The cloud is not just for programmers anymore. Most cloud providers have simple, intuitive interfaces for managing cloud products and services. As a web designer, understanding how you can use these services can make your work life much better.

云不再只适合程序员。 大多数云提供商都具有简单，直观的界面来管理云产品和服务。 作为一名网页设计师，了解如何使用这些服务可以使您的工作生活更加美好。

Let’s review some of the common misconceptions that prevent web designers from diving into the world of cloud computing:

让我们回顾一些常见的误解，这些误解阻止了Web设计人员进入云计算领域：

神话：云存储仅在需要大规模扩展时才有用。 (Myth: Cloud storage is only useful when you need massive scalability.)

One of the great things about cloud storage is that it can scale forever and ever. But that’s just one of many benefits:

云存储的一大优点是它可以永久扩展。 但这只是众多好处之一：

可靠性 (Reliability)

Sure, your web host says it has nightly backups. But I guarantee they have a way out for when the backup fails. Most cloud storage services provide 3 or 4 levels of redundancy across multiple datacenters in different geographic regions. Most web hosts can’t offer that.

当然，您的网络托管商说它有每晚备份。 但是，我保证当备份失败时，它们有一条出路。 大多数云存储服务跨不同地理区域的多个数据中心提供3或4级冗余。 大多数网络主机无法提供该功能。

性能 (Performance)

Cloud storage improves website performance in two ways:

云存储通过两种方式提高网站性能：

• If you get a spike in traffic, the cloud provider automatically replicates popular resources so it can serve up more requests at the same time.如果流量激增，云提供商将自动复制流行资源，以便它可以同时处理更多请求。
• By moving your images, videos, and other downloads from your web server to cloud storage, your web server now has significantly fewer requests to handle. This means your webserver can handle a much higher load of pageviews before you need to upgrade.通过将图像，视频和其他下载文件从Web服务器移至云存储，Web服务器现在处理的请求大大减少了。 这意味着您的网络服务器可以在需要升级之前处理更高的网页浏览量。

网站可移植性 (Website Portability)

Imagine if every website you ever worked on now stored all images, videos, and other larger files in the cloud. If you need to move your website from one host to another, or upgrade your shared hosting to a dedicated host– migrating is a snap! Most of the websites I work on are about 90%+ media file storage and 10% or less html/style/scripting file storage. Moving, copying, and backing up my work have become dramatically easier and faster since I started storing media in the cloud.

想象一下，如果您曾经工作过的每个网站现在都将所有图像，视频和其他较大的文件存储在云中。 如果您需要将网站从一台主机转移到另一台主机，或将共享主机升级到专用主机，则迁移非常容易！ 我工作的大多数网站大约有90％以上的媒体文件存储和10％或更少的html / style / scripting文件存储。 自从我开始将媒体存储在云中以来，移动，复制和备份工作变得非常容易和快捷。

误解：只能使用API​​调用来访问云存储。 (Myth: Cloud storage can only be accessed using API calls.)

Completely false. Most popular storage services provide a web interface to manage files. And even better, there are tons of free and commercial applications that let you easily manage cloud storage from your desktop. In my experience, these programs are faster and easier to use than FTP or SSH ever was.

完全错误。 大多数流行的存储服务都提供Web界面来管理文件。 甚至更好的是，有大量的免费和商业应用程序，可让您轻松地从桌面管理云存储。 以我的经验，这些程序比FTP或SSH更快，更易于使用。

The program I use to manage cloud storage files is CloudBerry Explorer. It’s nice because it has a free version and it’s really easy to use. CloudBerry Explorer comes in versions that support many of the major cloud storage providers, including Amazon S3, Google Docs, Nirvanix, and Azure. It also supports FTP accounts.

我用来管理云存储文件的程序是CloudBerry Explorer。 很好，因为它有一个免费版本，而且真的很容易使用。 CloudBerry Explorer的版本支持许多主要的云存储提供商，包括Amazon S3，Google Docs，Nirvanix和Azure。 它还支持FTP帐户。

CloudBerry, and other programs like it, works much like FTP software you’re already used to. You can create multiple accounts and drag-and-drop files between any locations. You can set permissions on files; organize them into directories, and much more.

