Website questions

[Jonno]

I have setup one or two sites in the past but now my latest one i am a bit unsure of because i want to use framesets and it seems that everyone is against the idea, i understand that when you click on frame links all pages share the same address which in my case will not matter too much, other than that can anyone advise if there any other pitfalls to avoid.

The other questiion is regarding hosting, i have had so many problems with hosts on occasions, too much downtime, lack of support especially with my main site which has a problem with cpanel at the moment i was considering setting up my own server, i have the hardware to do the job nicely but need advise as to how it would be achieved, i can arrange for a static ip with my provider with out any problems so it seems the way to go.

Linnux also seems the best approach, never used windows and don't wish to but how would i set it all up?

If anyone could advise me it would be great.

Jonno

[ess]

Framesets when used wisely can be very useful...and I personally, still used them to date...I haven't stopped, because there are occasions when you need to use them. There are some issues and knowing these issues will help decide when to use them and when not to use them. For example, there is an issue with IE6 when frames are used...specially session variables etc. Here is a link that describes the problem and how to resolve it....but as you are probably aware...not all users are using IE7, or the latest update of IE6
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/323752

There are other issues...mainly to do with search engine optimization, bookmarking a page inside a frame..among other issues

As for hosting your website on your own server. If you know how to secure your server...then go for it....as you can save a lot of money....and you can choose the technology you want to use etc.

I wouldn't really waste any money paying your ISP so that you can get a static IP address. I would consider either using a free ip from No-IP...or if you want a personalized IP address, than you can pay little money to get the IP address that you want.
http://www.no-ip.com

I have been using no-ip for over 3 years now...and it works like a charm.

There are other companies that provide the same service...so, do a google on that.

As for using Linux...yup...that is what I would use...as there are loads of articles and howtos that I am sure you will find very useful if you have any probelms configuring your server.

Check out Ubuntu server edition..it is a fantastic solution...and the support you get from community is very encouraging.
http://www.ubuntu.com/products/WhatIsUbuntu/serveredition

If you want a good and reliable hosting company...I would recommend servage.net

I have been hosting with them for sometime...and most of my clients have their websites hosted there. Also, since you mentioned that you have more than one website...servage allow you to host as many websites as you want to...on the same package. You can either purchase a new IP from them when you want to host a new website...or you can purchase an IP from somewhere else...and configure it accordingly. Their support in my opinion is second to none. Sometime I emailed them at 1 or 2am...and I would still receive replies within minutes. Check their website over here .
http://www.servage.net/

Cheers,
Ess

[mlseim]

Jonno ...

What is your purpose for frames?

Sometimes they are necessary, but many times, you can use
PHP to populate a <div> section on your page (for content management).
In many cases it not only eliminates the need for frames, but offers the
ability to make dynamic pages from the server-side. This ends up
eliminating browser issues, SEO issues, etc.

[Jonno]

Ess, many thanks for your reply, very uesful information and appreciated, i will take your advice and stick with the dynamic ip i have now. :thumbsup:

mlseim I plan to host music by different artists, the plan to use framesets is so that someone can click on a link and be taken to the downloads/profile of the artist/group etc in question, each frame will be devoted to a particular artist in a certain music category.

I intend to have around 6 categories of music so that will need 6 framesets to cover all of them.

Hope you can make sense of that, if you can think of another way to do the same thing without to many complications i would be interested in knowing, but i must add, my web design abilities are not that great, getting better slowly but need some more practise with dreamweaver. :)

Jonno

[Spudhead]

Frames????

Nooooooooo :(


Frames are teh suck. It's a stupid way to solve a problem that shouldn't need solving.

Whatever your requirements, there are ways to accomplish them without resorting to outdated and badly implemented technology. CSS alone can scroll content within a page. AJAX can reload part of a page's content without affecting other elements. And that's without even looking at server-side code. How about putting the nav bar into an include file that asks what page is calling it and draws different menus accordingly?

Don't use frames. Seriously. Apart from their poor implementation, inherent user-unfriendliness and 1998 looks, they're about as fun to experiment with as moist electrical sockets. Go and play with AJAX, you'll be way impressed :)

[Jonno]

Ha ha, i like the way you put things Spudhead, as an electrician, electrical sockets are my playthings, will look into Ajax, never heard of that one before, thanks for your advice.

Jonno :thumbsup:

[Len Whistler]

I also do not recommend using frames. I would create a common header.php file with navigation and banner, a common footer.php file with copyright info and maybe navigation. Include both those files with the php include statement into your content php files such as:

index.php
acid_rock.php
boogie_rock.php
african_blues.php
death_metal.php
elevator_music.php

Maybe even use a MySQL database.

[Jonno]

Len Whistler, Hi actually i did consider using a mysql dbase but not too knowlegeable with that format, made loads of dbases using access, if fact quite enjoy putting those together.

Will have to find a tut for mysql.

Your header and footer idea seems good to me, will play with a few formats and see what looks most appealing.

Thanks for your help

Jonno

[Antorera]

Hello,

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm curious about whether these methods (PHP, etc.) will allow the principal frame stay to static. For example, if I use a navbar for the top frame and content for the bottom frame, will the top frame not reload?

I'm only wondering about frames and how to achieve the effect (I had not thought about them for years!) when I took over a site to manage that is programmed in frames (:eek:). The good news is that we will be doing a redesign soon, the bad news is that the client is stuck on the fixed nav bar effect. What's worse is that he wants the section head to appear above the scroll as well, which defeats the purpose of frames.

I spent two days trying to find such a solution (using position:fixed among others but it doesn't work in IE) and finally showed the client the unified page (no frames) . At first he seemed to like it when he saw the sample. Then when I uploaded the changes to the whole site, he wrote back saying he didn't like how the header/navbar reloaded each time. Back to the beginning.

In any case, I will most likely be getting a more experienced web developer to program the site, but I want to know my options before I have the design strategy meeting with the client.

Thanks for any thoughts.
Antonella