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@NogDogJul 10.2019 — #Just a guess, but I'm suspecting that tilde in the URL directory name is doing funky things on their web server to direct the request to the test directory. Not sure what the work-around would be. :(
Seems like it would be easier if you could just create a sub-domain and have that point to the desired directory? (
@PeterPan_321Jul 10.2019 — #@NogDog#1606140 Anything requiring "mydomain.com" to be visible on the internet requires pointing the registrar servers to bluehost. I'm trying to avoid doing that until I can verify my site works, which is why they give you a special temp URL to test with. Sadly it doesn't seem to work as a website should, as explained above. Remember, the test string just points to your document source directory, and I can access a document (like my index.html above). But for the document to be able to access anything else withing the dir structure, I think that would require proper settings in the .HTACCESS file below my "public_html" level. I'm really supposed to touch that, because I'd think that is setup by their system. Apparently it didn't work, and apparently none of their "tech support" people "work" either. :-(@NogDogJul 10.2019 — #Normally you can edit
Does the image work if you use something like@tracknut#1606146 You know, if I hover my mouse over the "working" image, right click, and "cop[y image location", I get...
http://box5915.temp.domains/~pixyland/Images/a8.jpg
Well, kindof makes sense... that's the image with the "relative" path, which works. But if If I do the same over the broken image, I get...
http://box5915.temp.domains/Images/a8.jpg
So actually, whatever "http://box5915.temp.domains " is, it has NOTHING to do with my "public_html" location in the bluehost server at all.
And would you believe it? Scouting around it seems that such a wild global search and replace is exactly what wordpress people seem to do! They even have a special tool to do it. But I agree... it is a crazy scheme if you ask me. But Bluehost is apparently partnered with WordPress, and the WP people seem to have swallowed it. (BTW, I checked with GO-DADDY hosting, and they told me they DON'T do it that way at all, though "sales" will tell you anything I guess. )
Well if I had a spare "domain", what you're suggesting might actually work. Because with the exception of a few meta tags that require full URLs, I do ALL my references to the "/" root. So most of my REAL site pages could be moved to any domain and still work... **as long as the document root worked**!
I could try what you are suggesting with one of my lesser used domains. But it still means visitors to that site could think I abandoned it if things still don't work. And I think maybe I shouldn't do that. Too bad there aren't "1 day domains" out there you could play with as you're suggesting, for a small fee (hey... business opportunity?)
But don't know, I may be over-reacting, but the fact that Bluehost's tech support has been this poor is making me feel I'd be making a big mistake if I figure out some way around this. Maybe I should just take my money back, and keep my present hosting another year if I can't find a better deal. As fas as an HTACCESS trick, yes... I've pulled off a lot of tricks with HTACCESS files from examples I've seen (though they are still a little mysterious to me). But I don't think I'd know where to begin this time. After all, there is no "box5915" folder anywhere in my "file manager" view at my bluehost account, going all the way back to "HOME1/pixyland" (my initial domain). So if I can't pinpoint the location of "box5915", I have no clue where to even PUT an HTACCESS file.@PeterPan_321Jul 11.2019 — #@NogDog#1606142 Yes, the path you suggested will work, because thqat's the same as what the "relative" path does. If there were a way to redirect all root access "/" to relative access "./", that would do it. But of course that would have to be a single HTACCESS change, and as I mentioned to @tracknut , I' wouldn't know where to PUT that HTACCESS file, since "box5915.temp.domains" is already some kind of simulation.
But search and replace every instance in a whole real website? Well BLUEHOST seems tightly partnered with WORDPRESS, and poking around google leads me to believe the WP people actually do just that! In fact they have some kind of recommended tool for doing it site-wide.
Well call me old fashioned, but I think that is just nuts, unless maybe you had just a two page website! LOL!
Anyway, I may be lowing what seemed like a major savings. But I've cleaned out my uploads and requested a refund. They don't seem to want customers with questions, and their tech support stinks. Just my 2¢, Thanks to both of you for your input. I'll bet one of you could have helped me find a work-around, but I'm going with my gut for now.@NogDogJul 11.2019 — #@PeterPan_321#1606150
Yeah, it's ugly, but actually pretty easy to do with a decent code editor/IDE. You can do one search/replace that will affect every file in the specified directory hierarchy. However, that's assuming you have all the code on your local development machine -- not trying to do it on the remote host. That's why running a LAMP/WAMP stack locally on your PC is a much easier way to develop, then just FTP the project directory up to your web host when ready.@PeterPan_321Jul 11.2019 — #Yep.. agreed. And sadly this is one of those times when my personal "preferred" method of referencing all resources to the root "/" instead of my actual URL would work against me. Let's face it, its easy to do a global project wide search/replace when you're replacing something like "http://mysite.com " with "http://boxXXXX.temp.domains(etc)). heck I can do that with my old HOMESITE editor (which I still like BTW). But when you reference everything to "/", what then? MAYBE I could change every occurrence of "/" that started with a quote symbol, but that sounds like a disaster in the making! ;-)@NogDogJul 11.2019 — #Maybe you could add a @NogDog#1606202
Oh sorry... I missed your suggestion. well it might have worked. But I had to abandon bluehost and take the refund, which is sad because with a little more prep and foreknowledge of what problems to expect, I probably could have averted the above problem with what i decided to do... That is, I registered a new XYZ domain (testsandbox.xyz) which is only like $3/year. So now, whenever I'm testing out a new server I can make that my "main domain". That way, (1) I can quickly point the DNS servers there, move some simple test pages there, and know immediately whether a hosting service's web servers work properly. And since I reference everything the "/" root I should be able to test a great deal of actual pages and scripts there without regard to domain name (2) Since most hosting companies seem to put your main domain in "public_html" and then put your add-on domains in directories of their own, I'll be able to make ALL my important domains be "add ons", so my public_html will be reasonably clean and uncluttered.