CloudBerry和其他类似程序的工作原理与您已经习惯的FTP软件非常相似。 您可以在任意位置之间创建多个帐户并拖放文件。 您可以设置文件权限； 将它们组织到目录中，等等。

Finding the right tool will be different for each web designer. I recommend checking out the most popular clients (most have a free version or a free trial) and choosing the best fit for your work. The best cloud storage clients include: CloudBerry, S3 Browser, Cross FTP, 3Hub, Panic, Transmit, S3Fox, Bucket Explorer, and Gladient.

对于每个网页设计师来说，找到合适的工具都会有所不同。 我建议您查看最受欢迎的客户(大多数都有免费版本或免费试用版)，并选择最适合您的工作。 最好的云存储客户端包括：CloudBerry，S3浏览器，交叉FTP，3Hub，Panic，Transmit，S3Fox，Bucket Explorer和Gladient。

神话：云存储更昂贵。 (Myth: Cloud storage is more expensive.)

Sure, there are a million web hosts out there offering unlimited storage and bandwidth. But if you’ve ever tried to run a website that actually gets traffic on those hosts– you know that you get what you pay for.

当然，有一百万个提供无限存储和带宽的Web主机。 但是，如果您曾经尝试运行一个实际上在这些主机上获得流量的网站，您就会知道自己所支付的费用。

Cloud storage costs are very competitive, and most popular providers offer a free tier that more than covers the needs for most small websites or startup applications.

云存储成本极具竞争力，并且大多数流行的提供商都提供免费套餐，该套餐不仅仅满足大多数小型网站或启动应用程序的需求。

But most important is the fact that, while you’re paying for what you use (there are no unlimited plans in cloud storage), you’re also paying for much better performance than you’ll get from a budget web host.

但最重要的事实是，尽管您为使用的东西付费(云存储中没有无限的计划)，但您所付出的性能也要比预算虚拟主机更好。

神话：云存储没有专用服务器那么快。 (Myth: Cloud storage isn’t as fast a dedicated server.)

This is partially true, but mostly false. If you have the best dedicate server at the best datacenter connected to the best internet backbone, you’ll get blazing fast performance… at first.

这部分是正确的，但大多数都是错误的。 如果您在连接到最佳Internet骨干网的最佳数据中心拥有最佳的专用服务器，那么一开始您将获得超快的性能。

With no load, your server will be on fire. Everything will flash instantly onto your screen. Compare this to loading images from cloud storage, and you’ll notice a slight difference.

没有负载，您的服务器将着火。 一切都会立即闪烁到您的屏幕上。 将此与从云存储中加载图像进行比较，您会发现略有不同。

But the difference doesn’t matter once your website is launched and traffic starts to grow. Over time, your server will not be able to continue delivering blazing fast speeds. To keep up the speed you’ll have to invest in more servers, clustering, and load balancing, which in turn will diminish performance.

但是，一旦您的网站启动并且流量开始增长，区别就没有关系了。 随着时间的流逝，您的服务器将无法继续提供超快的速度。 为了保持速度，您必须在更多服务器，群集和负载平衡上进行投资，从而降低性能。

If you start out with cloud storage, you’ll get great performance (albeit not the absolutely best performance possible) right from the beginning. But most importantly, that performance will never diminish as your site and traffic grow. And best of all, you’ll never have to worry about managing hardware to keep your site performance up.

