Help for creating a website / blog for a total newbie

[JessieJane]

Hello, I would like to create a website / blog but find that the FAQs are really quite high-tech speak - can anyone sort of translate into language for absloute beginners and tell me exactly what i have to do?

I live in Germany and I have my package with strato. Does anyone have any experience with strato in setting up such a website.

I wanted to download the necessary program, but i see there are 3 downloads. do i have to download all of them or just one? I have windows 7.

Basically, can some kind person here tell me step by step what to do - in a language that tech-idiots such as myself can understand?

That would be fantastic!!

Thanks!!

Jessie

[garvinhicking]

Hi!

You might want to read through this book:

https://github.com/s9y/Book/blob/master/serendipity.pdf

(It's german)

You might also want to browse through these:

http://robertlender.info/blog/s9ymanual/start.html

Regards,
Garvin

[yellowled]

Hello, I would like to create a website / blog but find that the FAQs are really quite high-tech speak - can anyone sort of translate into language for absloute beginners and tell me exactly what i have to do?

Are you aware that there's a German book on Serendipity written by our core developer Garvin Hicking which is now open sourced (i.e. available for free)? That should pretty much cover about anything you will need to know. You can get a printed copy of the book (for shipping costs only) through Sidux e.V..

Also, some episodes of the German s9y podcast s9y InfoCamp (especially the earlier episodes) could probably be of help. Plus, we do have a German subforum („Generelles in Deutsch“) if you think it would be easier to discuss things in German.

I live in Germany and I have my package with strato. Does anyone have any experience with strato in setting up such a website.

I've worked on Statro servers, but I don't recall installing s9y on them. It also depends on the actual hosting package you ordered, but if it has PHP5 and a MySQL database, you should be good to go. At least I'm not aware of any known issues with Strato hosting. Wouldn't be my first option, though.

One thing I would not recommend, however, is using any “pre-packaged” s9y versions provided by Strato (or any web hoster, for that matter). These so-called “1-click installations” tend to be outdated.

Basically, to install s9y, you need to:

1. Download a recent copy of s9y (current stable version 1.6.2, the zip file probably works best for Windows users).
2. Get an FTP client and install it on your computer. I'm not familiar with Windows FTP clients, but FileZilla is often recommended. You'll then have to create an FTP connection to your web space (and most likely bookmark it since you're going to need it again to update s9y from time to time). Your web hoster should have some kind of info page to provide you with the necessary data for that, some even have special instructions for specific FTP clients available on their web sites.
3. Set up a MySQL database in your web space and get the connection details for that database (see your web hoster's documentation for details as to how to do that).
4. Extract the s9y zip file on your computer (Windows 7 should be able to do that without any additional software).
5. Connect to your web space and upload the extracted zip archive to your webspace. Whether you upload the “serendipity” directory created during extraction or just its contents depends on whether you want to install s9y in your site's root – that would result in s9y being your domain's start page (which is most likely what you'll want to do).
6. Open your web site's domain in a web browser and follow the instructions provided by the installer.

Of course, you can always ask for details or further instructions in the forum.

YL

[JessieJane]

Hello thanks very much for the info! I am English, so language is not a problem, just the technical speak. I will try to follow the advice given. Which webhosting provider would you recommend? However I unfortunately already have a contract with strato, so i hope they will be able to support the stuff i want to do.

Thanks!

[yellowled]

I am English, so language is not a problem, just the technical speak.

Didn't see that coming.

If you can read German, I'd still recommend having a look at Garvin's book.

Which webhosting provider would you recommend? However I unfortunately already have a contract with strato, so i hope they will be able to support the stuff i want to do.

They should offer a web hosting package which suits the technical requirements for a s9y installation, it's more a question of how well certains technical aspects are met. (Can't really state more without knowing the setup at Strato.)

The “ideal” web hoster is a very individual choice which also depends on your needs in terms of technical support and interfaces provided by the web hoster to execute certain management tasks related to your web space. Off the top of my head I could name some hosters I would not recommend (that's always easier), but recommending one is kind of difficult. Let me try to give you some pointers.

* General rule of thumb: never pick the cheapest offers. Those usually have a hitch somewhere. 3-5 euros/month should get you a decent hosting package including at least one domain.
* On the technical side, all web hosters these days should offer what's needed to run s9y.
* Always check the hoster's web site. Does it provide user documentation? Do you understand those docs? That's usually a good sign.
* Also check how they handle user support. Do they charge extra for that? (They shouldn't.) Is it available 24/7, at least via email? (You are going to need support from your web hoster at some point, trust me.)

YL

[lstench]

Is there nothing in English available?

[Timbalu]

Is there nothing in English available?

Like this? http://www.s9y.org/36.html

[yellowled]

Is there nothing in English available?

There is, like Timbalu pointed out, but it's pretty technical. Garvin's book is way more detailed, which is why it is usually recommended for beginners who have difficulties with technical slang. Unfortunately, it's not (yet) translated to English.

YL