Its possible that had I done this prior to taking a trial account at Bluehost, I could have verified whether or not "/" really equates to my document root, using my real sandbox web domain. But still, Bluehost is too wordpress centered for me. If you're not using Bluehost, 9 out of 10 of their tech support people are useless. I'm now considering a2hosting.com and a few others. But since my current hosting acct expires in 3 weeks, I don't know if I can pull off the switch, and get everything moved and tested in time to make a decision to keep it. Just my email configurations alone wil take a lot of effort to set up. I'm probably wimping out, but its been a very busy time. Maybe better to bite the bullet and renew with the current company, then do my research year round, and get a leg up on switching by next year.
HELP!!! Major trouble working/testing with new BLUEHOST account
For a long time now I’ve been wanting to move my domains from hostmonster.com to bluehost.com. Various reasons. So since bluehost offers a 30 day money back guarantee, I bought a 3 year, shared domain hosting package, and with a little help from tech support used their CPANEL to create some add on domains.
So I told them I wanted a way to test websites before moving going to my registrar and moving my DNS. So they gave me a test string, which I don’t mind sharing.
`http://box5915.temp.domains/~pixyland/__(Put back-ticks around it so `“~”
Although it seemed to work at first, I soon realized that all references to the root “/” in any mages, CSS files, JS files, etc, were failing. So I created a very simple test. A folder called “Images” containing one image called “a8.jpg”), and a simple INDEX.HTML file that looked like this…
“`
<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html lang=”en”>
<head>
<title>test page</title>
</head>
<body bgcolor=”PINK” >
<h1> test image…, src=”/Images/a8.jpg”</h1>
<div >
<img src=”/Images/a8.jpg” width =”200″ height=”200″ border=”2″ alt=””>
</div>
<h1> same test image…, src=”./Images/a8.jpg”</h1>
<div >
<img src=”./Images/a8.jpg” width =”200″ height=”200″ border=”2″ alt=””>
</div>
</body>
Well if you look at this file using the test link (see above) what you’ll see is that the top image instance fails to load, while the second instance works. The difference? The top instance references the root “/”, while the lower instance references the relative path “./”.
Unfortunately this means testing any of my real sites will be impossible. that is, unless I want to change dozens of references on hundreds of pages for everything from style sheets to JS files to calls to PHP scripts… everything except maybe some explicit references in my meta tags is done with root references. And the test strings with my “add on domains” tacked on have the same trouble.
I think the worst thing about this is that it has revealed that bluhost tech support is just as bad as hostmonster. It took 6 calls to tech support just to find someone to give me the “boxxxxx.temp.domains” string, and 4 more to tell me they won’t help because its a “code” problem, which they won’t help with. But I believe there’s nothing wrong with my simple test code, and that it is a server configuration problem, which leads me to some questions I WISH tech support would answer for me…
1) What is the point of the “temp” test url if root “/” references don’t point to the domain’s root? Shouldn’t there have been HTACCESS entries way below my “public_html” folder, to ensure that “/” references start at the designated domain folder?
2) it is POSSIBLE that the root “/” will NEVER point to the directory root until I move the DNS servers?, in which case (again) what’s the point of a test access url?
3) If I need to be able to test my REAL site on your server before moving the DNS at my registrar, shouldn’t there be a simple way I can configure a local .HTACESS file so that all references to the “/” root are redirected to reference the relative path “./” instead? Again, whats the point of a test access if this can’t be done?
4) Finally, and perhaps the biggest question, should I bolt and take my money back? if I’m not understanding, shame on BLUEHOST tech support for not explaining my incorrect understanding. On the other hand, if BLUEHOST has obviously done something wrong here, shouldn’t there be way to get tech support to fix it?
Of course I could just take one of my less used domains, move the DNS over, and see if things are better. But I’ll call that a last resort. I have 30 days to decide, and my current existing account at hostmonster doesn’t expire till late august. I’d really like to save hundreds of dollars with BLUEHOST’s lower prices, but what’s the point if I end up having to put in 1000 hours of re-work to make a website work on their system, not to mention downtime of the site until its all done!
Thanks for any help!
