Introducing the NEW Eden Personal Stores Program!

Contributor: Shellz31 Shellz31
Ok, I got my domain name done, but I don't really know what I require in a hosting program (GB, MySQL and all those other technical stuff) to run my blog and this kind of personal store.

I found one but I don't know if it's suitable - HOSTING
Is the economy one suitable - it will cater for all the store and blog images?

Ummm, and how do I get the actual page to design my blog? Lol - I have only ever used pre-set up web pages before so I don't know where to start
01/19/2011
Contributor: Alan & Michele Alan & Michele
Quote:
Originally posted by Tori Rebel
If anyone has a good hosting provider, please post it here! I'm currently looking for one to use for this
HostGator. We've been with them for 6 years with a family-friendly retail site, and almost a year with our adult blog without any issues. And in their TOS they clearly state that adult content is ok. Their control panel is easy to navigate, subdomains are free (if you want to expand) and you can get someone HUMAN on their tech support lines 24/7 who is actually helpful if you get stuck.
01/19/2011
Contributor: Tori Rebel Tori Rebel
Quote:
Originally posted by Alan & Michele
HostGator. We've been with them for 6 years with a family-friendly retail site, and almost a year with our adult blog without any issues. And in their TOS they clearly state that adult content is ok. Their control panel is easy to navigate, ... more
Thanks Alan & Michele!
01/19/2011
Contributor: Rockin' Rockin'
Quote:
Originally posted by Shellz31
Ok, I got my domain name done, but I don't really know what I require in a hosting program (GB, MySQL and all those other technical stuff) to run my blog and this kind of personal store.

I found one but I don't know if it's ... more
The amount of hosting space you need is dependent on the amount of "stuff" you have on your site. In the case of an Eden Personal Store, the images and other content hosted on the store will make up the bulk of the hosting space required.

I emailed one of the Eden developers about this issue and was told that:
-Save Big Sex Toys is the largest EPS online right now, and it has 1259 products in it. The store takes up about 2 Gigabytes of hosting space.

-A store with 200 products would take up about 350 Megabytes (1000 Megabytes = 1 Gigabyte) of hosting space.

The developer also advised that affiliates limit themselves to 100-200 products per store to avoid overloading the hosting, but that it really dependent on how much space you want to have, how big of a store you want, and how much other content you have up on your site.

As for the "actual page to design my blog" -- part of the initial setup of the store is getting the store software, so don't worry about that for right now. I'll be emailing ya!

I hope that helps Keep the questions coming!
01/19/2011
Contributor: Rockin' Rockin'
Quote:
Originally posted by Alan & Michele
HostGator. We've been with them for 6 years with a family-friendly retail site, and almost a year with our adult blog without any issues. And in their TOS they clearly state that adult content is ok. Their control panel is easy to navigate, ... more
Thanks for the recommendation, Alan & Michele! Affiliates helping affiliates, I like it
01/19/2011
Contributor: Tori Rebel Tori Rebel
Quote:
Originally posted by Rockin'
The amount of hosting space you need is dependent on the amount of "stuff" you have on your site. In the case of an Eden Personal Store, the images and other content hosted on the store will make up the bulk of the hosting space ... more
Thanks!!!
01/19/2011
Contributor: LambChop LambChop
Quote:
Originally posted by Tori Rebel
If anyone has a good hosting provider, please post it here! I'm currently looking for one to use for this
We've had really good luck with Dreamhost, in general (I have no idea about for this concept).
01/19/2011
Contributor: Bunni32 Bunni32
This sounds Awesome I just need to know where to get my own domain or blog site plz help me cause I would love to do this
01/19/2011
Contributor: Rockin' Rockin'
You can get your own domain from a site like GoDaddy.com or NetworkSolutions.com. Owning a domain usually costs between $10 and $20 per year.

