Creating a website (warning: possible stupid question)

[TXLEBER]

I've been thinking about making a website to display my pictures, rather than use online photo sites like pbase and flikr. I did some searching around and started using "Porta". That was a neat and super easy program to use.

Now the (stupid) question: Porta created a file that shows up in my browser. How do I make that into a website that can be published in the WWW? I've built websites before using Godaddy and other GUI based programs. I just need someone to point me in the right direction so I can do the rest of the research without running around in circles. :confused:

Thanks,
Ed

[Dorman]

What kind of file does Porta export?

[matt1987]

u'd need webspace for that, plus a domain. there are several ways to get this.. do you want to spend no money it (and prolly get it w/o advertisments, pop-ups etc.) or invest something?

It's not expensive, see I pay 5 bucks a month for my webspace. Answer the question above and I'll answer further questions (where to get free / paid space).

When you have your own webspace then, you need to upload all your stuff (in your case the file porta created) to your server. after that you can reach your index file by going to the URL of your webspace..

[TeeJay]

Depends on how you set up Porta.

By default Porta creates a whole bunch of .HTML files (and folders). If all you want is to use these, then you need to upload the "contents" of the whole of the folder that Porta create (called "Album" I think) to your web-space. Rename the main .html file to INDEX.HTML (in lower case), and away you go.

Bear in mind, this doesn't give you any "home page" - or description of who you are or what you photograph, it just creates a "basic" galery.

On the other hand, you can exand on this by telling Porta to generate a "SimpleViewer" gallery (you need to download the SimpleViewer code from their website). There is a setting in the Porta setup screen that sets the output option.

This then uses flash to generate you web-gallery, which has the benefit (?) of pre-fetching the image data whilst other pics are being viewed. Some people don't like flash, but I prefer to use it personally. (Porta, BTW, also generates, by default, all the .html code and AUTOMATICALLY uses .html if the flash files can't be found.

You will STILL need though to create some sort of front-end, in .html or whatever your preferred choice is - but it's a start.

Good luck.

TJ

[TXLEBER]

What kind of file does Porta export?

I'm not exactly sure, I'm not at home now, but I think TeeJay explains it below. If you haven't looked at Porta, check it out. It's pretty cool.

u'd need webspace for that, plus a domain. there are several ways to get this.. do you want to spend no money it (and prolly get it w/o advertisments, pop-ups etc.) or invest something?

It's not expensive, see I pay 5 bucks a month for my webspace. Answer the question above and I'll answer further questions (where to get free / paid space).

When you have your own webspace then, you need to upload all your stuff (in your case the file porta created) to your server. after that you can reach your index file by going to the URL of your webspace..

I don't mind spending a few bux (or more) for something that is simple and as idiot proof as possible. :-)

Depends on how you set up Porta.

By default Porta creates a whole bunch of .HTML files (and folders). If all you want is to use these, then you need to upload the "contents" of the whole of the folder that Porta create (called "Album" I think) to your web-space. Rename the main .html file to INDEX.HTML (in lower case), and away you go.

Bear in mind, this doesn't give you any "home page" - or description of who you are or what you photograph, it just creates a "basic" galery.

On the other hand, you can exand on this by telling Porta to generate a "SimpleViewer" gallery (you need to download the SimpleViewer code from their website). There is a setting in the Porta setup screen that sets the output option.

This then uses flash to generate you web-gallery, which has the benefit (?) of pre-fetching the image data whilst other pics are being viewed. Some people don't like flash, but I prefer to use it personally. (Porta, BTW, also generates, by default, all the .html code and AUTOMATICALLY uses .html if the flash files can't be found.

You will STILL need though to create some sort of front-end, in .html or whatever your preferred choice is - but it's a start.

Good luck.

TJ

I used the flash player, and like that more. Thanks everyone for the advice so far. Is there a GUI based program that makes it easy (i know, i'm sooo lazy!). I really don't have much time to learn a lot of HTML.

Again, thanks for all the responses.