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@NogDogJul 10.2019 — #Just a guess, but I'm suspecting that tilde in the URL directory name is doing funky things on their web server to direct the request to the test directory. Not sure what the work-around would be. :(Seems like it would be easier if you could just create a sub-domain and have that point to the desired directory? (
"test.<your_domain>.com"0
@PeterPan_321Jul 10.2019 — #0
@NogDogJul 10.2019 — #Normally you can edit .htaccess.htaccessDoes the image work if you use something like
href="/~pixyland/Images/a8.jpg""/~pixyland"0
@PeterPan_321Jul 10.2019 — #Well, kindof makes sense... that's the image with the "relative" path, which works. But if If I do the same over the broken image, I get...
So actually, whatever "
And would you believe it? Scouting around it seems that such a wild global search and replace is exactly what wordpress people seem to do! They even have a special tool to do it. But I agree... it is a crazy scheme if you ask me. But Bluehost is apparently partnered with WordPress, and the WP people seem to have swallowed it. (BTW, I checked with GO-DADDY hosting, and they told me they DON'T do it that way at all, though "sales" will tell you anything I guess. )
Well if I had a spare "domain", what you're suggesting might actually work. Because with the exception of a few meta tags that require full URLs, I do ALL my references to the "/" root. So most of my REAL site pages could be moved to any domain and still work... **as long as the document root worked**!
I could try what you are suggesting with one of my lesser used domains. But it still means visitors to that site could think I abandoned it if things still don't work. And I think maybe I shouldn't do that. Too bad there aren't "1 day domains" out there you could play with as you're suggesting, for a small fee (hey... business opportunity?)
But don't know, I may be over-reacting, but the fact that Bluehost's tech support has been this poor is making me feel I'd be making a big mistake if I figure out some way around this. Maybe I should just take my money back, and keep my present hosting another year if I can't find a better deal. As fas as an HTACCESS trick, yes... I've pulled off a lot of tricks with HTACCESS files from examples I've seen (though they are still a little mysterious to me). But I don't think I'd know where to begin this time. After all, there is no "box5915" folder anywhere in my "file manager" view at my bluehost account, going all the way back to "HOME1/pixyland" (my initial domain). So if I can't pinpoint the location of "box5915", I have no clue where to even PUT an HTACCESS file.
0
@PeterPan_321Jul 11.2019 — #But search and replace every instance in a whole real website? Well BLUEHOST seems tightly partnered with WORDPRESS, and poking around google leads me to believe the WP people actually do just that! In fact they have some kind of recommended tool for doing it site-wide.
Well call me old fashioned, but I think that is just nuts, unless maybe you had just a two page website! LOL!
Anyway, I may be lowing what seemed like a major savings. But I've cleaned out my uploads and requested a refund. They don't seem to want customers with questions, and their tech support stinks. Just my 2¢, Thanks to both of you for your input. I'll bet one of you could have helped me find a work-around, but I'm going with my gut for now.
0
@NogDogJul 11.2019 — #Yeah, it's ugly, but actually pretty easy to do with a decent code editor/IDE. You can do one search/replace that will affect every file in the specified directory hierarchy. However, that's assuming you have all the code on your local development machine -- not trying to do it on the remote host. That's why running a LAMP/WAMP stack locally on your PC is a much easier way to develop, then just FTP the project directory up to your web host when ready.
0
@PeterPan_321Jul 11.2019 — #Yep.. agreed. And sadly this is one of those times when my personal "preferred" method of referencing all resources to the root "/" instead of my actual URL would work against me. Let's face it, its easy to do a global project wide search/replace when you're replacing something like "0
@NogDogJul 11.2019 — #Maybe you could add a <base href="http://box5915.temp.domains/~pixyland/"><head>0
@PeterPan_321Aug 07.2019 — #Oh sorry... I missed your suggestion. well it might have worked. But I had to abandon bluehost and take the refund, which is sad because with a little more prep and foreknowledge of what problems to expect, I probably could have averted the above problem with what i decided to do... That is, I registered a new XYZ domain (testsandbox.xyz) which is only like $3/year. So now, whenever I'm testing out a new server I can make that my "main domain". That way, (1) I can quickly point the DNS servers there, move some simple test pages there, and know immediately whether a hosting service's web servers work properly. And since I reference everything the "/" root I should be able to test a great deal of actual pages and scripts there without regard to domain name (2) Since most hosting companies seem to put your main domain in "public_html" and then put your add-on domains in directories of their own, I'll be able to make ALL my important domains be "add ons", so my public_html will be reasonably clean and uncluttered.
Its possible that had I done this prior to taking a trial account at Bluehost, I could have verified whether or not "/" really equates to my document root, using my real sandbox web domain. But still, Bluehost is too wordpress centered for me. If you're not using Bluehost, 9 out of 10 of their tech support people are useless. I'm now considering a2hosting.com and a few others. But since my current hosting acct expires in 3 weeks, I don't know if I can pull off the switch, and get everything moved and tested in time to make a decision to keep it. Just my email configurations alone wil take a lot of effort to set up. I'm probably wimping out, but its been a very busy time. Maybe better to bite the bullet and renew with the current company, then do my research year round, and get a leg up on switching by next year.