Katie's site

Hello all,
Today, I'm going to talk about how I created this website using only the Iphone. As I've said in previous entries, I am blind, and don't have a working computer. All I have is my phone. Creating a website this way has it's challenges, from finding the right web platform to finding the right hosting provider. Believe me, it's well worth it.
Before you start on this task, there are things you need to ask yourself. How are you going to put content on the site? What hosting provider should you go with? If you are going to have a podcast, where are you going to upload your audio? I will try to answer these questions in as much detail as possible.

how will y publish your content?

There are several ways to get your content out there. The most basic is to create web pages in notepad using HTML. While this is most simple if you know HTML, this isn't the best method for website creation. For one, the Iphone does not support HTML documents. Also, the phone doesn't work with FTP servers where you would normally upload your web pages. For this reason, another publishing method can be used. A CMS, content managing system allows you to create a website using a standard web browser. You can log on to your site and add pages, a blog, forums, and so on. There are many content management systems to choose from, wordpress and drupal to name a few. It's best to find a CMS that is accessable with the Iphone and voiceover.
I highly recommend drupal. The advantages of drupal are that you can create a vast variety of components for your website. Although it's best to know HTML, it's not required when making a personal site. Drupal links the pages of your website and puts your pages in an easy to navigate menu. However, HTML is needed to make links to downloadable files and third party websites. Once you've decided on what CMS you want to work with, you need to find a webhost that provides such CMS.

finding the right webhost

Finding the right host isn't all that easy but it can be done. First, you need to decide whether you want to pay for hosting. If you have a fixed income or you are just building a personal site, free hosting is best. I would only recommend paid hosting if you have a business or organization and need extra features. Try searching on google for a web host that meets your needs.
Once you've decided between free or paid hosting, you need sfind a host that provides the CMS you chose. When visiting a potential host's website, you might want to look at the list of features the host has. Some key words you want to look for are script installer or auto installer.After all a CMS is a script you will install on your site. If your host has such feature, they are most likely to have the CMS you want. If your lucky, some hosts specify what scripts they offer on their website.
Lets say you've found an affordable webhost, they have the features you like and the CMS you like. One thing you also need to look at is the host's sign up form. from personal experience, one thing I hated is finding a hoste that had everything I wanted, but I couldn't sign up for their service because of the captcha on the sign up form. If you have a pc, that's easy. If you have firefox and an add on called web visum, solving captchas is easy. The iphone isn't that way. Solving captchas on the Iphone is nearly impossible. You could get an easily understandable audio captcha if your lucky. These are hard to find though.
The best solution is to find another web host or if you like this one enough, you could contact them. When contacting a potential host, you need to state that you're blind, and use an Iphone. Also, give a brief summary of voiceover and what it can and can't do, including it's inability to solve captchas. Nexs, ask the company if they can assist you in the sign up process. Keep in mind it may take several emails to convence them to help you. If they are willing to help you, great. give them the information needed to set up the website. When the acount with said company is created, you can log in and use their autoinstaller to install your chosen CMS. Once your cms is installed you can use it to create your website on the Iphone.