Web Concepts

Your .htaccess file, with any Apache based server or hosting account is a very powerful tool that if you can learn to use for your advantage can help you complete many time consuming or difficult tasks with ease. How do you create one though for your web hosting account? This is a question that we hear often, and below is your solution using either cPanel or LPCP (Lunarpages Control Panel).

cPanel

Login to your cPanel with your user name and password, then once you have made it in, head over to your File Manager. Now the File Manager’s interface is a very familiar Windows-styled look at your files on your hosting account. You will want to click on your folder icon next to your public_html link next, that will take you to the insides of the public_html folder.

Inside you will see all your web site files. You need to scan down the page till you see the bold text, Create a New File. Click that and you should get in the upper-right corner a box with a few more setting to fill in. In the empty text box, put in .htaccess. Keep the drop down box on Text Document and then hit the Create button.

Now you have your .htaccess file inside of your public_html folder all with the help of cPanel and your helpful File Manger.

LPCP

To create a .htaccess file in LPCP, log into the LPCP, and then go to your File Manager. Click on the text link labeled, ” public_html” to navigate yourself inside the public_html folder.

In the empty text box to your upper-right type in .htaccess, make sure the drop down box is set to “File” and then hit the button labeled, “Create”.

Your .htaccess file will be created in your public_html folder on your LPCP powered account.

• Find out how to manually create and upload the .htaccess file to your web hosting account!

For more LPCP help, tips, tutorials and more, be sure to check out the web hosting wiki. Hundreds of guides have been published there to help you get more out of your web hosting account at Lunarpages.

&copy Lunarpages Web Hosting - Also, don’t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Original post by Amy

Since today is Friday, and things are pretty calm here in the Lunarverse – I thought today would be a perfect day to take a look  back at some great guides, links, tips and tutorials of 2010. 

Wait, what do you mean 2010 isn’t over yet? Well, then let us look at the best of the best articles posted in 2010 on the Lunartics blog (…so far).

10 Best Google AdSense WordPress Plugins

Are your web site advertisements not performing like they should?  Would you like to have more control over your Google AdSense ads and how they are displayed in your WordPress powered web site?  I have searched the Web for the ten best Google AdSense related plugins.  We have plugins here that will help you manage your ads better, put them in better places, offer other adverting opportunities and much more.

Fun “Guess What I’m Drawing” Game

Looking for a fun way to spend a few extra minutes of your day?  If you are looking for an escape from your Monday morning blues – give Gartic a try.  This web-based drawing game is a lot of fun.

Get Free Google AdWords Credit!

Did you know that Lunarpages is giving to its customers upwards of $50 to $100 in free Google AdWords credit?  If you have never tried advertising your business or web site on Google, and you are Lunarpages client – you just lost your last excuse not to at least try it out.  You can now reach a global internet audience using Google AdWords and your Lunarpages web hosting account.

Is Google Down?

This is the sentence that we all dread to hear ask.  Is Google down?  Now, you can always pull up Google in your browser, and check for yourself – however I have a better place for you to check and see what problems are going on with Google.

5 Most Popular .htaccess Tips and Tricks

There are tons of things you can do from the .htaccess file inside of your web hosting account.  From redirecting the users to controlling who can get in and who can get out, it is a very useful file to have on your hosting account.  To help out the new web hosting clients and to act as a reminder to the old pros around here, I thought I would go through five of the most popular .htaccess tips I know.

Free Layouts from Open Web Design

For general free web site designs, you can do no wrong at Open Web Designs.  This web site highlights some of the best free open source web design layouts on the Web.  With well over 3,000 to choose from you are bound to find the right layout for your next web site project.

UnderCon – Perfect WordPress Pre-Launch Page

Are you working on launching or maybe even re-launching a WordPress powered web site?  If so, you might want to slap up a quick “under construction page” to keep people happy until the final version of the web site is ready.  UnderCon, a great theme for WordPress will help you do that with style.

10 Most Popular Joomla Security Extensions

Joomla is one of the most popular content management systems out there.  Being the most popular does have it’s price though, you have to pay more attention to security related issues.  To help you out, I thought I would find then of the most popular security related extensions for the Joomla CMS script.

Use Gmail With Your Domain’s E-mail Account

I have a rather wacky e-mail setup, due to the fact that I have so many accounts to manage.  With that in mind, I found the perfect solution for my e-mail needs, and hopefully it will work for you too.  Did you know that you can use Gmail as a POP3 e-mail client?  This way you can both send and receive mail as you@yourdomain.com through the Gmail interface.