Ed

[TeeJay]

...Is there a GUI based program that makes it easy (i know, i'm sooo lazy!). I really don't have much time to learn a lot of HTML.


"Makes what easy" exactly. It doesn't get much easier than running Porta (which can also watermark and resize all your images automatically) - allowing it to create your flash gallery, then more or less copying it where you want it to go.

TJ

[TXLEBER]

I totally agree that Porta is almost idiot proof. I think I have this figured out. Once Porta creates the files, I go to the folder containing them and then FTP it to a web server. I'm still reading up on this. Like I said, I haven't done a website with out a GUI based program holding my hand the whole way through. :-)

[TXLEBER]

It was the whole FTP thing that had me stuck on stupid. (kinda still stuck there :-) )

[TeeJay]

Afraid I'm not the worlds expert on FTP. I have it set up on my system so I just click an icon, and "hey presto" my web-sites root folder opens in explorer - leaving me to just drag-and-drop the files where I want them to go!

There are though lots of FTP applications out there, no doubt someone will chip in with some more acurate suggestions. I do know that it doesn't have to be difficult.

TJ

[Box Brownie]

Hi

I use Lunarpages for my webspace. Do go check them out, they have an excellent forum and help goes from the basics to the more complex in respect of how to use their services and facilities.

HTH :)

PS I do not want to break any rules so have avoided using my affiliate link :D

[TXLEBER]

I signed up for a onewebhosting.com account just to fiddle w/ it. A lot of trial and error...more error than trial! But I'll get it one way or another. :-)

[TXLEBER]

Well, it took a while, but I am finally moving forward. Here's what I have so far:

http://edwardphotography.com/

Still a long, long way to go. I'm just glad I got over my little FTP hump.

[TeeJay]

Hey, that looks really good.

Now all you need is a "front page" with some text and a photo to click to "enter" the gallery.

I like the pic of the P&S camera, with the subject blurred. :D

TJ

[ryleung]

Well, it took a while, but I am finally moving forward. Here's what I have so far:

http://edwardphotography.com/

Still a long, long way to go. I'm just glad I got over my little FTP hump.
Site doesn't work with my FireFox 2. This is what I got, with part of the text appearing in white over a white background:


The Welcome Page introduces your company and your products & services and highlights key areas on your website that might be of interest to your visitor. '); document.write(''); document.write('
'); document.write(''); document.write(''); document.write(''); document.write('
'); Welcome Page is to provide the information that your users want at a glance, while offering links to the rest of your website.

[TXLEBER]

Yeah...I was messing w/ it trying to get a welcome page and screwed it all up. Sad thing is, I don't know what the hell I did! Back to square 1!!!!

[sageone]

I use dreamweaver...really easy to use. The built in ftp access is great. I use network solutions to host my site. it's about 11 bucks a month. I get a TON of space, web trends to monitor traffic (and also look at ways to market the site, search engine optimization, etc.). Thus far it has worked like a charm. The best part of network solutions is that they can provide you with some site templates. You can build your site in minutes, just as long as you have the copy ready. Once you're comfortable with the templates, you can start tweaking to meet your needs and your desired look and feel.

[TXLEBER]

Don, thanks for the reply. I checked out your website. Pretty cool. Did you do all that using dreamweaver, to include the store?

Ed

[sageone]

Don, thanks for the reply. I checked out your website. Pretty cool. Did you do all that using dreamweaver, to include the store?

Ed

Hey thanks. I created the entire site using dreamweaver - using simple a simple table structure. For the store, I use www.instaproofs.com. It's a great tool. They take a small percentage off the top of each of your orders and mail you a check or send paypal payment. It's better than having to accept payments yourself, collecting on bad checks, etc.

[Mike]

Hi.
I incorporated Parta galleries in my website. I did it by creating the homepage and contact pages in Dreamweaver and then adding links to the gallery albums created in Porta. It took me an age to figure out but am chuffed with my efforts.
www.mikegreenphotography.co.uk

[liza]

I just signed on with Bluehost for $7.95 per month. I've heard nothing but good things about them, so I decided to give it a try for the next year. I'm going to try the web creation software at www.coffeecup.com, as it sounds user friendly. They also have software for flash galleries for 30 bucks, which is a great price.