So far, other affiliates have recommended HostGator and Dreamhost in this thread as hosting possibilities, too.
01/19/2011
Contributor: Lady Venus Lady Venus
This is so AWESOME! I was just pondering how I could get a store type section on my website! The EF gods have answered! I just sent me email! So fucking excited!!!!
01/19/2011
Contributor: Victoria Victoria
Quote:
Originally posted by LambChop
We've had really good luck with Dreamhost, in general (I have no idea about for this concept).
We really like DreamHost too - and that is who Gary uses for his store. Plenty of space left over, reliable, and a fair price. Plus their customer service is great.
01/19/2011
Contributor: Shellz31 Shellz31
Quote:
Originally posted by Rockin'
The amount of hosting space you need is dependent on the amount of "stuff" you have on your site. In the case of an Eden Personal Store, the images and other content hosted on the store will make up the bulk of the hosting space ... more
Ahhhhh excellent.
Thanks for that.
Here I was worried about only having 10GB space....lmao.
There's no way I need that much.
I think at this stage I'll just plan on space for about 200 toys. I can always upgrade later if need be through the hosting, right?

I was hoping my brother would help me out but he tells me things but does the technical talk that goes straight over my head...lol.
01/19/2011
Contributor: Rockin' Rockin'
Quote:
Originally posted by Shellz31
Ahhhhh excellent.
Thanks for that.
Here I was worried about only having 10GB space....lmao.
There's no way I need that much.
I think at this stage I'll just plan on space for about 200 toys. I can always upgrade later if need ... more
That sounds like a good plan, Shellz! And 10GB should definitely get you started Your hosting plan should allow you to upgrade later if you wanted, yeah.
01/20/2011
Contributor: Clitical Jenne Clitical Jenne
Quote:
Originally posted by Rockin'
That sounds like a good plan, Shellz! And 10GB should definitely get you started Your hosting plan should allow you to upgrade later if you wanted, yeah.
Have to say I've been working on this for a couple of days now and I LOVE what this software can do! I managed to install it on my own without to many headaches and Kris your tutorials are awesome and easy to follow. I do have quite a bit of tech knowledge but if you follow the tutorials and aren't afraid to play this is a good piece of software.

Just working on my graphics, inventory and menu, etc now. Have the bare bones working though. Hoping with the snow we have coming in tonight the kids will let me work tomorrow as my graphics skills are pretty rusty
01/20/2011
Contributor: Rockin' Rockin'
Quote:
Originally posted by Clitical Jenne
Have to say I've been working on this for a couple of days now and I LOVE what this software can do! I managed to install it on my own without to many headaches and Kris your tutorials are awesome and easy to follow. I do have quite a bit of tech ... more
Aww, you've got me blushing over here I am so glad that the tutorials are helping you! I spent a good bit of time on them, so it makes me proud to see them used.

I'm glad your store is going well, Jenne!
01/20/2011
Contributor: Lady Venus Lady Venus
I'll be working on my store this weekend! Can't wait!!!!!!
01/20/2011
Contributor: Rockin' Rockin'
I've gotten a lot of requests so far, and am really excited to see the stores when they're finished!

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread over the weekend, so keep asking questions, and I'll get back to ya
01/21/2011
Contributor: Tori Rebel Tori Rebel
OK, I'm totally stumped on the "setup DNS records" part for a standalone store. I'm normally more than tech savvy enough to get by, but I've read the info on the link several times and am still lost. Is there anyone that can explain how to do this in more common terminology?
01/21/2011
Contributor: Rockin' Rockin'
Quote:
Originally posted by Tori Rebel
OK, I'm totally stumped on the "setup DNS records" part for a standalone store. I'm normally more than tech savvy enough to get by, but I've read the info on the link several times and am still lost. Is there anyone that can ... more
Ok, I'm going to try my best here. This is the part of the setup I am least familiar with right now. I'm writing these instructions based on my personal server experience, so the instructions may not exactly translate to your server's control panel, but the concepts should be the same. Here we go:

DNS stands for domain name system, and it acts as sort of phonebook/cheat sheet that links up IP addresses and domain names.

The reason why you need to set up a DNS record is because your server/host needs to be able to associate its content with a domain.

