The thread where I display my n00bness

I am totally new to this whole "owning a website" thing, so please bear with me and try not to mock my ignorance too much.

My first question: I have purchased my domain name, and I received an email saying it was created, but when I try to access the URL all I get is a page saying it doesn't exist. Now, granted, I haven't done anything with it yet, but shouldn't it still have some sort of placeholder graphic?

Second, I have tried sending test emails to my new domain email address, but they all get return undeliverable. I've also tried accessing the webmail from the site here, but I get an error.

Third, I've installed Wordpress to a database, but when I try to access the links I received in an email once that was done, I again get errors.

So, should I wait a day? Is it not ready yet? Is something else going on? Am I too stupid for even be attempting this? Please let me know what you think, and thanks.

- Justin

If you've just purchased a domain name you should wait a day or two before you start using it. You can use a dreamhosters.com subdomain and set it to mirror your domain so you can still view your site.

Hi Justin and welcome to the forums :)

In reply to:
should I wait a day? Is it not ready yet?

Yep. Basically, it takes a little while for the DNS information for your domain to propagate across the Internet, during this period your domain will be either not accessible, or intermittently accessible.

The time it takes for the DNS information to propagate can vary quite a bit, but usually things will be fine after a day or so.

Mark

In reply to:
I have purchased my domain name, and I received an email saying it was created, but when I try to access the URL all I get is a page saying it doesn't exist.

Did you add the domain to your control panel's Manage Domains section? Registering a domain is separate from setting up hosting for it, and doing the former but not the latter would result in exactly the problems you describe.

Well, when I go to the Manage Domains section, I see the url there, but does that mean I actually have it here? I thought when I signed on to DreamHost and registered the domain here, it would automatically have it under my control. Am I missing something?

God I feel so dumb...

Yeah, if you signed up and picked that name, it's already there. It's just then when you say you bought a domain, it sounds like you registered one (possibly elsewhere), then wanted to host it here--so he was just making sure it was actually added to your hosting account.

I'd just give it a day or two, and it should be okay.

The fact that you're asking questions is a pretty good sign that you're not dumb. wink
The dumb ones are all over at dreamhoststatus.com posting off-topic tantrums on random posts about servers that they're not even on. tongue

Well, I got my problem all sorted. Seems there was an error when DreamHost tried to create the domain, but after I emailed them they got it all sorted out.

Now, my only question is, what do you guys suggest I use to create my main domain webpage? Does Dreamhost have a webpage editor, perhaps a WYSIWYG type program?

Thanks!!

jrmacumber,

There is a lot of discussion about this in other threads on this forum (you really should get in the habit of searching the forum before posting wink ), and generally when you change subjects in a forum you should start a new thread. This makes it much easier for others to search the forum productively and keeps related discussion "together in one place".

That said, and in answer to your question, Dreamhost provides no "site builder" or WYSIWYG editor, and you will need to select your own tools for building a website.

Dreamhost *does* have "one-click" installations of the Joomla CMS (Content Management system System) and the WordPress blog software. Both of these programs are quite capable and you can build a full site with them with relative ease.

My recommendation, for a beginner who is looking for a WYSIWYG program for building web pages is NVU, which is a Free, Open Source program.

There is more (recent) discussion about this subject in this forum thread and you can find more general information about building pages with WYSIWYG tools on the Dreamhost Wiki page regarding WYSIWYG. Good Luck!

--rlparker

rl, thanks for the links, and thanks for the advice. I will keep all that in mind in the future. :D

The thread where I display my n00bness