From
Registering A Domain To Getting It Online - continued
After
you have opened an account with a web host and set
the DNS you can start uploading your web pages.
The most common way to do this is to use FTP (File Transfer
Protocol) software but there are also some other options.
FTP
is an Internet Protocol (like HTTP) that allows data
files to be transferred from one computer to another.
Your web host will provide information about how to
connect to your site using FTP. Usually you use FTP
software such as WS_FTP or FileZilla to connect to the
FTP server on your website. Or the FTP function is integrated
in your web site editor, like Dreamweaver, see later.
The address of the FTP server is usually ftp.mywebsite.com
(where mywebsite.com is the domain name).
Your
host will also tell you the location where files should
be uploaded. Your account will probably have two main
folders in the root directory – public_html and
www. Your web pages should be uploaded to the public_html
folder. The www folder is a mirror folder which allows
people to find your site by using either www.mysite.com
or mysite.com.
You
may have to adjust a few settings in your FTP software
to upload files correctly. For example, if you are using
a firewall on your computer you should set the transfer
method to passive. If you are using a proxy you will
have to adjust the proxy settings.
Files
can be sent or received in either binary or ASCII mode.
If they are transferred using the incorrect mode they
may end up with errors on completion of the transfer.
Your FTP software may try to determine which mode to
use by examining the contents of the files, or you may
have to manually specify the transfer mode.
Files
that should be sent in ASCII mode include HTML (and
variants like HTM, SHTML, DHTML, etc.) TXT, CGI, C,
ASP, JS etc. Basically, any file that can be viewed
in a text editor should be transferred in ASCII mode.
Binary mode, on the other hand, is used to transfer
everything else – graphics, compiled programs,
and media files.
Using
the FTP software, make a connection to your web server.
Browse to the folder where you want to upload files
(usually by clicking on the folder icons) and then find
the local files you wish to upload. Whole directories
or individual files may be uploaded.
You
can name most of the pages of your website anything
you like, but there is one essential file in each directory
– index.html or a variant (index.htm, index.shtml
etc). This means that your home page has to use this
name.
The
home page can be viewed by typing
http://mywebsite.com
or
http://mywebsite.com/index.htm.
In
the first case, if there is no file named index.htm
the contents of your root directory will be shown. Without
an index file in each directory, anybody who browses
to that directory can see all the files there. This
presents an enormous security risk as well as exposing
private information to public view.
FTP
is the most common way to upload files to your website
but is by no means the only way. Some web authoring
packages have built in transfer methods to automatically
upload your entire site or individual pages. Microsoft
FrontPage and Dreamweaver are an examples of this type
of transfer method. In order to take advantage of Frontpage
you need to have FrontPage extensions installed on your
website. You can request this feature from your web
host. Other authoring packages like Dreamweaver have
built-in FTP software so that you can build your site
and upload with one familiar interface.
You
can also build sites online. Some web hosts give you
access to browser controlled software that allows you
to lay out web pages. Once you are finished the page
is automatically saved to the proper location on your
server. This type of web builder is usually available
through the control panel of your hosting account. You
find such a facility in the left menu: 'Free website
builder' at Servage
web hosting solution (Webhost opens in
new window) with a lot of available website templates.
If you enter the coupon code CUST14892
when register with the webhost you will get an extra
500 MB of web space.
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