[PhotosGuy]

It took me an age to figure out but am chuffed with my efforts. Your title page image loads WAY slow, even with my cable connection. Resize it?

[Mike]

Your title page image loads WAY slow, even with my cable connection. Resize it?

Thanks for the heads up. I just found the same out when I checked it on my dial-up connection at work. I will resize and try again.

[Dorman]

TXLEBER - site isn't working for me either when using firefox.

[Mike]

Hi,

My site is now updated and (hopefully) quicker to load.

[TXLEBER]

TXLEBER - site isn't working for me either when using firefox.

I've been doing a lot of expiramenting. So my website is kind of out off commision for now. I've come to the conclusion that I need to sit down and read a book about html/website building. Can't really do this shooting from the hip. I tried using the templates that godaddy had, but I think they're too restrictive. Then again, it's probably operator error...and a lot of it. ;););)

[spcalan]

Hello, I also have a problem with PORTA.. maybe someone can help me.

Please go to www.photosoftime.com

I have created albums with porta, but cannot attach them to links on my page.. it keeps trying to go my desktop, where the photos were when I created them through porta. But when I try to create link to my FTP ( yahoo ), it wont pull up.

HELP

[DiscoLizard]

Hello, I also have a problem with PORTA.. maybe someone can help me.

Please go to www.photosoftime.com (http://www.photosoftime.com)

I have created albums with porta, but cannot attach them to links on my page.. it keeps trying to go my desktop, where the photos were when I created them through porta. But when I try to create link to my FTP ( yahoo ), it wont pull up.

HELP

You should probably start a thread for this yourself, but;

The trouble is the type of linking that you're doing - you need to link relatively instead of absolutely. What this means is that you tell the computer where to go in reference to the file with the link in it (i.e. go "up" one folder from the folder the current file is in and look for a file called xyxyx.jpg) as opposed to giving the exact location (i.e. file is c:\documents and settings\angie web\xyxyzz.jpg).

So....

Make a note of the folder that you've uploaded the porta gallery into. Then open up Page353.htm page (the copy that you've got on your machine) - change the links from absolute to relative.

To be honest, I kind of need more details before I can tell you exactly what to put in, but hopefully this will be of some use to you anyway.

[Mike]

Hello, I also have a problem with PORTA.. maybe someone can help me.

Please go to www.photosoftime.com (http://www.photosoftime.com)

I have created albums with porta, but cannot attach them to links on my page.. it keeps trying to go my desktop, where the photos were when I created them through porta. But when I try to create link to my FTP ( yahoo ), it wont pull up.

HELP

I had this problem for a while too. You need to make sure that your gallery and images are in your assets folder and then link to it through that. You also need to ensure that your assets folder is uploaded to your webspace - not just on your computer's hard drive.

[DiscoLizard]

I had this problem for a while too. You need to make sure that your gallery and images are in your assets folder and then link to it through that. You also need to ensure that your assets folder is uploaded to your webspace - not just on your computer's hard drive.


Mike - that is good advice, but probably not the right advice for this problem. The problem is in the linking - she's worked out how to upload stuff, as evidenced by her website, she just hasn't worked out how pages relate to each other in terms of links.

Your "gallery" and "images" folders can be pretty much anywhere, as long as you link to them properly.

[TXLEBER]

she just hasn't worked out how pages relate to each other in terms of links.

Your "gallery" and "images" folders can be pretty much anywhere, as long as you link to them properly.

Ok, I'm stuck at this point. I can FTP a webpage created using porta or picasa. But I jus't can't figure out how to create and upload another page. For instance, I can make a home page using the site builder software available from the hosting company. Then if I create a button for galleries, or specific buttons for a specific gallery, how do I upload that gallery (created using porta/picasa) to match where it's linked to?

