This was posted by Beth (BethsVentures) Unfortunately due to the repeated reference to one of our competitors I deleted it. However with the offending references removed I am re posting it as Beth's questions are excellent and deserve a proper answer. I have also retained Beth's Title as it was very appropriate.

Posted by Beth (BethsVentures)

I've been helping a friend as he builds an internet business of his own... The website, messaging, links between all the pages need to be checked, proof-reading, welcoming new members willing to try out a very beta site...

and with all that ...it's made me wonder what does it take to set up a site of your own and keep it running?

Bj already talked about a good hosting company.

Do companies that host your site(s) generally help with installing script or any programming services? How can you find out which hosting companies might be willing to do this?

I just joined a classified advertising site and it is all home built from the looks of it and I have seen more and more sites coming online that have the look and feel of someone who built it with determination, love and a lot of all-nighters! I know there are a lot of tools to help build a site but this is a business that would require a script for all they offer...

What is a script anyway? and how much do they cost? How difficult is it to 'tweak' it to your own specifications?

Do companies that host your site(s) generally help with installing script or any programming services?
How can you find out which hosting companies might be willing to do this?

When is an actual programmer necessary and how do you find one who is willing to work for a reasonable fee?
So many questions, so little time!
Beth


Let us clarify the role of a hosting company first.
It is to provide people with disk space on which to place their web sites and enable them to make it available to the public. You are paying for that disk space and for the bandwidth that is used by your web site when people access it. You are also paying to ensure that, providing you do not run out of Bandwidth, and providing you do not break the hosting companies Terms of Service, and that your hosting fees are paid, your site is available on a 24/7 basis to be accessed by the public.
There is of course usually a 1% down time clause (ie they guarantee 99% uptime) which is to allow for server maintenance such as reboots etc which are needed regularly just as your own PC needs rebooting regularly.

The responsibility of the client.
It is the clients responsibility to build and maintain their web site and to ensure it runs in an efficient manner so as not to hog the server processor and memory (this is always covered in the Terms of service).
It is also the clients responsibility to ensure they have backups of their sites files and also any data bases they are using.
The client is also responsible for installing any scripts they need to use, (the basics like Apache, PHP, MySql, Perl, and Zend, should be supplied by the hosting company) however the hosting company may or may not offer script installation for a fee. Many script owners also offer an installation service at an added cost (usually around the $25 price range)


"quote"
Do companies that host your site(s) generally help with installing script or any programming services? How can you find out which hosting companies might be willing to do this?
"Unquote"

No most of them charge to install scripts for clients as we do at LowCost-Webspace with one exception and that is if the client wants to run a blog and is willing to use our preferred blog system which is B2Evolution.
If they will use B2Evo then I install the script with their LCW affiliate link already embedded and I will spent between 30 and 60 minutes free of charge to take the client through the basics.


When selecting the hosting company you are going to use there are many things to take into consideration, most of which you will not even think of. This is why it is important to talk to the hosting company BEFORE signing up for an account.


At LowCost-Webspace I encourage people to talk to me on Skype so that we can go over what they plan to do with the site and what its aim is for example is it just for a hobby, will you want a blog, forum, shopping cart for starting out with the aim of becoming a business, or is it going to be a commercial site from day one? These things will determine the amount of drive space and bandwidth you will need.
Other things to take into account are,
Do you know how to navigate around the control panel they use? ie cpanel, plesk, etc.
Do you know how to set up email accounts, make regular back ups, use the file manager, and so on.

Most of the companies have online guides and they expect you to use them and get on with it. At LCW we are willing to spend some time in assisting our clients in learning these things with live assistance through Skype.


The next thing is, do you know how to build a site or are you going to need someone to do it for you?
If you are going to buy an off the shelf script then you need to make sure that it is from a reliable source, and that if you have problems with it that they are going to assist you in resolving those problems.
Customizing a pre written script may be possible, but quite often parts of the script are encoded so only the author of it can do the customizing. Scripts can cost anything from as low as $10, up into the tens of thousands of dollars, it all depends what the script is for.

Note. A Script by the way is just another word for the collection of files that make up a web site.


A programmer is necessary when the web site owner has no idea how to get their web site to do what they want it to do. There are several ways to find a person to write a script for you such as rent a coder etc, (a Google search will give you several site to go to) where you can post what you need and then coders (programmers) can bid on the job.
Alternatively I Have a friend that is just starting up as a business to make web sites, banners, various graphics, splash pages, etc. I use them for graphics as are a couple of my hosting clients. They are at the time of writing this in the process of building their own site but I have constant contact so they can be reached through me until it is up and running.


For more suggestions /advice you will find more information at my personal blog as also some info here in this group.