FTP
Maintenance (Uploading Your Files to the Server)
The process by which files are transferred to the web
server is called FTP (File Transfer Protocol). You have
unlimited access via FTP 24 hours a day. As such, you can
create and maintain your web pages on your own computer and
upload files to your web site at your leisure.
Online services which offer an Internet gateway, such as
AOL may have a built-in FTP interface. If you have a normal
Internet account, you will need an FTP program such as
WS-FTP.
NOTE: If you are using FrontPage, you should NEVER
use regular FTP to upload your files. This will damage the
extensions. Stick with one or the other at all times. For
instructions on how to upload with FrontPage click
here.
For instructions for the most popular FTP client software
for both PC and Macintosh users, see the instructions
below.
For PC Users
(WS_FTP)
We have a free, full version copy for you to download if
you need it. Click here to
download.
To obtain a copy of the latest version of WS_FTP please
visit http://www.wsftp.com/
The following information is contained within your account
activation notice and is needed to connect you to your website
via FTP:
USERNAME (ex. yourdomain@yourdomain.com)
PASSWORD
FTP
HOSTNAME (yourdomain.com or IP Address)
Each time you run WS_FTP the Session Profile window will be
displayed. A profile contains the information needed to
connect to your website. Creating a profile now will eliminate
the need for you to configure the software each time you wish
to connect to the web server via FTP. To create a profile,
click the New button and enter a generic profile name at the
top of the Session Profile window, such as "My Website". Next,
enter your Host Name/Address (yourdomain.com), User Name
(yourdomain@yourdomain.com), and Password for your website as
illustrated in Figure 2.1.
Figure 2.1 - Session Profile
Next you need to click OK to continue. This will connect
you to the webserver, where you will connect directly to the
root (home) directory of your account. WS_FTP will display a
split screen where files on the left-hand side are within your
own computer. You will see several folders on the right-hand
side, such as www, which are landmarks suggesting a successful
connection to your website, as illustrated in Figure
2.2.
Figure 2.2 - Sample post-login
screen
You need to double click on www to get to where your
website will be stored. In www, you will find several
directories, although for your website you will only be
concerned with htdocs and cgi-bin (figure 2.3). All of
your html documents will need to be placed in the htdocs
directory (and subdirectories as appropriate) and all of your
cgi scripts placed in the cgi-bin directory.In general, all
files that you upload, other than images such as .gif's and
.jpg's, will be uploaded in Ascii mode. Imagesand programs
such as .exe's will need to be uploaded in Binary mode. If you
upload a file and you can't view it or run it properly, you
may want to try uploading it in the other format and try
again.
Figure 2.3 - Location of html and
cgi-bin
To upload a file, navigate to where you want to upload it
on the remote system by double-clicking on the folder icons
until you are in the folder where you want the file located on
your website, and then double-click the file on the local
system to automatically transfer the file. The same can be
done for folders that you want to move the entire contents of
to your website. Alternatively, if you want to select several
files to upload, hold the CTRL key down and select all the
files you wish to upload and then press the "-->" button
located in between the filelists of the local and remote
systems to start uploading just the selected files.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
NOTE: If you are having trouble uploading your site
please visit our troubleshooting
guide
For Mac Users
(Fetch)
The following information is contained within your account
activation notice and is needed to connect to your web site
via FTP:
USERNAME (ex. yourdomain@yourdomain.com)
PASSWORD
FTP
HOSTNAME (yourdomain.com or IP Address)
The hostname tells your FTP software to connect to the web
server upon which your web site resides.
Each time you run Fetch, the New Connection... window will
be displayed. A profile contains the information needed to
connect to your web site. Creating a profile now will
eliminate the need for you to configure the software each time
you wish to connect to the web server via FTP. To create a new
profile, select New Connection... from the File menu. Next,
enter the Host (yourdomain.com), User ID (yourdomain), and
password for your web site as illustrated in Figure
2.4.
Figure 2.4
Don't worry about the Directory option right now. When you
have your Host, User ID, and Password entered, click on the OK
button.
The next window which will pop up will look virtually the
same as Figure 2.5, except that yourdomain will be in
the popup window.
Figure 2.5
Bookmarking the Connection
You should take the time, now that you have established
your connection, to make it easier for you to get here next
time. Under the Customize menu, select New Shortcut. A window
will pop up called Bookmark Editor, as shown in Figure
2.6. It will already have your name, Host, and User ID
filled in. Under Type, choose File from the popup menu. If you
would like Fetch to remember your password so you won't have
to type it in each time, type in your password in the Password
field. Now, under the same Customize menu, choose Preferences,
and under the General tab, make sure the connection you just
entered is selected as the default shortcut. Next time you
open up Fetch, your shortcut will be opened automatically and
all you'll have to do is click the OK button!
Figure 2.6
How to Transfer Files
Refer again to Figure 2.5. You need to double-click
on www to get to your web directory. This is where all your
files will be downloaded, and/or you will create
subdirectories. The only system directory that you may need to
use is cgi-bin; this directory is reserved for custom scripts.
To make your home page load automatically, name the HTML
document index.htm in lowercase and upload it to the www
directory of your account. To upload a file or files, simply
drag them from your hard drive onto the Fetch window when you
are in the appropriate directory or subdirectory. Be sure to
upload HTML documents and scripts in Text mode and images in
BINARY mode. Or to make life easier, click on the Automatic
button as shown in Figure 2B, and Fetch will decide the
proper format. To transfer a file to a subdirectory,
double-click the appropriate subdirectory to open it before
transferring the desired file(s).
To insure that the Automatic selection works properly, make
sure the selections under the Upload tab in the Preferences
window look the same as Figure 2.7 below.
Figure 2.7
As soon as a file is uploaded to the web server, it is
available for all to see. If, after uploading a file, you are
still unable to see the updated file via Netscape, you need to
hit the Reload button in the Netscape button bar. Remember
that you must first be connected to the Internet through your
local Internet service provider in order to connect to the web
server.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
FrontPage
For instuctions on how to upload with Microsoft FrontPage
click
here.
Troubleshooting
If you are having trouble uploading your site please visit
our troubleshooting
guide | 
