items? As part of the form or a menu of links such as "about", "contact", "FAQ"?

Why do you need to do with the registration information? You need it in a database? Do you need to drop it in a CRM? Or send info to the subscribers via email or text?

How many do you expect to signup?

Why is this required; "registration data to a LAMP using separate. application" ?

Something like this?

Gary from The East End : Admin : 6/15/2017 1:41 am : link

...
Quo Vadis Long Island - ( New Window )

The Registration Part Is Similar To Gary's Example

Trainmaster : 6/15/2017 2:08 am : link

I can see / navigate to all the sites I linked on my iPhone6 Plus.

1998 level of sophistication is fine as long as it is relatively easy to set up, maintain and use and inexpensive. Again, a few dozen guys access the site over the course of a few weeks once every 2 years (and it needs to support a LAMP back end to manipulate the data entered as choices by the users). GoDaddy failed even those simple requirements.

I use SiteGround...

trueblueinpw : 6/15/2017 7:53 am : link

They're inexpensive, highly-available, good speed, well reviewed. My company has a number of high transaction site which are hosted at SG. They have technical support which is based in Eastern Europe somewhere; telephone, chat and ticket based support is very good.

For hosting

designmudd : 6/15/2017 9:16 am : link

you'd be fine with the cheapest plan at hostgator.com ... the control panel (cpanel) is as easy as it gets. This is cheap "shared" hosting, which to me sounds like this is all you need. It is LAMP... Linux Apache MySQL PHP and has everything you need.

BUT ... imo, you'd probably be better off just quickly building a site on wix or wordpress.com and instead of using the custom registration app, just link out to a registration site like eventbrite.com ... or eventbrite even has plugins and widgets for you to integrate it into a wordpress site.