Need Advice: Creating a Digital Download Store

[trailblaza]

hello all,

this is my first post. so thru forum searches, all of my questions have been able to be answered...

but now i do have a few questions of my own that i wasn't able to find definitive answers to... but let me explain what i'm looking to do first

i'm working on creating a digital download store for sermons... i will have different ministries sell their sermons as MP3 downloads (which will roughly be 25-50mb per file). because i already have a strong base of churches to work with, i have a feeling that this site is going to grow rather quickly, primarily from a standpoint of file storage space

now, i'm currently with Dreamhost who offers LOTS of space, but thru my test store and reading the forum, i've come to find out that dreamhost is not going to be acceptable for running the store, so with that my first question is this...

#1 what is a good host that runs Zen Cart well and offers plenty of storage space? (PM me if necessary to answer this question)

#2 since i know my storage space will be limited with whoever i go with, is there a way to bridge hosting accounts so that i can host the MP3s on multiple accounts/servers when the time comes that i run out of space on the primary account? basically, once the one server space is full, i'd like to either specify a different download location in the attribute or have it automatically look at the "next" storage space to retrieve the file (as if it were just one huge download folder)

those are my 2 questions for now... but #2 is going to be the biggest concern for me because i know that MP3 files (even if they're zipped) can eat up storage space rather quickly... and i want to already have a solution available to me so that my store's growth doesn't halt because i wasn't prepared for this to happen

thank you for your help and support. zen cart is a great product. i'm glad i found it

lj.

[Ajeh]

Look at the Zen Cart Certified hosting sites in the menu at the top of your screen ...

Next, email or pick up the phone and contact these folks and see who can best manage this type of site ...

You have to have a hosting site designed for this kind of site or you will get shut down for abusing something in a hosting site's fine print or be shut down every week for exceeding limits ... or find things croak off on that 50mb download ... etc. etc. etc.

Plan ahead ... your site is gonna be a pig ...

Make sure you have a good hosting site that "wants" to deal with the high end maintenance of such a site or if they would guide you toward the "best" solution for your needs ...

[misty]

is there a way to bridge hosting accounts so that i can host the MP3s on multiple accounts/servers when the time comes that i run out of space on the primary account? basically, once the one server space is full, i'd like to either specify a different download location in the attribute or have it automatically look at the "next" storage space to retrieve the file (as if it were just one huge download folder)

Ajeh will correct me if am mistaken but currently am sure zencart zip files can only be downloaded from zencart download folder, no outside link to folder on a different server is possible.
Moving zencart to larger server at some future date is big undertaking, so strongly suggest you take Ajeh's advice, and start with certified host, who has options to expand your hosting plan, big time, if required.
HTH

[trailblaza]

yeah, i'm definitely taking a look at one of the certified hosts

i may stick with dreamhost for now unless i run into a major catastrophe... the page loads pretty slow when i first go to the homepage, but it tends to speed up as i continue to browse through the site

and i was afraid that #2 wasn't going to be possible i may have to figure out some way around that... this hasn't been an option in ANY of the software packages i've looked at... and as of right now Zen Cart is the best option for me

if anyone needs a link to my dummy site, the link is...

http://www.word247.com/store/

thanks for your help!

lj.

[Ajeh]

I can already tell you ... start looking ... fast ...

First file at 2+ meg or so and you broke ...

Next file at 50+ meg and you really majorly broke ...

10-20 people come in and start downloading those files and you will most likely start having real issues with the hosting site saying no way jose ... or just shutting you down ...

You are not making a plain HTML domain ...

You are not making a typical buy my products domain ...

You are making a *huge* resource hog that hosting sites:

do *not* like ...

do *not* want to deal with ...

are *not* able to deal with ...

will *not* tolerate ...

and about a dozen other *not* a good thang kind of site ...

You need a hosting site that will work with you and advise you how to *save* money, work within *their* rules and fit the needs of *your* site ...

[trailblaza]

thanks. i will start giving some companies a call tonight. thanks for your assitance

lj.

[trailblaza]

even if i can't switch just yet, i hope DH will cooperate with me...

i've helped a friend setup a MP3 download store with 1-2-3 music store on Dreamhost and they haven't had any issues just yet... and they get quite a bit of traffic... www.3hmp3.com

lj.

[shaddai]

It's just a thought, but there may very well be some way to only keep a link or a shortcut in the download folder & then store your the actual files on Amazon S3 or something.

Like I said...food for thought.

Todd

[novelist999]

I know this is an old post, but I'd like to know what the issues are with Dreamhost, as they're my hosting company.

I've been with them for many years and have never had a problem with them. I have a busy graphics site at butterflywebgraphics.com, and I offer 25-30 MB zip files, which members download with no problem.

I'm in the process of putting up a zen cart on one of my other domains, also hosted by dreamhost, offering free graphic downloads--typically about 10 MB. Hearing that Dreamhost is not a good host for Zen Cart is alarming.

Thanks,
Bobette Bryan

[Debra_in_MO]

It's just a thought, but there may very well be some way to only keep a link or a shortcut in the download folder & then store your the actual files on Amazon S3 or something.

Like I said...food for thought.

Todd

Can someone reply with whether or not this is a possibility. I'm looking at Amazon S3 and would like to point the customer to the files at Amazon rather than the downloads folder. Any ideas? Can I just change the configure file? Or is that too simple-minded of me?