Web deployment, ftp & .php: the deliberations of a noob

[hojkoff_101]

Ok, firstly I'm pretty new to web design and am really quite enjoying it so far, but I do have a few questions.

If I sit at my desk and develop a number of webpages, such as

index.html
helloworld.html
.......
contactus.html
main.css

and I stick them all in a folder, do I just upload that folder via ftp to a web server and then the world can see see my website?

If I was to buy a domain name, such as http://www.andy4prez.com am I buying space on a web server as well that I can push the folder to or do I have to pay costs for a web server and a domain name?

With regards to .php files and MySQL, where do I actually put the database? Is that also just added to the folder that gets sent to the web server or do you have to make special provisions for a database, or must it be placed in a special location to function correctly?

Are websites ever made up of .html and .php pages or should that really be avoided?

I've been using MAMP to get started and play with .php files. So far I've just been pushing my test .php files through Apache and MySQL locally to experiment but is there any way to open this up to the internet? ie. can I leave MAMP on in my room and access the pages that I have in the relevant folders at another location?

Cheers!

 

[vansmith]

I wouldn't recommend you use MAMP as an external server. As per their philosophy: "MAMP was created primarily as a PHP development environment for Macintosh computer and should therefore not be used as Live Webserver for the Internet. In this case, we recommend that you use Mac OS X server with the provided Apache or a Linux server."