I'm very new to Drupal and had never even installed a database before putting my Drupal site online last week. I friend of mine recommended Dotster hosting because they were running a promotion (25% off through the end of the month with the coupon code: edealinfo20), and I nabbed 2 years of hosting (the Standard Linux Package) for around $140.
I got a little confused about how to configure the FTP for my domain name at first, but received fantastic support with their 24/7 live chat (turns out you have to create a "Web Space" for each domain before you can create an FTP account). The whole process of purchasing the hosting package and getting the FTP up and running took less than an hour, even with my need for a bit of support.
Then came installing the database--a process I'd been dreading from the get-go. It turned out to be easier than I could have imagined. Dotster hosting accounts set full permissions for the primary database user by default, so I didn't even have to bother with running any scripts. The only thing I had to do beyond the few self-explanatory clicks it took to install the database was to use Dreamweaver to allow write permissions for the settings.php file (obviously you'll need to disable these permissions once Drupal is installed). I probably could have used the file manager in their control panel, but it was just easier to right click on the folder in Dreamweaver. And just like that, my site was up and running.
If you have questions about you Dotster hosting account and Drupal you can email me at jeffgold at Yahoo! I'm no expert, but my site runs great and I can probably help with basic setup questions/problems. Based on my experience I would highly recommend Dotster hosting.
Comments
I can currently not
I can currently not recommend Dotster for any kind of service or hosting since they apparently try to sell Drupal disguised as Design Studio SM:
http://www.dotster .com/design/studio/contentmgmt
(Link intentionally broken)
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Drupal services
My Drupal services
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Drupal services
My Drupal services
Cron
I tried to email you at your yahoo account, but it bounced back. Have you set up a cron task for your drupal site on dotster? If so how did you do this? Any command I try doesn't seem to work. I tried running the cron-lynx.sh script as well as creating a /usr/bin/lynx -source http://mysite.com/cron.php command, but nothing seems to work.
www.individualtrader.org
dotster's cron management or lack thereof
ugh, i've also been trying to create a cron job through dotster's cpanel with no luck. i tried many commands, but it always fails. i just tried to get support from dotster, and now i'm miffed. i asked about cron, and the tech pointed me to the cron management page. ok, i knew that, but what i didn't know was how to enter the command. is it command-line like, or something else? in any case the tech said he could not give me any information about how to use that feature in cpanel. i rephrased the question a few times, but the answer was the same. why have a feature, tell someone to use it, but refuse to disclose HOW to use it? if anyone has any information about this, i'd love to know...