Updating websites on the road
 

So after spending hours and hour and hours in front of a computer building a website (which we were going to launch shortly), Mrs.X asks me "So can you update it from any computer in any internet cafe?" :(:(AAAAHHHHHH I dont think so:helpsmilie::(.?!?!?! .. PLEASE someone tell me i am wrong. Here is my situation. I have built a website in DREAMWAEVER 4 (yes very old prog), on my laptop and FTP it to the host server (mshome @ 1&1). So Other then finding a wireless conection or bribeing, cajoling, bullying the internet cafe attendent to let me plug in my computer (which will be an ASUS eee pc) how do I update my webpage?? How have others done this???

Help
-Lost in Cyberspace...

The answer depends somewhat on if you know HTML or only Dreamweaver.

As dreamweaver is a commercial program you are not likely to find it available for use on PC's in internet cafe's along your route, which means unless you know HTML or can hook up your EEE (assuming it's installed on it) then you will have a problem updating your site I'm afraid.

That said HTML is relatively simple to learn, and assuming that your dreamweaver software created HTML pages for your site a decent book on HTML and a bit of time spent looking over what dreamweaver has created may be enough to let you modify the site as you travel.

HTML4 for dummies is a good entry level / reference book.

If what you'll be updating is simple text and photos it might not be too hard at all. Any browser will let you view the source of a page and any simple word processor (even notepad) will let you edit the HTML.

If you go to the top of your browser, click View > Source (or Page Source), you'll then be able to see the HTML.

What I'd suggest doing is using your Dreamweaver to create all the additional pages you'll need NOW. Put in all the links you'll need, and the put in some sample photos, and some sample text.

Hopefully when you're on the road you can use these and simply modify them as you go along by inserting the text where your existing sample text is, and the pictures where your existing pictures are. It will mean though that you have to find places where you can use ftp-uploading to your server, but at least you won't be encombered by having to find the right program.

Of course a second thought is to find a friend at home who's capable of doing this, and then you simply e-mail them the text and photos you want.

And a third thought, assuming it's a diary you want to keep is to create a blog linked from your website, you can usually then modify the template to match your site and then use their e-mail to blog services.

That's what I did with ours.

If we are talking about updating something like a blog than just don't use static html (which is what Dreamweaver is doing), instead I'd rather use a php based System (Wordpress comes to mind).

Nowadays static html is the exception and dynamic sites the rule and that is for a reason, updating static sites is (compared to most blogging systems) just a nuisance and gets tedious very fast.

By the way there's loads and loads of free bloging spaces all around and by using a service like that you don't have to worry about the technical side of it all.

All you need is internet access und a web browser, no matter what kind of computer you are using and from where...

Something else: From when is Dreamweaver 4? 2001?

The XHTML Standard has changed a bit since then and you can almost be certain that the code Dreamweaver puts out will be outdated by now.

Doesn't matter much if you're just using it to keep family and friends informed, but then there's much easier choices for that and for something that's supposed to (at least) look professional you'd be better off to really code it yourself or use something designed by somebody who knows his stuff...

As stated, a custom blogging software is the way to go.
Apart from Wordpress, there is also Textpattern and many other off the peg solutions.

Can you convert your sites "look & feel" to a template for WP or TP? or find a ready made template that suits your needs?

Then all you do is login to your admin account and upload, or type, content... text, photos, whatever, from any internet cafe or from your eeepc - lots of hotels have wifi hotspots that are free to use. McDonalds, wash my mouth out!, also have wifi hotspots in their "restaurants" worldwide.

John

Hi Guys and thanks for all the input, and it is as i feared. Can some one explain to me the wordpress thing. (we have already set up a "blog" though google and have made it look (kinda) like our site, but would be happier if it was part of the site).


As far as i can tell you can (or have to) set up your own server for the wordpress by installing a database on to your domain hosting site.
Is this correct? (I am not talking about using wordpress to host your blog)

If so can you then just log on to your "database" in your domain hosting server and go from there (online)?
Does this effect anything else you have on site? or will it kinda just be "an other page"?

