After a recent database crash nightmare, caused by a former host’s configuration errors, I would love to find a way to test all my hosts. From the research I’ve been doing the past couple of days, it appears that databases are corrupted by server settings and issues, not end users like me, or even the [...]

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You may be familiar with the hair-ripping agony I have experienced at the hands of disappointing web hosts. Most recently, a former host for one of my other sites had what I thought was a cpanel glitch preventing my sites from accessing their databases. Turned out it was even worse than I thought, but the [...]

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As you may be aware, I have switched hosts on this blog twice now in the four months since it started. Its first host had a server crash, was down for most of two days, and to top it off, their backup was ten days old (yes, you should be doing your own daily backups, [...]

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Bookmark this, if you use a Mac for your web development: The Macintosh Webmaster forum at WebMasterWorld. It’s a great place to find all sorts of freebies and Mac-specific tips and news. One of the best threads is Mac Necessities, where people post about tools they can’t live without. I’ve found all sorts of free [...]

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I know you can go a search and find php script archives on your own, but when I first started doing that, I wasted a lot of time wading through ones whose scripts just didn’t quite work as advertised, whose links didn’t really go where they were supposed to, etc. So here are two I’ve [...]

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I’ve been getting more requests for WYSIWYG CSS tools, and I can’t believe I didn’t mention this one before:
The chrispederick.com Firefox Web Developer’s Extension. It’s a suite of tools to help you develop CSS style sheets. You can also use it to play with other people’s sites when you visit them (of course you can’t [...]

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In the past, I’ve written about one or two good WYSIWYG programs that help you write CSS visually, by showing you what it’s going to look like as you work. Now I’m going to talk about why none of these will do you a bit of good unless you learn CSS.
CSS is an amazingly versatile [...]

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See if this sounds familiar. You get an idea for a new site. You find a domain name. You find a host. You sign up with both, marry the two together. You start building the site on the server, even though the domain hasn’t propogated yet, and you have to use that weird little IP [...]

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So I bought this domain a few weeks ago, and I bought hosting, and guess what? I’m a horrible evil spammer! Yes, anyone who visits my WhoIs info will find I’m blacklisted by a company called SPEWS.
I’m not a spammer.
See, SPEWS, following the fine modern trend of “punish the whole class for what one kid [...]

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This has been around for a while, but if you don’t know about it, it’s a must: get the style master :: download from WestCiv. It’s a 30-day demo, but even if you don’t choose to keep it ($60), it’s got an amazing tutorial and references built in. The help files remain accessible after the [...]

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