Lunarpages Takes On Tough New York Times Web Hosting Questions

The New York Times recently asked some very interesting questions as it pertains to what people should be looking for when it comes to finding the web hosting service that is right for them.  As a web host, I thought I would tackle some of the questions they brought up one on one.

Double Save Your Work to a USB Drive

Nothing kills your will to live faster than losing a lot of work you have been spending hours upon hours creating it.  Not that I am bitter about my own paste experiences or anything.  With that thought in mind though, I thought it might be a good time to introduce you to Back4Sure. 

What would you like to see more of on the Lunartics blog?  Leave a comment and let us know.  We would love to hear your suggestions and feedback.

© Lunarpages Web Hosting - Also, don’t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Original post by Mitch

Since today is Friday, and things are pretty calm here in the Lunarverse – I thought today would be a perfect day to take a look  back at some great guides, links, tips and tutorials of 2010. 

Wait, what do you mean 2010 isn’t over yet? Well, then let us look at the best of the best articles posted in 2010 on the Lunartics blog (…so far).

10 Best Google AdSense WordPress Plugins

Are your web site advertisements not performing like they should?  Would you like to have more control over your Google AdSense ads and how they are displayed in your WordPress powered web site?  I have searched the Web for the ten best Google AdSense related plugins.  We have plugins here that will help you manage your ads better, put them in better places, offer other adverting opportunities and much more.

Fun “Guess What I’m Drawing” Game

Looking for a fun way to spend a few extra minutes of your day?  If you are looking for an escape from your Monday morning blues – give Gartic a try.  This web-based drawing game is a lot of fun.

Get Free Google AdWords Credit!

Did you know that Lunarpages is giving to its customers upwards of $50 to $100 in free Google AdWords credit?  If you have never tried advertising your business or web site on Google, and you are Lunarpages client – you just lost your last excuse not to at least try it out.  You can now reach a global internet audience using Google AdWords and your Lunarpages web hosting account.

Is Google Down?

This is the sentence that we all dread to hear ask.  Is Google down?  Now, you can always pull up Google in your browser, and check for yourself – however I have a better place for you to check and see what problems are going on with Google.

5 Most Popular .htaccess Tips and Tricks

There are tons of things you can do from the .htaccess file inside of your web hosting account.  From redirecting the users to controlling who can get in and who can get out, it is a very useful file to have on your hosting account.  To help out the new web hosting clients and to act as a reminder to the old pros around here, I thought I would go through five of the most popular .htaccess tips I know.

Free Layouts from Open Web Design

For general free web site designs, you can do no wrong at Open Web Designs.  This web site highlights some of the best free open source web design layouts on the Web.  With well over 3,000 to choose from you are bound to find the right layout for your next web site project.

UnderCon – Perfect WordPress Pre-Launch Page

Are you working on launching or maybe even re-launching a WordPress powered web site?  If so, you might want to slap up a quick “under construction page” to keep people happy until the final version of the web site is ready.  UnderCon, a great theme for WordPress will help you do that with style.

10 Most Popular Joomla Security Extensions

Joomla is one of the most popular content management systems out there.  Being the most popular does have it’s price though, you have to pay more attention to security related issues.  To help you out, I thought I would find then of the most popular security related extensions for the Joomla CMS script.

Use Gmail With Your Domain’s E-mail Account

I have a rather wacky e-mail setup, due to the fact that I have so many accounts to manage.  With that in mind, I found the perfect solution for my e-mail needs, and hopefully it will work for you too.  Did you know that you can use Gmail as a PỌ e-mail client?  This way you can both send and receive mail as you@yourdomain.com through the Gmail interface.

Lunarpages Takes On Tough New York Times Web Hosting Questions

The New York Times recently asked some very interesting questions as it pertains to what people should be looking for when it comes to finding the web hosting service that is right for them.  As a web host, I thought I would tackle some of the questions they brought up one on one.

Double Save Your Work to a USB Drive

Nothing kills your will to live faster than losing a lot of work you have been spending hours upon hours creating it.  Not that I am bitter about my own paste experiences or anything.  With that thought in mind though, I thought it might be a good time to introduce you to BacвSure. 

What would you like to see more of on the Lunartics blog?  Leave a comment and let us know.  We would love to hear your suggestions and feedback.

© Lunarpages Web Hosting - Also, don’t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Original post by Mitch

Want to take our blog (your favorite web hosting blog, Lunartics!) with you to Google Reader or the iGoogle homepage?

It is easy to do.  It is also free for both Lunarpages and non-Lunarpages clients!