Or have I completely missed the point.
Cheers all
-Even more dazed and confused in cyber space?

As long as your hosting company supports PHP 4.3 or above and MySQL 4.0 or above then you can indeed use it on your own site.

They (wordpress) claim it's a five minute task to install the software, link to wordpress

Hi Xander, I have a blog on Wordpress...

Doc’s away


As Steved says you can use this software on your own website instead of using theirs as I am. The thing I liked about Wordpress was their atitude to the content you post. Google seemed to own everything you put on there. So if you wanted to use the pics you'd posted or in fact the exact words for a book at some later date then it seemed that they "owned" them. Wordpress is run by hippies in the Bay Area of SF and seem more layed back.

However, for me it didn't really work. On my little 9 day trip finding Wi-Fi and the time during the day to update it was detracting from the trip. I waited until I got back from the trip and did it then. In the end I stopped updating it as I found I was posting ride reports and then duplicating it on my blog. Now I just send the links to my ride reports to my folks in an e-mail.

I think you have to ask if it's worth the time it will take to keep the site current against just living the trip.

Good luck.

Having just revisited my blog for the first time in 6 months I can see that it keeps all of your travels in one place and it's nice to travel them again. Finding all of my ride reports would not be as easy. Maybe I should keep it up to date after all!

Hi Xander,

as you can guess, I'm a Textpattern fan. Similar in many ways to Wordpress.
Also uses PHP 4.3 or above and MySQL 3.23 and up.

Loads of free templates available for both these setups... TXP stuff is here: Textpattern Resources , TXP install is here: Textpattern CMS · A Flexible, Elegant and Easy-To-Use Content Management System.

My site as an example is here: BikerBytes.com and here: BikerBytes - this is a work in progress:mchappy:

Updating: We never had a problem. Write your entries on your netbook and just cut and paste into your chosen blogware as the opportunity arises. We also used POI66.com to post the breadcrumb trail so when there was a few days or a week we could not update, there was always info available.

Have fun, whichever or whatever, you chose.

John

Not necessarily...it all depends on how you set up your website and whether you choose to carry a laptop.

On my 2007 trip my website was designed using Dreamweaver and composed of three things: static pages, a forum(where I posted my trip reports), and my picture albums(derived using Picasa)...

I hosted my own website on an Apache server...but hosting is irrelevant. I did my photo album creation and trip report creation on my laptop. I would then go to an Internet cafe and plug my own ethernet cable into their router...many do allow this...so carry one with you...also you will need to know how to configure proxies on your browser as some cafes have that...

I uploaded the files to my host site with my laptop...while the upload was occuring, I checked my email and answers to my travel questions posted on the HUBB...as your access to Internet is limited...you will learn to prioritize...you did travel to see things and not spend time on the Internet right;)

Hope this makes sense.

Wordpress
 

Wordpress is excellent, but like a lot of things over time it's got a bit complicated, and I don't know about anyone else, but I find the instructions all a bit mystifying for the noob.

I set up a couple with Blogger, matched the template to the rest of the site (OK in fact I did the template first and then matched the rest of the site to it). It's still sitting on Blogger's own servers but it was a very simple thing to link it from the rest of the site, and Blogger do seem provide more support for the dummy that is me. Your photos get hosted with Picassa, which you've possibly already got and you can log in with your Google account, which I'm guessing you've already got too. And I've never seen anything there about copyright belonging to them, or Google, or anyone but yourself.

I don't know about Wordpress, but Blogger also allows you to e-mail in your blog, complete with pictures, which I find excedingly handy if you've got limited access to the net. right down to the fact that I have in the past posted to my personal blog from my cellphone, complete with pictures, and never even needed to find an internet café or free wifi, just a GPRS signal.

Just thought I'd post an option for the less-computer literate.