如果您开始使用云存储，则从一开始就将获得出色的性能(尽管不是绝对最佳的性能)。 但最重要的是，随着您的网站和流量的增长，这种性能将永远不会降低。 最重要的是，您将不必担心管理硬件来保持站点性能。

使用Amazon S3弄湿你的脚 (Getting your feet wet with Amazon S3)

Here’s your checklist for doing your next project the right way… with cloud storage. I’ve outlined the steps you should take to get started with Amazon S3, but this process is very similar for other popular cloud storage providers:

这是您使用云存储正确执行下一个项目的清单。 我已经概述了开始使用Amazon S3应该采取的步骤，但是对于其他流行的云存储提供商而言，此过程非常相似：

1.创建Amazon AWS账户 (1. Create Amazon AWS Account)

If you don’t have one already, setup an Amazon AWS account: http://aws.amazon.com. It’s free to sign-up and most of their products and services have a generous free tier. You can pretty much play around all you want without incurring costs. You do have to put a credit card on file, but you won’t be charged until you surpass the free tier.

如果您还没有一个，请设置一个Amazon AWS帐户：http：//aws.amazon.com。 它是免费注册的，并且它们的大多数产品和服务都有免费的免费套餐。 您几乎可以随心所欲地游玩而不会产生成本。 您确实需要记录信用卡，但是只有在超过免费套餐后才会向您收费。

2.启用S3服务 (2. Enable S3 Service )

Once you’re signed-in to your AWS management console, go to the S3 tab and enable the service.

登录到AWS管理控制台后，转到S3选项卡并启用该服务。

3.安装并运行CloudBerry Explorer(免费版) (3. Install and Run CloudBerry Explorer (Free Version) )

After you install CloudBerry Explorer, find the “Source” drop down near the top of the program. Select “New Amazon S3 Account”. You’ll need an Access Key and Secret Key to continue (see next step).

安装CloudBerry Explorer之后，在程序顶部附近找到“ Source”下拉列表。 选择“新的Amazon S3帐户”。 您需要访问密钥和秘密密钥才能继续(请参阅下一步)。

4.获取您的访问密钥和秘密密钥 (4. Get Your Access Key and Secret Key)

• In the Amazon AWS management console; click “Account” at the top of your screen.在Amazon AWS管理控制台中; 点击屏幕顶部的“帐户”。
• Find and click on the “Security Credentials” link.查找并单击“安全凭证”链接。
• Scroll to “Access Credentials” and click “Show” under the Secret Access Key.滚动到“访问凭据”，然后单击秘密访问密钥下的“显示”。

5.创建您的第一个存储桶 (5. Create Your First Bucket)

In S3, a “Bucket” is like a domain name. In fact, when you create a bucket, it will get its own unique domain name based on the name you provide. To create a bucket, click the “New Bucket” button under the Source dropdown where you added your account. It will look like a bluish/purple cube. You’ll be prompted to enter a name for your bucket. This name (like a domain name) must be unique among all Amazon S3 buckets for all users.

在S3中，“ Bucket”就像域名。 实际上，创建存储桶时，存储桶将根据您提供的名称获得其自己的唯一域名。 要创建存储桶，请在添加帐户的“来源”下拉菜单下单击“新建存储桶”按钮。 它看起来像是蓝色/紫色的立方体。 系统会提示您输入存储桶的名称。 对于所有用户，此名称(如域名)在所有Amazon S3存储桶中必须唯一。

6.打开权限 (6. Open Up Permissions)

By default your S3 bucket is locked down– only you can access files you add here. For your website, you want anyone to be able to access the files, so we need to make a change:

默认情况下，您的S3存储桶处于锁定状态–只有您可以访问在此处添加的文件。 对于您的网站，您希望任何人都可以访问这些文件，因此我们需要进行更改：

• Right-click on your new bucket.右键点击您的新存储桶。
• Select “ACL Settings”.选择“ ACL设置”。
• Find the row labeled “All Users” and click the checkbox under “Read”.找到标有“所有用户”的行，然后单击“读取”下的复选框。
• Click the checkbox “Apply for all subfolders and files”.单击复选框“适用于所有子文件夹和文件”。
• Save your changes.保存您的更改。

7.上传您的第一个文件 (7. Upload your First File)

First, double-click on your new bucket to open it. Then, using drag-and-drop, you can upload a file right from your computer to your bucket. For easy testing, I recommend uploading an image file.

