Is there a web host for developers?

[drhowarddrfinedrhoward]

I'm new to web site development. I would like to find a host that will
allow me to develop asp.net sites plus web apps using iis, VS, C# and all
those goodies.

I don't believe the $10/month sites will let you do that but I'm afraid I
need my own box somewhere which is much more expensive. $100/month or more?
At that price I might as well buy my own copy.

Of course writing code for a remote box might be difficult too with all the
uploading and testing.

Comments please.

 

[Karl Seguin]

Howard:
You can find good hosts for $10/m or less which will let you run ASP.Net
(ie, they have IIS and support .Net (c#)) What you won't find, for any
price, is a host which also packages VS.Net. This is a standalone product
that you must purchase and run on your own computer. An alternative would
be to use the free WebMatrix
(http://www.asp.net/Default.aspx?tabindex=4&tabid=46)

Typically the way it works is that developers work on their websites on
their own machine. And then move the code to a server to publically host
the site. To develop on your own machine you need;
-IIS (free if you have Windows XP Pro or 2000) or free alternatives
(Casini web server)
-.Net Framework installed (free)
-A developmet tool (optional), such as VS.net ($$$) or other (WebMatrix,
free)

You then build everything and typically FTP your code to your $10/m web
host which will make the site public.

Karl

 

[drhowarddrfinedrhoward]

Thanks Karl. Very helpful.

Where I get confused with site hosts is when you look under features they
talk about allowing asp.net and server side scripting but nowhere does it
say I can ran my own applications. Now this is for hosts that claim they
have "developer" packages.

Am I just looking in the wrong places?

 

[Karl Seguin]

Probably not...I'm sure the host offers what you need, just using more
marketing terminology...would have been helpful had you provided a link

If you are only looking to learn and don't even want it to be available 24/7
to the public, you probably don't even need a host, and can/should do it all
from your own machine.

Karl

 

[drhowarddrfinedrhoward]

Yes, to learn but the idea is to create a site that is usable by relation
that has a company that would like to sell items online.

 

[Karl Seguin]

Well, for now I'm suggest you do it all on your own computer, and when your
ready to have an actual site, you can easily find a good affordable host
...by then you'll know what ur looking for as well.

Karl

 

[drhowarddrfinedrhoward]

What do you think about learning on Apache? (not asp.net).

So far, for developing, it seems .net means quicker but it costs vs. apache
slower/harder to dev but free. Otherwise you can do the same on both.
Would you agree?

 

[Karl Seguin]

Apache can't be compared to ASP.Net...apache is a web server, not a
programming framework.. You don't program apache you just run your code on
it. Using apache you could program in PHP, JSP or Perl (and countless
others), which is the right comparison to ASP.Net.

As far as learning. Do you have windows XP pro or 2000? if so you have
everything you need that costs money. IIS is free and comes with them. The
..Net framework is a free download, and there are numerous tools, such as
WebMatrix which are free. That's all you need. Even if you don't have XP
pro or 2000, WebMatrix has a built-in web server (Free) that you can use for
other/older windows operating systems.

Not to sound like an ass, but I wouldnt' agree with anything you said in
this last post While i love .net, I wouldn't necessarily call it
quicker/faster ...and I wouldn't call php/jsp/perl slower harder or
cheaper. They are all pretty comparable....they do have their strength and
weaknesses. ASP.Net and JSP are both pretty damn powerful....I think
ASP.Net is a riot to program in and suggest you try it...like I said, it
shouldn't cost you anything...

Karl

 

[drhowarddrfinedrhoward]

I meant .net was slower

Anyway, thanks for all the comments Karl. I should be all set then for
..net.

 

[Matt Berther]

Hello drhowarddrfinedrhoward,

CrystalTech [1] has developer shared hosting which are "the perfect staging
area for your development and test sites. Once the site is fully tested and
ready to 'Go Live'", they have tools in place to move the site into a standard
shared hosting plans.

The developer shared hosting runs $2.95/month.

[1] http://www.crystaltech.com/developershared.htm