Click on the question to get to its answer quickly.
- How do I create my own website?
Webspace
You will need webspace (preferably free of advertising). A+ Tutors can provide this for £5 a year. Buying your own domain name may also be worth considering (see below). However, your ISP should offer you free webspace as part of your internet connection (even if you pay-as-you-go).
Web Page Software
You will need software for creating/editing your own webpages (if you host your site with A+ Tutors then we can install WordPress for £10 which is pretty easy to use - see below). Many people use Word (not recommended) or Frontpage (I don't like it) because they come pre-installed on many computers. However, there are a lot of free editors available and I am sure that one of them would allow you to produce better results more easily (although I don't use any of them). If you don't want to learn the nitty gritty of HTML then a WYSIWYG editor should allow you to get started fairly quickly and easily. Many programs come with simple tutorials but there is an enormous wealth of help on the internet - just Google!
File Transfer Software
You will also need an ftp program/agent, such as Smartftp (which is free for personal use) to transfer your files to your webspace. However, this is not necessary if you are using software like WordPress or an editor with a built in FTP agent.
Back to Website Questions
- Please give me some guidelines.
The minimum I recommend is:
- Say a little about yourself (more detail than you give in your advert).
- Give an indication of when you are available. A rough time table is best because you do not want to put people off just because you don't have the slot they are looking for. Most people will be more flexible then they plan to be when actually talk to you on the phone.
- Give your rates (be as descriptive/accurate as you can).
You can give more but that is up to you. You need visitors to feel that it has been worth visiting your page and that you are worth contacting. Try and answer as many of their questions as you can but do not say anything which may put them off (e.g. anything which sounds restrictive of negative). Remember, once they are on the phone with you then they will be more flexible.
Back to Website Questions
- Help! I need inspiration!
Most of the tutors who have web pages hosted on the site can be found at:
http://www.aplustutors.co.uk/direct/
It is a rough list meant for my use and for search engines.
You can find more sites by tutors by going through the adverts.
Back to Website Questions
- Should I buy my own domain name?
If you plan to tutor for the long term then probably yes. Otherwise no.
The main reasons for having your own domain name are:
1. the potential of good search engine rankings and
2. as a complement to your own advertising.
However, hosting your site under the A+ Tutors domain should produce better search engine rankings in the short term. You also won't have so much to learn. If you buy your own domain name then, in order to improve your search engine rankings, you will need to spend a good amount of time developing quality links to your website.
You also need to keep in mind that you will need to pay for hosting for your domain name. This can be expensive (see below).
Back to Website Questions
- Where should I buy my own domain name?
UK Domains
If you want much cheapness an easy interface to use then I can recommend UKreg.com (less expensive companies are available but their interfaces aren't so easy to use). If you want to be able to contact a human being in an emergency then I can recommend UKhosts.com
International Domains
For .com, .net, .org and more the then I can recommend Godaddy.com for much much cheapness. They are by far the most competitive company for international domain names however, their interface could be better and they bombard you with useless options during the buying process.
The above links are to the companies that I use. I will not receive any commissions or benefits if you buy from them.
Back to Website Questions
- Where should I host my domain name?
There are a lot of domain name hosts out there. I have tried many and can not recommend any. That isn't to say that there aren't any good ones, I've just had a lot of problems with my hosts in the past! I can only recommend that you do a Google search and look for a company which has a decent history, is honest, and provides decent support for it's customers.
To give you a guide. I host domains for tutors (and only tutors) on the A+ Tutors server for £30 a year. I provide hosting on a good quality server in a high quality data centre. Unfortunately I can not offer much technical support but so far (touch wood) the people I provide hosting for haven't needed much.
The hosting package I provide (see below) is over specified for most people. Many hosting companies can offer you a less expensive package which will be more suitable to your requirements because their service is more automated. Most hosting packages have standard features. The main thing to look out for is diskspace and mailboxes. You will need at least 30Mb of diskspace as this includes your website (say 5Mb) and incoming email (this can take up a lot of space!). You should also look for a package which gives you enough mailboxes for your needs. If you buy a package with low specifications then make sure it is easy to upgrade in the future.
For £30 a year I offer:
|
Resources
100MB Diskspace
2,000MBData Transfer
(per month)
2 Databases
1 Domain Hosting Limit
Unlimited Mailboxes
Features
Plesk Control Panel with:
Application Vault
Custom Buttons
Private Folder (sensitive data)
Web Site Builder
Website Preview (pre-DNS)
Win XP & Mac OS X Skins
Databases
MySQL (with PhpMyAdmin)
Scripting Support
Apache ASP
CGI Support
Customised Error Pages
FrontPage 98-02 Extensions
Password Protected Directories
PHP4 Scripting
Perl Scripting
Python Scripting
Server Side Includes (SSI)
Application Vault
BBClone (Feature rich counter)
Gallery (Simple, powerful gallery)
GTChat (Web chat)
Mambo (Popular CMS system)
osCommerce (eCommerce)
phpBB (Powerful forum software)
phpBook (Guestbook)
PostNuke (Popular CMS system)
phpMoney (bank account management)
phpMyFamily (Genealogic system)
And more!
|
Email Services
Advanced Spam Control
(Spamassassin Spam Filter)
Auto-Responders*
Catch All Email
Mail Aliases*
Mail Filters
Mail Forwarding*
Mail Groups*
Mail User Control Panel
IMAP & POP3 Mail Collection
Mail Abuse Prevention System
MX Record Modifications
Secure IMAP, POP3 & SMTP
SMTP Outgoing Services
Webmail
*Quantity limited only by your
*diskspace allocation.
Domain Management
Apache Raw Logs
Backup Automation via Control Panel
Backup Creation via Control Panel
Control Panel Skin Control
Domain Report Downloads
FTP Session Manager
FTP Statistics
Login Session Manager
Log Rotation Management
Protected Webalizer Site Statistics
Reports Automation
Standard Services
75+ Backbone Providers
99.9% Network & Power Guarantee
99.9% Server Uptime Guarantee
Apache 2
Daily Backups (14-day Rotation)
DNS Control
High Bandwidth Availability
Powerful Server
(Dual Intel Xeon 2.8, 8GB RAM)
RAID-1 Hard-Disk Protection
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3
Tier 1 Network Connectivity
|
Back to Website Questions
- I would like to host my domain with A+ Tutors. What next?
Either when you buy your domain or shortly after you will need to set the name servers for your domain. Name servers are computers which tell other computers where to actually go to find a particular website/domain. The name servers for A+ Tutors are:
ns1.aplustutors.net
ns2.aplustutors.net
Who ever you registered your domain name with should be able to tell you how to set the name servers for your domain. Once you have done this your domain will be visible to the world within 3 days (normally). Once you have paid for hosting I will create an account for you as soon as I can.
Back to Website Questions
FAQ - General Tutoring Questions 