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FAQ:
Getting going for the first time
Accessing
the web server
There are a number ways that you might use to publish your
completed work and all use a method called File Transfer Protocol
(FTP).
FTP is
used to transfer files from your local computer to the web
server. To your website on the server you need to know three
things, namely the server name (usually called "host name"),
your username and password.
The host
name is your domain name (i.e. if your domain name is www.webco.co.uk
then this is the name you use to access the Web server). The
username and password were assigned to you when you opened
the account.
If you
are registering a new domain name the process takes about
two days.
Overview
of FTP
FTP software comes complete with most website design packages
(Dreamweaver, GoLive, etc.) and your handbook will provide
a guide on how to manage your site and publish. If you are
using Microsoft Front Page publishing is easy. See our section
on this product.
There
are a number of stand-alone programs for Windows and Macintosh
platforms and you may download them via the following links:
Uppercase
and lowercase letters - important!
Our web servers are based on LINIX operating system which
is case sensitive. For example, index.html is not the same
as INDEX.HTML.To avoid problems always use lowercase letters,
and don't use symbols such as: %, ~, /, [, ], *, etc.
Some FTP
software has an option for automatically changing filenames
- if your client has such an option you should use it (but
be careful, in HTML codes you must also use lowercase letters).
The
index or default page
Every directory on the web server has a default page. This
is a file which is automatically loaded by a web browser.
If the default page does not exist then you will see the contents
of that directory. On our servers, this file must be called
index.html (in lowercase). You must have this default
page in your root directory in order to automatically load
the home page.
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