So, what "setup DNS records" entails is a few things. You need to:
-log into your site's hosting/server
-find out what your server's IP address is
-create a DNS record, connecting your server's IP address and your site's domain

To create the DNS record, in my control panel I found an icon that was labeled "Simple DNS Zone Editor." Maybe you have a similar icon or section available. Click on your DNS setup / editor / etc. icon and see what's there.

I think the main thing that you need to do is add an "A record" because that's the record that connects IP addresses to domain names. Find the fields that let you create an A record, and put your domain name in the "Name" field and put your server's IP address in the "Address" field and create the record. Now your server should know when to supply data, and that's whenever someone tries to browse to your domain, because now it knows that its IP address and your domain are linked.

If anyone else wants to chime in, feel free. I'm sorry I don't have a cut-and-dry answer for this one right now. I got most of the info and instructions from here: link in the section called "How to setup your domain name."
01/22/2011
Contributor: Tori Rebel Tori Rebel
Quote:
Originally posted by Rockin'
Ok, I'm going to try my best here. This is the part of the setup I am least familiar with right now. I'm writing these instructions based on my personal server experience, so the instructions may not exactly translate to your server's ... more
That's very helpful Kris - much more straightforward than what I'd read before. One question, which host service are you using? (I thought I'd narrowed it down to one, but this may change my mind...)

Thanks so much for the quick response!!!
01/22/2011
Contributor: Rockin' Rockin'
Quote:
Originally posted by Tori Rebel
That's very helpful Kris - much more straightforward than what I'd read before. One question, which host service are you using? (I thought I'd narrowed it down to one, but this may change my mind...)

Thanks so much for the quick response!!!
I, personally, do not have hosting. When I said "my personal server experience" before, I meant my own experiences with setting up demo stores, not my personal server/host; I wrote that kinda late at night and should have phrased that part better.

I've been setting up demo stores through Eden's hosting, and I really don't know who the host is. If someone else on the team knows and wants to share, that'd be cool.

If/when I get hosting for my personal blog in the future, I'll be sure to say what hosting I got. But for now, I don't have a recommendation and I don't want to endorse or not endorse a specific hosting provider. I am glad that other affiliates have offered up their hosts as recommendations, though. Feel free to chime in, y'all. The more info we have, the more awesome stuff the community can do.
01/22/2011
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by Rockin'
Ok, I'm going to try my best here. This is the part of the setup I am least familiar with right now. I'm writing these instructions based on my personal server experience, so the instructions may not exactly translate to your server's ... more
{P'Gell sits in her chair with her mouth open, drooling, wondering how she got so far behind in the Tech Revolution and amazed at what people can do.}



I'm hopelessly lost. I'll have to re-read the testimonials, but I don't know if I have skills to do what I want to do.
01/22/2011
Contributor: Clitical Jenne Clitical Jenne
You have the skills P'Gell. It's like everything else it takes time to learn anything new and I swear the older I get the more difficult it becomes to learn something new. When I've been stuck on something technical before I've found the appropriate forum and asked for help. You'd be surprised how may guys are willing to give assistance to a damsel in distress

I've also asked my hosting companies in the past if they have or know of any tutorials that might help make it easier for me as they know what server panel they are running, etc. Sometimes they were more helpful than others but I've always found it never hurts to ask.

I've been running my site for about 11yrs now and trust me there are still times when I want to put my fist through my laptop because I can't figure something out. I figured out a long time the wisest thing to do is walk away and come back later, saves me a ton of time in the end -))

I've also learnt that if I really can't do it myself it can often pay me to pay someone else to do it for me. I'm a better writer and promoter than graphics artists for example, so I often pay someone else to do my banners, etc. Just make sure they do the work before you pay them all the money as this is the internet after all and ask for recommendations from other webmasters, etc

