₦airaland Forum

Well, as yawa-ti-de as said, most forum scripts already come shipped with page counters.

But if you are looking to create a custom counter using php, you would have to store the page view inside a database or a text file. A text file is easier, but you would have to check out the file functions in the php.net manual.

It bores down to storing a number that increments when the page is called in the text file, and calling the content of the text file at the point where you want the number of page views displayed. I'd have posted an example here, but I've forgotten the nitty gritty of the file functions. Just google php file functions and put your innovation into good use.

Biodun,
Hostmot Support (www.hostmot.com)

Try www.pagetutor.com

You'll just feel like the guy is reaching out to you from the web page.

That is what I read three years ago and I have never looked back since.

Furthermore, the people who would really help you will not answer if you are asking totally noob questions. They'll prefer if you put an effort. That way, they will know they are not wasting their time.

So, read around, try some things and ask questions when you hit a block.

Olawunmi,
Sales Rep., Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

Deprecated messages are just for the coder to know that the language constructs being used are outdated and are already phased out. In most cases, the code still runs fine, the error just gets thrown according to the error reporting level that you have set in php.ini. from what you have posted, I am unable to deduce what goes on right there.

perhaps posting for help on any one of the joomla forums out there might solve your problems quicker.

Olawunmi,
Sales Rep., Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

If you are thinking of changing any sensitive thing in cpanel, then you would have to use ssh (Secure Shell).

Accessing a webserver or webhosting account through ssh is not hacking as long as you own the server/account and ssh access has been granted by your webhost.

You should however be careful security-wise due to the amount of actions an intruder can carry out through ssh. Most hackers actually try to bruteforce their way through the default ssh port rather than steal your cpanel or ftp passwords.

Also, you should precisely know the commands you would run as the wrong commands can cause unprecedented problems on your website.

Olawunmi,
Sales Rep, Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

It ways easier for you create a customized Google Search that to create a search engine of your own. Nevertheless, you should give it a shot. The experience will certainly help you at other times.

Olawunmi,
Sales Rep., Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

If you are trying to create a mysql based website, then you really should download a webserver package such as xammp or wampserver to create a local testing server on your system. You can then link to the database by writing out a php script.

Doing it this way will make your life easier and is faster than connecting to a remote host. It might be your webhost dropping that kind of connection.

Good luck with your coding!

Olawunmi,
Sales Rep. Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

If you want the forum to appear to be a part of the site, then you must be ready to do some css and xhtml tweaking. You should only try it if you are comfortable with it.

I'll advise you to go for bbpress if you want the forum to look like part of the site and it is the most easily customisable forum script out there. In most cases, all you have to do is replace the header of the default theme with the header of your website and you are good to go. You would still need to put in some effort though.

Biodun,
Chief Support Staff, Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

r_larson.

1 post.

1 link to an Ukranian web development firm.

I bet the bot didn't know it landed on a Nigerian forum, else it would have posted that Ukranians are looking for developers to outsource to in Nigeria.

You can start from the cheapest dedicated server from a reliable host and upgrade as your needs increase in terms of resources and bandwidth. This will save you lots of money which you can channel into other important activities such advertising and link building.

Although you can go for an expensive server if you have lots and lots of people already waiting for your website to launch.

You can also consider starting from shared hosting or VPS.

It depends on your plans. Your plans will dictate the specifications you need. As the proverb goes, it is only the stomach that knows what will satisfy it.

Biodun,
OluOmo 1 of Support, Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

There is a big difference.

The people who created the lovely interface you see on facebook are designers.

The people who wrote the code that powers the site and makes sure that your status updates, messages and other content show up properly to the right people are the developers.

Biodun,
OluOmo 1 of Support, Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

You probably clicked the action button in fantastico twice. As WebMonk has said, check your database (Click the databases link in cpanel and look any a database name ending with _wdpr1 or whatever you named in fantastico).

Secondly, check the installation path using ftp. Delete anything related with wordpress that you see and try installing again.

If problem persists, contact your support.

If they cannot solve it. Go to www.wordpress.org, download the latest version, upload it on your webserver and follow the onscreen instructions. Personally, I prefer this method to fantastico.

Biodun,
OluOmo 1 of Support, Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

For wordpress forum integration, the best way will be to download bbpress from www.bbpress.org

It is made by the same people who created wordpress and integrating both just happens with the click of a button. Whats more? You can download a bbpress plugin which will allow your wordpress posts be automatically created as new topics in the forum and comments on the posts will be duplicated as replies on the forum.

Alternatively, you can install other board scripts like phpbb and smf. All you have to do is install into a folder e.g. forum that you have created at the root of your website. The forum can then be accessible via www.yoursitename.com/forum. You can also create a subdomain such as http://forum.yoursitename.com to install the board scripts into. You can choose whichever one suits you more.

