RapidWeaver FAQ - Publishing, FTP and Hosting
How can I publish my site? What hosting or what server should I use?
CHAPTER 1: Publishing to MobileMe
CHAPTER 2: Publishing to a server other than MobileMe
CHAPTER 3: Publishing to a folder or exporting to desktop (saving on local)
CHAPTER 4: How does an FTP application work and what do I need it for?
CHAPTER 5: What server and which hosting should I use to host my RapidWeaver created website?
CHAPTER 1: Publishing to MobileMe
Go to File => Publishing Settings => MobileMe
Enter your Username
and your Password
Why you shouldn’t use MobileMe and should use a real hosting instead:
- The MobileMe servers are slow, hence your website will be loading slow too (especially if you have movies, ...)
- MobileMe doesn’t offer PHP support (used for Forms, Forums, WordPress blogs, ...)
- MobileMe doesn’t offer MySQL (used for Forums, WordPress blogs, ...)
CHAPTER 2: Publishing to a server or hosting other than MobileMe
Go to File => Publishing Settings => FTP
Type-in the connection parameters as provided by your hosting.
Server: (usually: ftp.yourdomain.com)
User Name: (usually you choose it when you signup for the hosting)
Password: (usually you choose it when you signup for the hosting)
Path: (some hostings have a folder named “public” in this case upload you need to enter public, I have folders named with the name of all my domains to which I need to upload the relative files so in my case I need to type in mydomain.com hence rapidweaverfaq.org)
Check the “Save password in Keychain” box so that you don’t have to enter it every time you publish.
Once you entered the information all you need to do is go to File and choose “Publish Site...”. After the first time you upload it will upload only the files that you changed since the last time you published. It will not publish the whole site all over again every time you hit publish. This saves you a lot of time.
CHAPTER 3: Publishing to a folder or exporting to desktop (saving on local)
You can publish your website on local (on your computer) and visit your website without uploading it to the web by going to File => Export Site...
Then you could visit it by opening one of the html files.
You could also upload your website by exporting it on local and then use an FTP application as described in Chapter 4 instead of using RapidWeaver’s integrated FTP.
Note that this is not a way to make a backup of your website. RapidWeaver can’t import those published html files. To make a backup have a look at the appropriate FAQ.
CHAPTER 4: How does an FTP application work and what do I need it for?
Using only RapidWeaver’s integrated FTP is not enough. One reason why you need another FTP application is that RapidWeaver’s integrated FTP is upload-only. Which means that obsolete files (files that aren’t used by the website anymore) still are on the server even if they have no utility anymore (like when you build a page, publish and then delete it from RapidWeaver). To delete those files you need to connect to your server through another FTP client. Another reason is if you want to upload files outside RapidWeaver (like a .pdf document to make a link to or something).
First thing you need to do is choose an FTP client to use, download and install it. I will use Cyberduck for the example here. Cyberduck is Freeware (or Donationware), it is pretty good, really easy to use and the one I like the most...
First thing I have to do when I launch the application for the first time is configure it to allow it to access the server and retrieve/send data.
I click on Open Connection
and get a dialog window like this one:
In the FAQ’s and/or Support section at my hosting I am told what I have to insert in those fields
What the server is, what the username is to access and of course my password.
I check the Add to Keychain box (so I don’t have to insert the data each time) and click Connect.
It now is ready to connect to my server and retrieves the data from it. It displays the files that are on my server in the main window
To make things easier Bookmark the location you upload your files to in Cyberduck.
Click on 
then Click on “+” at the bottom of the Bookmarks to add a Bookmark.
Next time you use Cyberduck simply go to
click on the downward flash at the right and a drop down menu will appear from which you choose the bookmarked location on your server to connect to it.
To upload a file go to the File menu and choose Upload, choose the files to be uploaded (index.html + Folder having the same name I named my site in RapidWeaver) or drag&drop them from the finder into the main field.
When the upload starts a window will popup displaying upload progress
and that’s it...
To delete files select them in the main window, hit ctrl+click and choose Delete.
CHAPTER 5: What server and which hosting should I use to host my RapidWeaver created website?
Basically all hostings are RapidWeaver-compatible. If you can choose what server to use to host your site choose a Linux server.
There are a lot of free hostings to be found on the web. I tried about ten or fifteen of them but I really wasn’t satisfied by any of them. I found them to be pretty unstable, sometimes even signing up for an account was a hassle and the support was poor. I’m glad I switched to a paid one...
The only problem is that there’s a jungle of hostings out there. As always in a jungle there are good hostings and there are bad hostings. The good hostings care about their customers, the bad ones don’t.
But it’s pretty difficult to know which hosting is good and which one is bad. Unless you know someone who has a website and ask him whether he’s happy with the service his hosting company provides or not.
I can only talk about the hosting I know which is where I currently host all my websites:
definitely on the good side of the jungle!
- Basic plan: If you plan to build only one website that’s gonna be enough for you.
Toll free support, unlimited space, unlimited monthly datatransfer, 50 MySQL (1GB total), 1 free domain, 1 dedicated IP address, and more... for 3,95$/month (click to signup)
- Ultimate Business: If you plan to build multiple websites then that should be your choice. More MySQLdb space (WordPress, Forums, ...) and more IP addresses which make your websites being much more stable and reliable.
Toll free support, unlimited space, unlimited monthly datatransfer, unlimited MySQL (10GB total), 3 free domain, 15 dedicated IP addresses, and more... for 7,95$/month (click to signup)
If you signup select the Linux platform (default) not the Windows platform.
I would really recommend you HostExcellence since I’m using it for my own websites.
I know that it’s working great and that their support is great too.
Here you will find some basic instructions and FAQs I wrote on using HostExcellence...
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OTHER HOSTINGS:
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Another really good hosting seems to be Hostgator which also has a really great customer-support service. This recommendation is based on fifteen real customer reviews. I didn’t try it myself.
- 600 GB of space
- 6000 GB data transfer
- 7.95 $ per month
- Multiple domains
- MySQL, PHP Support
and more...
(If you signup select the Linux platform not the Windows platform)
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BlueHost is an award winning hosting for its customer support and especially used for WordPress blogs. I didn’t try it myself.
- Unlimited amout of space (max. 50’000 files)
- Unlimited data transfer
- 6.95 $ per month
- Multiple domains
- MySQL, PHP Support
and more...
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Another often used hosting is GoDaddy.
While GoDaddy is great for Personal Domain registrations it doesn’t seem to be as good for hosting too. A lot of users complain about the poor customer support provided for GoDaddy’s hosting. I didn’t try it myself.
If you have any other great (or not great) experiences with hosting companies please share them to get the jungle solved!
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