Tips and TricksWebsite Design 101

MobileMe Discontinuing Frequently Asked Questions

I have been receiving many questions regarding what will happen to people when MobileMe has been discontinued. I am starting this list of frequently asked questions in hopes of guiding people in the right direction and giving them a better understanding of what exactly is the cause of effects of MobileMe being discontinued.

Will I still be able to use iWeb?

Yes, you will still be able to use iWeb just like you would with MobileMe. Instead of publishing to MobileMe, you would just publish to an FTP server. Just like you did with MobileMe, you will plug in personal information you receive from your web host that will direct iWeb where to publish the files so that your site displays on the internet. As you may have seen on this site before, we recommend RAGE Web Hosting for all iWeb users.

Will publishing be as easy as clicking the Publish button, like with MobileMe?

Yes, you will still be able to publish your site at the click of a single button. All you will need to do is a one-time setup with your FTP information, just like you did with MobileMe (remember typing in your MobileMe username and password that one time? This will be extremely similar).

Will I still be able to use MobileMe’s gallery feature?

You won’t be able to use MobileMe’s gallery feature on your new web host, however, you will still be able to use iWeb’s gallery feature. This means that you can easily organize your photos in iPhoto and drag and drop them onto an Albums page in iWeb and quickly publish to your new host. You can see this post by RAGE which includes a tutorial on still having Galleries with their hosting.

I have an old version of iWeb. Will I still be able to publish my site to an FTP server?

Yes, you will still be able to publish your site. You will just need to publish the website to a local folder on your hard drive, and then use a program such as iWeb SEO Tool to publish the site to your server. You can learn more about using iWeb SEO Tool at theĀ iWeb SEO Tool Instructions Page.

Can I keep my web.me.com URL?

You will not be able to keep your old MobileMe URL as that belongs to Apple. Instead, you will need to register your own custom domain. This is actually good news for most people since using the web.me.com address is painful to remember and can look unprofessional for a business.

What do I do if I already have a domain name?

If you already have a domain name, you will still need to find a new place to host your site. You will be able to continue using your domain name. All you will need to do is give the domain name a code/address to let it know what server(s) you are now using. Your new web host will provide you with this code/address.

Will my Google rankings be affected by the change?

In most cases, your rankings should not be affected. If you already have your own domain name, all you need to do is transfer your domain over to your new host and make sure you publish your website the same way it was published before. For example, if you have high rankings for a URL that is www.mysite.com/my_site/Welcome.html, make sure that exactly URL works with your new host. The best way to do this is to publish your site and then test your URLs that you find in the search results.

You may also like

6 Comments

  1. I’ve been looking at a new web host and have narrowed it down to three: BlueHost.com, Ragesw.com and Macmate.me. I have used the first one and it is top notch, but not intuitive like MobileMe. I am impressed by Ragesw.com, but MacMate.me adds an iDisk-like service that is interesting. Do you have any experience with MacMate.me? I’ve contacted all three web hosts and MacMate.me seems to be most like MobileMe like as well as faster and more reliable. Any advice?

    1. No web host is really going to provide you with the same features MobileMe offered. Even MacMates iDisk like service doesn’t really intrigue me because it’s not difficult to store files on any service.

      RAGE has been around a long time, very established in the iWeb community. If you were on the fence at all, I would 100% say go with RAGE.

  2. @Mac: I recommend ragesw.com for hosting as well.

    As for an iDisk like feature you are MUCH better off going with dropbox.com. It is by the far the best way to have an iDisk like feature.

    It is much better and MUCH faster than iDisk ever was. You get 2GB for free as well. I think you will like it a lot more than your previous iDisk and anything similar.

  3. why would mobile me discontinuing?i have use i web for long time..its very useful for me in works

  4. it seems there’s a tools in the Rage Web inaccessible

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *