Want to revamp my website

[KWarp]

http://www.kwarp.com

I've had this website for about 2.5 years and it needs a bit of a change. I'll be as specific as I can about what I want:

-I like blogs. I can write a bit, throw in pretty pictures, and have the server archive all my entries in a neat organized manner. The easier to update, the better. That's primarily what I want to do with this website.

-I also want the ability to embed .swf files (mostly viewing content but also site navigation if possible)

-and host mp3 files

Here's my current situation with servers: I pay nothing and get some nice webspace on a business server, but that could suddenly disappear at any time. I also have limited programming options, and can really only interact with the server through PERL, which I don't find desirable.

So I've got three options:

1) Stick on the current server if there's an easy solution

2) Join a blogging site that suits my needs (Would I pay? How much? Can my domain names redirect to my blog?)

3) Buy some server space (I fear this is expensive).

Wisdom please!

[Dhsu]

Hosting isn't that expensive, I'm sure people around here can point you to some providers with very reasonable prices.

As for content management, you might look in WordPress. Heard a lot of good things about it.

[Kanthos]

Wordpress is awesome. I use the version you download and install. It's in PHP though, so that would probably mean switching servers for you. I'm on a server that costs $3.95 US a month if you buy a year at time, and I get something like 2 GB bandwidth and 200 MB of storage. Their service is also great too; while there's occasional downtime, they're quite responsive. I've been quite impressed, overall. The site is http://www.domainsvision.com.

[KWarp]

Wordpress is awesome. I use the version you download and install. It's in PHP though, so that would probably mean switching servers for you. I'm on a server that costs $3.95 US a month if you buy a year at time, and I get something like 2 GB bandwidth and 200 MB of storage. Their service is also great too; while there's occasional downtime, they're quite responsive. I've been quite impressed, overall. The site is http://www.domainsvision.com.

I'm impressed with domainsvision's hosting services, but I do have a few questions. All the domain names I own were bought through directnic.com. Do I have to pay a fee to move those around? Also, I want to create a portfolio site in addition to my kwarp.com one. Is it possible to keep both sites on one server plan, or would I need two separate ones?

In you case for Wordpress, you downloaded an installer and just host everything on your own server space? That's pretty nice. I like that.

[Kanthos]

For wordpress, it's more like download a zip file, unzip and upload everything, set up a database, and edit a configuration file to tell wordpress which database and database username/password you're using. I'll be glad to help you out with setting it up if you need.

I buy my domain names through www.domainsatcost.ca and never had any fees to get them set up. At the moment, I only have one domain name hosted on the server account, but I have had several before, like when I hosted the website for the musical I was musical director for last year. So yes, you can do everything you've talked about so far for free. To set up a second domain name, you add a subdomain (i.e. something like music.kwarp.com) and then set up an addon domain that points to your subdomain (i.e. www.kwarpmusic.com poitns to music.kwarp.com). Again, I've done it before and will be glad to help.

[KWarp]

Cool. I'll drop by this thread again if I run into any issues.

[OverCoat]

-I also want the ability to embed .swf files (mostly viewing content but also site navigation if possible)

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