I feel like I'm rambling now so I'll shut up, just don't want to see people give up on something they really want to pursue so figured I would put a few ideas out there.
01/22/2011
Contributor: Shellz31 Shellz31
I got my domain from Namecheap.com for US$9.98 per year.
I'm still trying to work out the hosting. I like GoDaddy cause if ya sign up a new account, the 10G space is only AU$3.01 per month for 3 months.
But does anyone know if they are adult friendly????
01/24/2011
Contributor: Tori Rebel Tori Rebel
Quote:
Originally posted by Shellz31
I got my domain from Namecheap.com for US$9.98 per year.
I'm still trying to work out the hosting. I like GoDaddy cause if ya sign up a new account, the 10G space is only AU$3.01 per month for 3 months.
But does anyone know if they are ... more
I'd actually heard that GoDaddy was NOT an adult-friendly host - but I could have them confused, so if I'm wrong, please correct me! My domain was purchased thru them but I'm using hostgator (from Alan and Michele's recommendation) and they are adult-friendly. I'm paying less than $8 US/month.
01/24/2011
Contributor: Clitical Jenne Clitical Jenne
My advice for what its worth is stay away from GoDaddy when it comes to adult stuff myself.

This is from their terms of service:

You agree not to engage in unacceptable use of any Services, which includes, without limitation, use of the Services to: (...) (ii) disseminate or transmit any material that, to a reasonable person may be abusive, obscene, pornographic, defamatory, harassing, grossly offensive, vulgar, threatening or malicious;

I know from people who have used them before that although they will tell you that it's okay, one complaint and you can say goodbye to your hosting and there is nothing or little you can do about it.

Dreamhost and hostgator are both pretty good and as far as I recall they do allow adult content.

Before you choose a hosting company read the TOS it can save you a whole host of headaches later down the road. If it specifically states no adult or nudity, porno, etc somewhere in there stay away would be my advice for what it's worth.
01/24/2011
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by Clitical Jenne
You have the skills P'Gell. It's like everything else it takes time to learn anything new and I swear the older I get the more difficult it becomes to learn something new. When I've been stuck on something technical before I've found ... more
I know. You're right.

I have to learn how to do this.

I have to go through the tutorials again and learn properly.

When I was born, "computer" meant the 2 story Enivac 2000 at MIT. Home computers were science fiction.

I've really learned a lot on my own, but I have to learn more to do this blog thing.

Hell, my DAD has a blog and he's in his 70s. If he can do it, I think I can.

I find it rather ridiculous that GoDaddy has these rules. It really is a double standard on their part. Their commercials consist of mostly nekkid women prancing around, talking about "Daddy!" (Can we get an eye roll smilie?)
01/24/2011
Contributor: Rockin' Rockin'
Quote:
Originally posted by Clitical Jenne
My advice for what its worth is stay away from GoDaddy when it comes to adult stuff myself.

This is from their terms of service:

You agree not to engage in unacceptable use of any Services, which includes, without limitation, use of ... more
Thanks for your input on the hosting issue, Jenne! I agree that it's important to review the hosting TOS before purchasing. It's always good to know what's ok and what's not ok.
01/24/2011
Contributor: Tori Rebel Tori Rebel
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
{P'Gell sits in her chair with her mouth open, drooling, wondering how she got so far behind in the Tech Revolution and amazed at what people can do.}



I'm hopelessly lost. I'll have to re-read the testimonials, but I ... more
P'Gell, if I can do it, you can do it. Just make sure you find a hosting service with free cust. svc. Any hurdle I've come across so far, I've used live chat with hostgator support - they may have already lost money on me this month based on all the time they've spent helping me
01/24/2011
Contributor: Rockin' Rockin'
I've gotten several questions from people wanting multiple stores, and I've got great news!

Affiliates can have more than one store! You just need to have a separate account (and partner code) for each store.

Why might you want more than one store?
-Maybe you have big ideas for a stand-alone store, but you'd also like one that's hooked into your blog site.
-Perhaps you have a blog that's targeted toward one group of products (example: BDSM products, lingerie, sensual items), but you'd like to have another store with more variety.
-You might have more than one blog, and would like a separate store for each one.

Also, I just wanted to say that I love the support y'all are showing each other on this thread. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
01/24/2011