To all who've replied, either on this forum or directly to me. As to the original questions which started this thread, I think we covered most of it.
My tendency towards prolixity, as well as the fact that suggestions or questions (automatically) triggers many more questions (on my part), might have caused this thread to grow so big. Some may even feel that the thread has gotten out of hand, that it has strayed from the original question or that I'm deliberately dragging this all along, just to get my url on all o'these pages. So just to be sure, before anyone does accuse me of blatant advertising, I've changed my signature (for now).
All your feedback is highly appreciated and I hope others have found answers to their own questions or have found ideas, trips & ticks or suggestions, which they'd like to use themselves. After all, this is what a forum is for ('em).
As to compliments I've received, I feel honoured. To some it may seem that I've got all thoruoghly worked out. Let's just say that I'm good at understanding (or drawing) the "bigger picture". Back in the good ol' days (when I still had a job), this is all I had to do. Draw (or design) the bigger picture, the high-level architecture. And then others, who are far better (at that) than me, could fill in the technical specs, write the code or whatever. I guess most or at least some of you have seen guys like me; (sometimes?) arrogant bastards in fancy suits who think they know it all :) While you, the tech-wizzes have to figure out all the difficult stuff (code). Now that I am building my own websight, I do feel my 'bigger picture understanding' to be very valuable, but I'm still not the tech-wiz who can fill in all the tech details an such.
This is where you all come in .... so thankx again to all of you. Your tech trips & ticks are just what I lack myself.