I may be way off here. If I am, feel free to insert a RTFM comment. Maybe that's what I need to do. :rolleyes:

[DiscoLizard]

Ok, I'm stuck at this point. I can FTP a webpage created using porta or picasa. But I jus't can't figure out how to create and upload another page. For instance, I can make a home page using the site builder software available from the hosting company. Then if I create a button for galleries, or specific buttons for a specific gallery, how do I upload that gallery (created using porta/picasa) to match where it's linked to?

I may be way off here. If I am, feel free to insert a RTFM comment. Maybe that's what I need to do. :rolleyes:

I think the trouble is you're not really comprehending exactly what is happening. I don't mean that in a negative way! I'm just trying to work out how to help.

On your web host, you have folders and files, just like on your home machine. When you upload a file via FTP, the program simply places your file into a (your) directory on that webhost.

I'm not sure if you have basic HTML knowledge, but;

Your index.html page is by default your home page. So when you create a page and name it index.html, whenever someone types www.yoursitehere.com into their browser, they will see your index.html page.

Now, on your index.html page, you want to put a link to your brand-spanking new gallery. Not a problem.

Go back to your FTP program, and connect to your webhost. Now, look for a button that lets you create a new folder. Press it, and name your folder Gallery (or anything you like, it doesn't have to be gallery - turkey, banana, MyOldSocks, etc will work).

You now have a homepage, and a directory. You've created a bunch of html pages and probably folders using porta/picasa. Into your new directory, you will upload the pages that you want to display as your gallery. Go ahead and do that...

Now you need to know which page is the first one you want to link to. I'm not sure what the name of it will be, because I'm sure its one of the options in the generator you used. The main thing is that it is in your gallery folder.

Now, on your index page, in the link to your gallery you want to ensure the syntax is:
<a href="/gallery/whatever.html">Gallery</a>Ok, so what is happening here, is that when a person viewing the site clicks this link; the webserver looks in its current (your default) directory for a folder called gallery (/gallery/) and then looks for a page called whatever.html - which was created by your gallery program.

This is called a relative link, because it describes where the linked file is, relative to the current page. The other type of link is absolute, because the link will look exactly the same, regardless of where the file doing the linking is. An absolute link has the full path of the file being linked to, and has the advantage that it will look exactly the same, regardless of where the file doing the linking is.

Relative:
/MyOldSocks/gallery.html

Absolute:
c:\documents\webserver\mywebspace\stuff\socks\myol dsocks\gallery.html

Note that if you wanted to create a link on whatever.html back to your index page, it would be <a href="../index.html">Home</a> - in this instance, the ../ part of the link means the webserver knows to go back (up) one folder before looking for the index.html file.

Ok, so I've been rambling a bit, and some of the above advice probably is a bit wonky because I've been writing it between doing work. Hopefully it's useful. Let me know if there is still some confusion, and I'll do my best to be more clear.

[TXLEBER]

My next child will be named discolizard! Thanks a bunch. This all makes perfect sense. I tried doing this without reading any books or anything like that. After many failures, I tried looking up what you described above on the 'net. I got a ton of results, but everything was too complex for me to comprehend. Thanks for spelling everything out for me...VERY MUCH appreciated!!

[DiscoLizard]

My next child will be named discolizard! Thanks a bunch. This all makes perfect sense. I tried doing this without reading any books or anything like that. After many failures, I tried looking up what you described above on the 'net. I got a ton of results, but everything was too complex for me to comprehend. Thanks for spelling everything out for me...VERY MUCH appreciated!!

His/her highschool years will be difficult :)

My pleasure, we're all here to help each other after all!

[TXLEBER]

ok...after a LOT of trial and error, I decided to have godaddy host my domain name and I used Smugmug Pro to create my website. So far I've done pretty good....at least compared to my own feeble attempts at creating a website from scratch. The customization that Smugmug allows is pretty liberal. There are a lot of tutorials for everything. Here's what I have created so far:

www.darklightimaging.com