• I’m planing to build a new www.ads-software.com site myself with a new hosting company without a domain name as my main domain is hosted elsewhere. My aim is that after my new site is ready, I will replace my old site with my new one.

    I have been offered three ways by the new hosting company for this:
    – Using a Temporary URL.
    – Using a Subdomain.
    – Using the actual domain name and pointing it via your computer’s hosts file.

    Can anyone advise me which best way out of the above three should I select to design my site, so that I do not have to repent later on my decision?

Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
  • Anyone can get a free, very basic site at wordpress.com. If you want a professional website, one not at somesite.wordpress.com, you can also procure a domain name and then use the most used solution: www.ads-software.com or also use the commercial branch (review pricing).

    Thread Starter Arvind

    (@arvindg72)

    Read my topic above carefully and don’t post irrelevant replies please.

    Dion

    (@diondesigns)

    The third option (using your HOSTS file) is by far the best because it will allow you to build the new site without having to manually edit the database just prior to taking the site live.

    The downside is that you will not have access to your current site while the entry exists in your HOSTS file. If you can develop the new site on a system that doesn’t need access to the old site, then this is not a problem. Otherwise you will be editing the HOSTS file on a regular basis until your new site is complete.

    Moderator bcworkz

    (@bcworkz)

    ^^ Heh, coordinated posting ??

    I personally do the hosts file option because then there would be no URL changes at all within the DB when the site is made live. The drawback is you will not be able to access your current site by domain name, you’d need to use IP address, or the temporary URL assigned when you first setup hosting, or access via another computer. Also, if anyone else should try to access the development site via IP or temp URL without the hosts entry made, the site will not work correctly.

    Changing URLs in a DB isn’t necessarily that difficult with the right software, but avoiding that step entirely makes the hosts approach worth it for me.

    • This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by bcworkz.
    Moderator Steven Stern (sterndata)

    (@sterndata)

    Volunteer Forum Moderator

    Most hosts will provide you with a temporary domain. Build with that. When you’re done and you change the DNS to point to your new host, then use a plugin like “better search replace” to fix up the URLs on your development site. It’s pretty trivial; I do it all the time.

    Thread Starter Arvind

    (@arvindg72)

    Hello Steve,

    I personally also don’t find hosts file more comfortable than the two other options .. temp url or sub-domain.

    I have heard that “using a subdomain to build a wordpress site, while keeping the main site intact is a much better option than using a temporary url. The reason for which temporary urls are not considered a best practice in WordPress site creation, is because often the temporary url remains hard-coded in the database. So, may be when you replace the temporary url with the actual domain you wish to use for the site – it is highly likely for many instances not to be showing. Most often these are images, which are still working with the temporary url. To address this issue and have it fixed, you would need to do a Search and Replace operation in all database tables of your site. This of course, overcomplicates the entire process as sometimes the url are not fully replaced correctly, even after manual adjustments.”

    What do you think about this Steve? Is this true? Or are there any cons in the sub-domain method as well?

    Moderator Steven Stern (sterndata)

    (@sterndata)

    Volunteer Forum Moderator

    Sure, that can work. “I’ve heard that…” I’ve heard lots of things in my life. ??

    You wrote “you would need to do a Search and Replace operation in all database tables of your site.” Yes, it’s trivial and reliable.

    There are many ways. Pick one and get started.

    Hi,

    based on my experience as i develop wordpress sites on my own server before sending it over to clients (of course this is to make sure i get paid first before sending over source file).

    these 2 option can work:

    – Using a Temporary URL.
    – Using a Subdomain.

    doesn’t matter whichever you use.

    The option of search and replacing via sql script is what i did before but since there are a lot of backup, restore and migration plugins nowadays, that is a thing in the past, now you can just create a backup and send it to the target server and restore the site and all urls will automatically updated.

    I used backupbuddy which is a paid plugin that one client of mine bought as a gift to me. but of course you can try to find other free alternatives.

    Best,

    Van

    • This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by appletvan.

    I always use the temporary IP based URL to build the website, then just change the URL with the searchandreplace script when ready to go live.

    Moderator bcworkz

    (@bcworkz)

    There is no definitive answer, they are all viable, it is a matter of personal preference. As Steve said, “pick one and get started”.

Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
  • The topic ‘How do I build a www.ads-software.com site without a domain name’ is closed to new replies.