All help is appreciated, cheers
im prepared to buy web space, own domain name and all that, so free forum software isnt going to help because of the url. so what is the simplest and most cost efficient way?

Chosen Answer:

Hello

The answer below involves you setting up a free account, which would inevitably mean you’d need to have adverts on your website. You could easily set up a hosting account with No-Wires, which is only £14.99, then buy a domain, which could only cost £5.00 (each for the year).

For the free forum software, I’d use PHPBB or MyBBoard, they’re the most promiment pieces of forum software on the web (for free) in my personal opinion.

I’ve placed the links to these below. If you need any help, just give me an email through my website form.
by: traxordesigns
on: 22nd March 09

Chosen Answer:

Have you tried using microsoft office live’s website builder? You only pay for the domain name and you can do everything you just said there. Otherwise i’m working on a similar project for my friend and I’ll be glad to help you but you’ll need a web host with php support if you want direct help. These cost around £5 a month.

If you don’t have any luck with the officelive stuff email me and I’ll be glad to help make you a site as long as you get the hosting and domain name
by: Willis
on: 15th May 10

Chosen Answer:

All my latest stores are using the WordPress script on self hosted sites using the paid e-commerce plugin WP-eStore from www.tipsandtricks-hq.com. Easy to use and control, handles both physical and digital products, includes payment processors (one of which is Paypal), product variations and shipping etc. Easy to set up, configure and control.
by: Neil
on: 29th March 13

Chosen Answer:

I’ve never used Yahoo as a web host before but you’ll want to take a look at the database and the files. To switch hosts, you would need to take a backup of the database and all of your files. Then on the new host you would need to import the database backup and copy over the files. The ease or difficulty of this will really depend on both Yahoo’s setup and the new hosting company’s setup.

Most hosts offer 30 day money back guarantees so if you were to do this I would run both hosts concurrently until you are sure the new one is up and running correctly. If you can’t get it setup simply cancel within the 30 days and you should get a refund (assuming they have this type of guarantee).

I have used MochaHost for a few of my sites, they have a money back guarantee and are pretty good (and inexpensive): http://www.mochasupport.com/aff/idevaffiliate.php?id=1217_0_3_17
by: TechAnswerer
on: 10th August 09

Chosen Answer:

Definitely you need both, the domain name and web hosting service. Visit http://www.cheapwebhostingservice.biz/ . They offer you to register your own domain name, host your website and online website builder to build your own website . No skills needed, no HTML, no scripts… Online website builders provide a user friendly interface. Preconfigured website templates speed the web page building process.

The Cheap Web Hosting Service offers you to host multiple domain names, host your forum, blog, website, online store (ecommerce) and more.
by: Cute Cat Pictures
on: 16th January 09

Chosen Answer:

Yahoo web hosting definitely sucks. I am afraid you are at lost my friend. I would go with anything but Yahoo hosting. Anything that does not support PHP5 should be avoided. Even if you manage to install a shopping cart, PHP4 does not have the security you need for an ecommerce hosting and you may get in trouble later on. What I usually do is when before I choose a host are the following:

1. Go to the webhost review sites such as webhostingjury or webhostinggeeks and list down about 3 common top hosting companies.

2. Next, for each web hosting X, do a “X sucks” search on Google. Read some complaints and see if you may encounter the same problems like them. Some of the complaints may relate to certain groups of users only such as VPS, dedicated server users or resellers. So you may not be affected if you are not from these categories.

3. Eliminate those hostings you feel uncomfortable with, and look for the best bargain hosting for your money.

There are other much better hosts such as Fatcow, InMotion and Webfaction which offer one-click ecommerce software installation. Time for you to move from Yahoo I guess…
by: Hosting Hunter
on: 4th February 09

Chosen Answer:

Hi you could try http://keliweb.com which also offers domain registration, cloud hosting, dedicated server and so on.
by: Halert
on: 11th March 13

All I was wondering is can I use a linux host server, even though my operating system on my computer is windows.

Regards

Christine

Chosen Answer:

Yes
90%+ of all servers are Linux.
by: Mako
on: 18th February 11

Chosen Answer:

The easiest way? Use a content management system like Drupal or Joomla.

If your web host has the Fantastico auto-installer, you could install either (or both) with just a few mouse clicks.

For eCommerce, you might want to take a look at Drupal’s excellent eCommerce add-in module. osCommerce is pretty popular too.
by: Gruumsh
on: 19th July 07

Chosen Answer:

You need a web hosting service which supports online payments like, Master Card, Visa & Pay Pal. It is very important that your service to be uptime. It means that you can access your account whenever you want to update your web pages, and your visitors can view your website whenever they input your website address. If your hosting service is not uptime it is a real hell!

If you want to run a successful e-commerce you must choose a reliable web hosting service. The security of your business directly depends on the security of your hosting service. (Hacker safe)

You can take a look at: http://top3hosts.atspace.com/business

There you can reach the three reputable companies that are leaders in the E-commerce web hosting industry.

However, as an experienced webmaster I recommend Inmotion Web Host which I’m sure it would work for you and fulfill all your requirements. They have a really great offer for hosting & I have used them for over 3 yrs now, and have never had a single problem with them. (I run 2 business websites with them)

They are a Multi-awarded Web Hosting which offer a Full-featured service only .95 a month. Their service is really perfect and uptime.

InMotion has been voted #1 E-commerce Web Hosting. You can take a look at all their features at the address below:

http://top3hosts.atspace.com/in.htm

Here I have copied and pasted its features from their website to view:

- Free Domain
- 1500 Gigabyte Hosting Space
- 15000 GIGS of Transfer
- Free Web Site Builder / Easy to Use Control Panel
- Front Page Extensions / Dreamweaver Compatible / Mambo and Joomla
- CGI, SSL Secure Server, FTP, Perl, PHP, PHP Nuke, MySQL
- E-Commerce Ready
- OS Commerce Shopping Cart, Cube Cart, Zen Cart
- Data Backup, Password Protected Directories
- Business Class Hardware – Up to 50% Faster

They also offer “Free Site Builder” that helps you build your web pages without difficulty if you are not skilled in using any creating website programs. (WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get)

By using InMotion, everything you need for your business website is provided in one eCommerce Hosting Package with high quality customer service. This company offer a full-featured service that fulfills all your requirements to sell online.

******IMPORTANT*******
* This service was awarded as the best Business Web Host 2008.
* You Can Register A Free Domain or Use Your Existing Domains. They Support All Domain Names.
*************************

Good Luck!
by: Dave G
on: 9th June 08