首先，双击您的新存储桶以将其打开。 然后，通过拖放操作，您可以将文件直接从计算机上传到存储桶。 为了便于测试，我建议上传图像文件。

8.查看文件 (8. View Your File)

Right click on the new file you just uploaded and click on “Web URL”. This will bring up a dialog that shows the web address of your file. Copy and paste this into a browser to test. Wow, that’s a lot of steps!

右键单击刚上传的新文件，然后单击“ Web URL”。 这将弹出一个对话框，显示文件的网址。 将其复制并粘贴到浏览器中进行测试。 哇，这是很多步骤！

Admittedly, at first it seems like a lot of steps to get up and running. But if you think about it, these are all the same steps you’d need to do to setup an FTP account and upload files. And most of these steps you only need to do once:

诚然，起初似乎要启动和运行很多步骤。 但是，如果您考虑一下，这些都是设置FTP帐户和上传文件所需的所有步骤。 而且其中大多数步骤只需要执行一次：

• Sign-up with a service使用服务注册
• Create a unique location创建一个独特的位置
• Configure your client software配置您的客户端软件
• Configure file access permissions配置文件访问权限

Cloud storage is not the right solution for every project, especially if you’re going to have very few images. But for most websites, cloud storage can make it easier to manage the bulk of the media storage for any project.

对于每个项目而言，云存储都不是正确的解决方案，尤其是当您将要拥有很少的映像时。 但是对于大多数网站而言，云存储可以使管理任何项目的大量媒体存储变得更加容易。

You can even use cloud storage with CMS and blogging platforms like WordPress. WordPress has some great plugins that make it easy to store images you upload in Amazon S3. Again, one the best benefits here is portability. If you ever need to move or upgrade your WordPress site, it’s a snap. All the images you ever uploaded will be right where you put them, no matter where you host your website.

您甚至可以在CMS和WordPress等博客平台上使用云存储。 WordPress有一些很棒的插件，可以轻松地将您上传的图像存储在Amazon S3中。 同样，这里最大的好处之一就是可移植性。 如果您需要移动或升级WordPress网站，这很容易。 无论您在何处托管网站，您上传的所有图像都将放在您放置它们的位置。

If you have questions or feedback about using cloud storage in web design, please post your comments below and I’d be happy to discuss! Important Considerations

如果您对在网页设计中使用云存储有任何疑问或反馈，请在下面发表您的评论，我很乐意讨论！ 重要注意事项

Keep these in mind:

请记住以下几点：

客户的AWS账户 (AWS Accounts for your Clients)

If you’re working on client projects, have your client setup their own Amazon AWS account. You’ll be able to manage the files on it using the software of your choice, but billing (once they surpass the free tier) will go straight to your client. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to keep track of traffic and storage (especially traffic) for specific files or folders in your cloud storage. You always know your total bandwidth, but knowing which files or folders are getting traffic takes a lot of work and expertise. There are a few services out there that can help, but in the end it’s just complicated. I recommend having your clients setup their own Amazon AWS account.

如果您正在处理客户端项目，请让客户端设置自己的Amazon AWS帐户。 您可以使用自己选择的软件来管理文件，但是计费(一旦超过免费套餐)将直接交给您的客户。 不幸的是，可能很难跟踪云存储中特定文件或文件夹的流量和存储(尤其是流量)。 您总是知道自己的总带宽，但是知道哪些文件或文件夹正在获得流量需要大量的工作和专业知识。 那里有一些服务可以提供帮助，但最终却很复杂。 我建议您的客户设置自己的Amazon AWS账户。

继续了解云存储 (Continue Learning about Cloud Storage)

Each cloud storage service provides a robust set of features– this article only scratches the surface of what you can do. Some features are way over the top for a regular website, but many features can be useful to web designers even for small, simple projects.

每个云存储服务都提供了一组强大的功能-本文仅介绍您可以做的事情。 对于常规网站，某些功能是最重要的，但是对于小型，简单的项目，许多功能对于Web设计人员也很有用。

Image via MilousSK / Shutterstock

图片来自MilousSK / Shutterstock

翻译自: https://www.sitepoint.com/cloud-storage-for-web-designers/