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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, CompuServe,
and Prodigy may have a built-in FTP interface. If you
have a PPP Internet account, you need an FTP program.
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 to follow.
For
PC Users (WS_FTP)
To obtain a copy of the
latest version of 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
PASSWORD
FTP HOSTNAME (ftp.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 (ftp.yourdomain.com), User ID
usually (yourdomain), and Password for your website as
illustrated in Figure 1A.
Figure 1A
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 which are landmarks suggesting a
successful connection to your website, as illustrated
in Figure 1B.
Figure 1B
You will automatically
be dropped into 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. If you access your site (www.yourdomain.com)
and see a page that says, "This site is under
construction and will be available soon" that
means you have not uploaded your "index.htm"
file correctly. On the right-hand side of WS_FTP
delete the index.htm file and upload your version from
the left-hand side. To upload a file or files, simply
highlight the file(s) on the left and click the right
arrow button (->) in the center of the window. Be
sure to upload HTML documents and scripts in ASCII
mode and images in Binary mode. To transfer a file to
a subdirectory, double-click the appropriate
subdirectory to open it before transferring the
desired file(s). To create a new directory, click on
the MkDir button.
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, try hitting the
"Refresh" or "Reload" button. If
that fails, you need to clear both disk and browser
cache. This function can be found by selecting
Options>Network Preferences in Netscape. 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:
-
All passwords,
usernames, and file names are case sensitive.
Example: if you typed FILENAME.GIF in your
HTML document but named your file Filename.gif
it would not work. They must match up in order for
your page to show up properly.
-
Any and all files
you want to be accessed via a web browser must be
placed in your directory.
NOTE:
If you are having trouble uploading your site please
email our support group at support@spiderdomain.com
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:
USERID
PASSWORD
FTP HOSTNAME (ftp.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 (ftp.yourdomain.com), User ID (yourdomain), and
password for your web site as illustrated in Figure
2A.
Figure 2A
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
2B, except that yourdomain will be in the popup
window.
Figure 2B
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
2C. 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 2C
How to Transfer
Files
Refer again to Figure
2B. 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 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 looks the same as Figure 2D below.
Figure 2D
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:
-
All passwords,
usernames, and file names are case sensitive.
Example: if you typed FILENAME.GIF in your
HTML document but named your file Filename.gif
it would not work. They must match up in order for
your page to show up properly.
-
Any and all files
you want to be accessed via a web browser must be
placed in your directory.
FrontPage
For instructions on how to upload with Microsoft FrontPage
click
here.
Troubleshooting
If you are having
trouble uploading your site please contact our support
team.
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