[newwebsite]

hello new here, i think i may know the answer but basically to cut it short im producing a site for classified ads.
what i want to know is the best way of going about it
im teaching myself as i go along so this may well be a long project im happy with html can produce sites fine, but im thinking for this i need to use PHP and MYSQL. (also have a little experience in sql but not php)
ideally i want the site to be searchable with a page produced with the results and i know the best way to do this is php (although i dont know how yet!) but can it be done using asp or aspx which i have a little more experience with? could it be produced in dreamweaver or even visual basic or would it need to be done using php?

im not hosting myself so if i build it on my computer and then upload it will the connections between the pages and the database still work?

also what should i be looking for from a host? i want to make the site so that users can upload ads themselves but to begin i will make the site simple where i manually add the details to the databse myself, but what do i do about pictures? can these be stored in a mysql database along with the ad details or do they need to be stored in a different way? i have been looking at hosting and saw that one company offered 10mb sql database, surely this cant be enough? am i looking at needing a lot of space and an expensive host? and most importantly what to do with pictures!?!?

sorry i know theres a load of questions but i would really appreciate any help given
thank you

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PHP would be your best choice here (ASP could accomplish the same thing, but ASP only works on Windows Servers where as PHP works on all servers, and in my opinion ASP is harder to learn than PHP).

could it be produced in dreamweaver or even visual basic or would it need to be done using php?

Visual Basic no... You can design the site in Dreamweaver, but it won't write the code for you.

im not hosting myself so if i build it on my computer and then upload it will the connections between the pages and the database still work?

You will have to change the database connection code, but yes it will.

also what should i be looking for from a host? i want to make the site so that users can upload ads themselves but to begin i will make the site simple where i manually add the details to the databse myself, but what do i do about pictures? can these be stored in a mysql database along with the ad details or do they need to be stored in a different way?

Yes, mySQL would be the best way to set it up. The database can't actually store the pictures, but it wouldn't be too difficult to write a script that allows users to upload the picture to your server, and then make a link to the picture URL in the database.

As for hosting, I always recommend starting small and then getting better and better hosting as your site gets more popular. For example, I always start my sites with 1and1. They are definately not the "best" host, but they are extremely cheap for the amount that they offer.

This isn't too difficult a project once you know php/sql, but if you don't know any, you won't be able to do it simply by copying and pasting code and asking for help. We can help you with specific stuff, but we won't write the whole site for you. Pick up a book on php/sql or find a good online tutorial on it and learn the stuff, then coding the site will be a breeze

[mpfeif101]

PHP would be your best choice here (ASP could accomplish the same thing, but ASP only works on Windows Servers where as PHP works on all servers, and in my opinion ASP is harder to learn than PHP).

could it be produced in dreamweaver or even visual basic or would it need to be done using php?

Visual Basic no... You can design the site in Dreamweaver, but it won't write the code for you.

im not hosting myself so if i build it on my computer and then upload it will the connections between the pages and the database still work?

You will have to change the database connection code, but yes it will.

also what should i be looking for from a host? i want to make the site so that users can upload ads themselves but to begin i will make the site simple where i manually add the details to the databse myself, but what do i do about pictures? can these be stored in a mysql database along with the ad details or do they need to be stored in a different way?

Yes, mySQL would be the best way to set it up. The database can't actually store the pictures, but it wouldn't be too difficult to write a script that allows users to upload the picture to your server, and then make a link to the picture URL in the database.

As for hosting, I always recommend starting small and then getting better and better hosting as your site gets more popular. For example, I always start my sites with 1and1. They are definately not the "best" host, but they are extremely cheap for the amount that they offer.

This isn't too difficult a project once you know php/sql, but if you don't know any, you won't be able to do it simply by copying and pasting code and asking for help. We can help you with specific stuff, but we won't write the whole site for you. Pick up a book on php/sql or find a good online tutorial on it and learn the stuff, then coding the site will be a breeze

[newwebsite]

thanks for all of that help, much appreciated and helps a lot!
i wouldnt dream of asking someone on here to make it all for me (although i know some would!) one big reason for making the site is to learn stuff myself i know it will probably be hard work having never used php but i need to learn it sometime so i thought how better than to actually do something
just wanted to know the best way to go about it and that helps a lot thanks
(may come back and ask a few tough fiddly bits)

think im going to go with :
dreamweaver for physical site, php coding will be a long and bodged process no doubt
cheap host and a mysql database
possibly install a copy of win 2000 server and IIS on old machine to simulate for testing purposes, i know this can be done using local host but proabbly less hassle this way

will the host 1and1 allow enough space (and the permissions) to upload pictures, and how much mysql allowance are we looking at, lets be ambitious and say theres a thousand entries if its not storing pictures then the 10mb i saw should be far more than enough shouldnt it, holding just text and hyperlinks?

thanks again for any help

Edited by newwebsite, 13 May 2007 - 03:24 PM.

[mpfeif101]

possibly install a copy of win 2000 server and IIS on old machine to simulate for testing purposes, i know this can be done using local host but proabbly less hassle this way

Or load Linux and Apache on the old box to test

will the host 1and1 allow enough space (and the permissions) to upload pictures, and how much mysql allowance are we looking at, lets be ambitious and say theres a thousand entries if its not storing pictures then the 10mb i saw should be far more than enough shouldnt it, holding just text and hyperlinks?

Yeah, you should be fine. Besides, there's a control panel which will let you monitor how much space you are using. If you are running out of space, you can always upgrade your plan or move on to a new hosting site.

[Michael]

Or load Linux and Apache on the old box to test

I installed Apache, PHP, Perl, and Mysql on this windows computer and every thing works fine. So you could easily do that too.

1and1 limit the database size to 100MB that should last for about 2000 ads if you put the pictures in the database.

[newwebsite]

ok thanks for all your help, it will take me a while to make the site so will worry about testing when i come to it, not much experience with linux so will probably end up using windows, unless its incredibly easy! thanks again for all the help