The first step would be to visit this link here:

• Add the Lunarpages Blog to Google

That in turn, will give you two more choices.  You can choose to see our newest tips, tutorials and features on the iGoogle homepage or in Google Reader.  Alternatively you can skip this step by using one of these two links:

• Add the Lunarpages Blog to iGoogle
• Add the Lunarpages Blog to Google Reader

Now you will be able to monitor all the cool new tutorials, tips and more we post here every single day.

Subscribe via Really Simple Syndication – You can easily subscribe to the Lunarpages blog by taking the RSS feed and plugging it into any service that accepts them.  There are dozens of RSS readers, widgets and more around the Web to use too. 

I have a question for all of you now, how do you subscribe to this site?

© Lunarpages Web Hosting - Also, don’t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Original post by Mitch

The March edition of the Lunarpages customer newsletter is packed full of great web hosting news, tips and tutorials.  To top it all off, Lunarpages announced two new contests you can enter too.

• Some of the other features from this month’s edition include:
• Better Server Access Logs Come to LPCP
• Your Affiliate Web Hosting Checklist
• News on Google’s Real Time Search Future
• 20 of the Web’s Best News Sources
• and much more!

So do not hesitate any longer, go see what all the fuss is about, and read up about the latest Lunarpages news.  Go check out the Lunarpages web hosting newsletter!

© Lunarpages Web Hosting - Also, don’t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Original post by Mitch

Lunarpages has been hard at work giving it’s customers even more great web hosting tutorials via the web hosting wiki.  The LPCP control panel has released a slew of new features, and the Lunarpages wiki has been updated so that you know how to use all of them.

Here are some of the newest tutorials we have to share with you:

• Server Access Logs in LPCP
• Error Logs in LPCP
• File Manager Help in LPCP
• Connecting to Databases in LPCP
• How to Create and Delete MySQL Users in LPCP

Also, we have added this guide as well:

• Google Attack Site Warning

As you know, your web site’s security is always a top priority to us too. 

Our LPCP team of developers deserve a pat on the back too.  Without them, this innovative web hosting control panel would have never gotten off the ground.  They are a brilliant bunch of developers, and deserve a mention and some praise.

I hope you enjoy these new web hosting tutorials – and if there ever anything else you want to see covered in the wiki, you can always e-mail us to let us know, or leave your suggestions in the comments.

© Lunarpages Web Hosting - Also, don′t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Original post by Mitch

With 2009 ending, and 2010 starting up – now is the time to take a look back at some of the greatest tips, tutorials, guides and more we have published here.  Now you can catch that great post you missed the first time around, or revisit a tutorial you nearly forgot about.

Ready for the top ten?

Here is the best of the best blog.lunarpages.com had to offer you in 2009.  Hope you enjoy this trip back down memory lane!

Grab a Social Network Badge

Looking for some buttons to help promote your existence on the various social networks out there?  Try looking around at MySocialButtons.com.  These square badges would look great on any web site or blog.

• Get Social – Tips for New Facebook Users
  

Embed Your YouTube Playlist into Your Web Site

Thanks to relist.tv, you can now deliver a nice flash playlist player for your YouTube videos.  How does it work?  Well, after visiting relist.tv, you just fill out the options and then grab the code to copy and paste into your site’s design.

• Features! – YouTube Video Embedding Comes to Quicksite!

What is Your Bounce Rate?

Why is your bounce rate an important thing to keep an eye on, and better yet what the heck is your web site bounce rate? I will answer those questions and let you know the best ways to lower your bounce rate and get people staying on your web site a little ‘bit longer.

• More Analytical Help – How to Track File Downloads in Google Analytics

25 Most Popular Twitter Plugins for WordPress

Using Twitter in combination with your WordPress powered blog? There are tons of tools and plugins you can take advantage of to make that mix of micro-blogging, and regular blogging mix into a presentation anybody (and I am sure everybody) will enjoy.

• New to Blogging? – Check out the Best Blog Hosting Guide

Look Back at Great Web Hosting Scripts

On the Lunarpages blog this month we have been discussing some of the greatest scripts out there that you can install on just about any web hosting plan Lunarpages offers to you.  For those who might have missed it, here is a roundup of all the third-party script reviews we did over the month of November.

• Skin Support – 4 Great (and FREE) Themes for WordPress

Embed Google News into Your Web Site

Google is always coming out with some of the coolest web site enhancements around.  One new tool they are providing for free, for any webmaster out there to use is the NewsShow Wizard.  What does it do?  It allows you to embed your own Google News widget into your web site on any topic you might have in mind.

• Free Script – Customizable Flash Image Viewer

How to Save a Trace Route to a .txt File

When it comes to running a trace route, some people become confused on how you get that trace route from your command prompt window to your uber-friendly support team.  The easiest method would be to save the trace route as a .txt file, so you could copy the data, and paste it in your e-mail or help desk ticket.

