Access Remote - Projects
A bit of history...
Access Remote started out as a server building project. The fascination of server-side things started back in 2014 when I was just 16.
The way things work always interests me - of course, just being a teenager at the time, I wasn't very good with code, however I was tech-savvy and knew how to format drives and install Windows.
So, with an Evaluation copy of Windows Server 2008, I explored the capabilities of the operating system and learned all about Active Directory, even going as far as to install Windows Vista over my own home network! It's a bit nerdy sure, but it's pretty cool to see something like this just work.
From here, the Access Remote Project evolved into Web Hosting. I used Microsoft Word to create my very first webpage and purchased my first domain name when I was 19 (you can verify that
here) - that would put us in 2017.
With Microsoft Word however, the site looked... Bad. So, it was time for a re-vamp!
At University, I learned more about website code and how websites themselves function - this moved my website from a Word doc to an actual HTML page which I coded myself. But things still looked... Dated.
While my skills were being developed with web hosting, I decided it was time to use a professional tool - Mobirise - to make the website look more modern and started my journey to becomeing a web host provier.
Web hosting was fun and changed Access Remote from just a side project to a full on business (registered on HMRC in 2021, too!) - We provided many tarrifs and offered professional support to assist where required. The web hosting project also spun up another project, which was successful - that was MoneyTrain.
MoneyTrain is a PHP website which had Stripe API code baked in, so we could actually sell web hosting and see things like reports based on sales, what sold the most and set expiry dates on purchases (useful for web host subscriptions!) - Access Remote was even a CodyChat reseller for some time!
Unfortunately, with taxes being confusing and no accountant assistance, filing taxes wasn't exactly easy to do. We also had an unpleasent interruption to services for some time as well. Not wanting to go through the horrific tax documentation and further interruptions again, the business closed in 2022, as did the project later in 2023.
June 2023 - Februuary 2024 the website was offline and no longer accepting visitors.
However, the site was down and the business was closed, however I decided to reboot the project with a brand new server, brand new network and a lot more skill behind me.
Where is the project at now?
We've brought our website back online and have provided a chat area where visitors can join, say hi and relax. MoneyTrain may continue to be developed some day, however for some of my other unrelated work, feel free to browse and download the past projects below. As I find more projects from my archive, I'll be sure to upload them here.
Remember, stay safe online and you don't have to download anything, but if you do please make sure you have an anti-virus and don't submit sensitive data. My apps don't send any data online anyway, but just be cautious.
Special Thanks
Although Access Remote doesn't currently rely on any of the current services, I'd like to shout out the companies used in the Access Remote Project / business historically.
First up is
Stripe - without these guys, Access Remote could have never experienced what it would be like to become a business.
Next,
Mobirise - The time it took me to learn how to make a decent website was pretty extensive. With Mobirise's templates and click and drag software, it made making a modern looking website easy to build.
Finally,
Boomcoding - This website is awesome and it's where I really got into PHP development thanks to the CodyChat software sold here.
Want to learn how to build your own website?
Start small and don't rush to buy a domain name. There's plenty of tutorials on how to use IIS services on your laptop and even how to run PHP on your own web server locally, all for free with a Windows machine.
With web development, start out by just playing around with what HTML can do. Then maybe expand into CSS to see how you can style your webpage.
Web development can be more than just front end facing pages, you can make your website do things like store data, remember preferences and even make your own databases with PHP and MySQL - again, all free.
Find out how you can code your own webpages with
W3 Schools for free.
Whenever you are ready to put your own project online, you can purchase a domain name from places such as
GoDaddy
Access Remote has no affiliate links and nothing to gain by providing these resources. It's just nice to share knowledge.