About FTP, try the fireftp extension for firefox. It makes file transfer a breeze. You can alternatively use the Filezilla FTP client which is available free.

Concerning altering your theme, it better for you carry out tests and edits on your local webserver as doing this on a live server will be slower and might lead to complications. You can download softwares like xampp or wampserver to set up a local server. Nevertheless, you can always change your theme at any time. It is this flexibility that has led to the popularity of wordpress.

For business listing, you can put anything you want on your site. Just search for free business listing scripts on google or sourceforge.net, test extensively on your local server and pick the one that you love the most. You can then create a folder called "directory" on your hosting account, install the script and link to it from your website.

Feel free to ask more questions.

Biodun,
OluOmo 1 of Support, Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

Summarily, its helps you know how much traffic your website gets, where they are from, where they landed on your site and how much time they spent all in one intuitive and easy to navigate interface.

You need to give it a shot to get the real hang of it.

Configuring phpbb is actually a snap.

Also, be sure to check out for modifications that will help you spice up the board here: http://www.phpbb.com/mods/

But first, to reduce the time you will spend modding the board, make sure you download Automod for automatic mod installation here: http://www.phpbb.com/mods/automod/
Read up on installation and usage here: http://www.phpbb.com/community/viewforum.php?f=225

If you want the chat integrated with the forum, there are a couple of chat modifications currently under development in the phpbb community. You could install any those.

Good luck!

Olawunmi,
Sales Rep., Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

If you are on a dedicated server and a third party still manages to hijack your sessions through your scripts, then you should read the "essential php security" book.

Olawunmi
Sales Rep., Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

Have you contacted their support?

It might not be due to your IP but for some other reasons.

Wordpress takes an approximate 5 minutes to install. That is what made it popular. You can then import all your posts from wordpress. Its actually easier, more fun to use and you get access to a wide array of great plugins.

Olawunmi
Sales Rep., Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

How about pasting the line that is causing problem.

If the line is part of a function or code block, it would be better if you paste everything.

@afam

Thank you Mr. Nnaji,

Your feedback is highly appreciated.

Be rest assured that we will not cram 1600 websites on one server. That is corporate suicide, and we intend to be around for Nigerian webmasters and bloggers for years to come.

Also, these days, space is not the only thing that matters. You could be on a server with 50 other accounts and there is one of them pulling all the resources and RAM (ever been on a server where one of the accounts keeps getting traffic spikes or DDOS?). So, web hosting does not work by dividing hard drive space by the least package space and calculating how much you can rake from it (at least, not for us). It takes good knowledge of servers, server requests and a passion to keep other peoples' websites up (babies, in our parlance).

Support is our strength but we we also place a high value on performance, otherwise we will get bombarded with angry phone calls and support tickets.

Keep up the good work on your end sir. Our collective efforts will definitely take Nigerian internet to higher places.

Olawunmi
Sales Rep., Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

@webmonk

Its just the comments that you saw. You didnt notice the id attributes of the structural divs. It was done by our support guy. Thats our Bill Cosby.

@yawa-ti-de
You don't need to recommend that kinda coder to your company, Microsoft or Google would have snapped him up.

A fresh install of smf should not behave like that.

Those problems you have mentioned are probably caused by a modification you have installed.

If you are modding forums, always keep a local copy to test things on step by step.

The best thing you can do now is to re-trace your steps through the modding process or reinstall the board from the scratch. The second option is easier though since you do not have any members on your board yet.

Wish you all the best.

Olawunmi,
Sales rep., Hostmot (www.hostmot.com)

Just checked now and I noticed some funny characters in some posts. Probably improperly decoded Chinese?

Nice blog. Nice idea. Top-notch posts.

Just make sure you keep it clean the way it is.

More power to your elbow.

Did you upload it through frontpage or through an FTP program?

What is the operating system of the server you are uploading to? I'm guessing this to be Linux.

If you want to upload a work done in a MS frontpage to a linux server, that server needsa frontpage extension to be installed on it else you will encounter problems.


If this is not the case and the website is displaying properly on your local server, then you should upload everything again as the upload is not complete.

To change the mindset of the poster, there are numerous web hosting scammers out there whether Nigerian or Foreign based. After the scammers, then comes the web hosts that put you on a paralysed server, so you get downtimes always. After that, you have hosts that will never give you customer support anytime there is a problem.

It is the responsibility of the person who needs the web hosting account to carry out proper research before making a purchase.

We created our own company after sampling Nigerian hosting companies and discovering that customer support is generally poor.

Olawunmi,
Hostmot Sales Rep. (www.hostmot.com)