• Network Speed – Best Web Site Speed Analyzers

60+ Links to Help You Learn CSS Web Design

I have had many people ask me what resources do I learn from, when it comes to being a modern day webmaster.  Now, there are many resources out there – but here are 60 of the best links (taken from my own bookmarks to your browser) to assist you in mastering the art of CSS in web design.

• More CSS Tips – CSS Round Box Generator

Free Background Images

In need of a new background pattern?  One new resource I stumbled upon this morning that would be perfect for your needs is Pattern8.  From this site, you can download, rate and review tons of tiled background images.

• Joomla Tips – 7 Great Joomla Template Resources

Home Grown Marketing Strategies

Where does customer service fit into the grand scheme of things, when it comes to planning a good marketing strategy?  Mention marketing to anybody, and they start thinking about sales, offers and deals.  While, they too are important, having a good customer service relationship also plays a key role.

• More Hosting Help – 10 Awesome Blog Clients to Help You Write

Happy New Year!

Thank you all for visiting Lunartics in 2009, and I promise 2010 will have even more great web hosting blog posts, marketing tips, script tutorials, designer guides and more. 

It has been my goal since day one to make this a resource both Lunarpages clients and the general public-at-large could get a lot out of, and I hope to continue that goal throughout 2010 and beyond.  Remember to come back, visit daily, subscribe to the RSS feed!

© Lunarpages Web Hosting - Also, don′t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Original post by Mitch

Want to show off how many followers or members your web site has?  The perfect tool for this job, is the members gadget from the Google Connect service.  It shows a grid of photos for each web site visitor who considers themselves a, “member” of your online service.

So, where do we begin?

If you need help getting started with Google Friend Connect, check out our setup guide.

The first step would be to go to the Google Friend Connect page, and then click on the “Add the members gadget” link.

Setting up your Members Gadget

On the Members page, you can choose how you want your specific gadget to look and feel.  You can setup the size, colors and then grab the HTML code you will need to copy and paste into your web site template or layout.

Remember: Adjust the width and height here so that the gadget fits within your page. Members gadgets can be as narrow as 200 pixels, and have as few as 2 rows of faces.

Once you get it on your web site, your web site visitors can use this new web site tool to count themselves as a follower of your web site.

Make it easy for users to join your site and meet other users.  Add this members gadget to your own Lunarpages web hosting account today, and add a little more interactivity to your own web site.

© Lunarpages Web Hosting - Also, don’t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Original post by Mitch

Want to make Sever Side Includes (SSI) work on .html web pages?

On a web hosting server, the .shtml has to be used when you use Sever Side Includes (SSI) on a server. You can override this behavior in your .htaccess file though.

To configure the server in a way so that on your hosting account .html files can use Server Side Includes, create a .htaccess file (or edit your current one) and add this to it:

AddType text/html .html
AddHandler server-parsed .html 

This will tell the server that it is, "OK" for .html files to use the Server Side Include code that you usually need .shtml files for.

© Lunarpages Web Hosting - Also, don’t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Original post by Mitch

The holidays are fast approaching,  but have no fear because your favorite web host is here to help you with your web hosting woes.  Issue 27 of the Lunarpages customer newsletter is out and ready for reading!  What all do we have in store for you this month?  Here’s a sample of what we are leaving under your tree.

• Lunar News – December 2009
• Give the Gift of Web Hosting
• Xen Power Added to Lunarpages VPS Hosting
• Half Price Flash Template Designs
• 3 Simple Ways to Market Your Business, Project or Web Site
• Add Instant Retweeters to your Web Site Layouts
• Intel Core i7 Dedicated Servers at Lunarpages
• Lunar Picks – How Do You Celebrate the Holidays?
• How to Add a Badge and Earn Some Cash!
• Wiki-tastic Web Hosting Resources

Also, don’t forget that last holiday bonus.  When you order a new hosting plan, from now until Christmas, you can get $50 off your order!  If you have been planning on launching a new web site or getting that delayed idea off the ground, now would be the time to get a hosting plan for it.  Check here for more details on how to claim your Christmas web hosting coupon.

From our families to yours, we all hope you have a very happy holiday season this year, and remember to send your newsletter feedback to us, via the forums, by e-mail or in the comments!

Related Tips and Tricks:

• Save $72 on Business Hosting at Lunarpages
• All the Lunar News That is Fit to Print
• Create Your Own .htaccess with LPCP

© Lunarpages Web Hosting - Also, don’t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Original post by Mitch