Heres a list of tips and tricks to consult at two a.m. when youre trying to put your site to bed and that d*mn script just wont work.
1. Make a note of the error message, and type it in Google. Leave out your unique paths and file names. Someone else has had the same problem, and some nice person will have posted a solution.
2. If it’s a server error, repeat what caused the error. Go quickly to the error log on your web hosting control panel. Any clues there?
3. Read the README file. Have it open on-screen when you’re setting up the script.
4. Use a text editor like Wordpad or Notepad to edit scripts. Simply put, your editor should not change anything beyond the bare text that you type on screen. Microsoft Word will alter your formatting, with unhappy consequences.
5. Avoid wrapping lines. Check that your editor is not set to do this.
6. Avoid putting characters like ” , ‘ ; in if you don’t know what you’re doing.
The server may read these as programming code. Apostrophes and other non-alphabet characters can be ‘escaped’ out of a script by putting a backward slash in front of...