This knowledge base article is to help you get started with your new Lucee ColdFusion (CFML) web hosting account. It will save substantial time in getting up-and-running quickly.
Getting Started:
First, you are going to need a domain name that is pointed to your new web hosting account. This is the ONLY way to properly instantiate your new account. If your main domain is pointed to the nameservers specified in your welcome email, or you have already pointed the apex domain to the IP address in your control panel, then you can proceed to the next step. However, if you are unable to point the domain to the new space, you will need to update the host file on your computer to get started. Since using your host file in the long term for staging your new website is problematic we do suggest that you set up a subdomain as well. e.g. test.your-domain.com (can be whatever you like).
Update your HOST file:
https://www.ephost.com/account/index.php/knowledgebase/232/How-to-edit-your-Host-file.html
Add a Subdomain:
https://www.ephost.com/account/index.php/knowledgebase/390/Adding-Sub-Domains.html#windows
Once you have your domain pointed to the new hosting plan, either by updating your host file or by pointing the live domain to your web hosting space, you can then enable ColdFusion. You can enable ColdFusion by attempting to access a ColdFusion page. Create a test.cfm page in the HTTPDOCS folder using the File Manager in the control panel and add the following code. Then all you need to do it run that code from the front-end. http://www.your-domain.com/test.cfm
<cfoutput>#now()#</cfoutput>
Second, to setup the Lucee Administrator please visit the website using the domain name the first time. This is the only way to enable CFML and create the appropriate Lucee Administrator. There is a Lucee Administrator for each domain or subdomain. You will use the administrator to enable Data Source Names (DSNs) to connect to your Microsoft SQL or MySQL database.
Click the following links only AFTER you have pointed your website to the new web hosting space, or you have updated your host file as described above. Update each link using the correct domain or sub domain.
http://www.your-domain.com/lucee/admin/web.cfm
http://test.your-domain.com/lucee/admin/web.cfm
Third, it is also important that once you access the Lucee Administrator and update the password from the default password to the main one as indicated in your welcome email for each Lucee Administrator. You will find this in the bottom left hand corner of the Lucee Administrator. We highly suggest you keep the password we have assigned to you so that our technical support representatives can assist you on an ongoing basis.
Development & Going Live
If you have followed this setup, you can then begin developing your application. If you are unable to point your apex domain to the web hosting account there are some extra steps during the development or migration process. Namely, editing your host file in the short term to do a migration or to enable the Lucee Administrator is fine, long term development will be problematic using this method. This is why we advise you to set up a subdomain during development and then do a go-live process.
We highly suggest enabling the free SSL certificate on the domain and/or subdomain. It is not possible to get a free SSL certificate until the domain or subdomain name points to the web hosting account. You can do this in the SSL Certificates area of the control Panel. We suggest you do this not only to be secure but to avoid the inevitable issues you will have when taking the website live.
If you have created data source names or setup mail servers in the Lucee Administrator for a subdomain then you will need to copy those to the main domain before going live since each website has it's own Lucee Administrator. This may mean that you will need to copy your files from the subdomain folder to the main domain folder (HTTPDOCS) when it is time to go live.
Additional ColdFusion Topics:
Here are some other topics that may help on your Lucee ColdFusion journey:
To enable robust debugging error message when working with your CFML scripts, please see the following knowledgebase article.
Also, see the following to enable CFML robust debugging messages manually:
How to add a subdomain to a Windows hosting plan.
https://www.ephost.com/account/index.php/knowledgebase/390/Adding-Sub-Domains.html#windows
How to send email using Lucee ColdFusion.
How to fix missing/broken CSS in Lucee Administrator.
How to Clear the DNS Resolver Cache in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Opera.
