Step 5: Web
Publishing
Showing your website
files on the web
Make your
Business Visible.
Web publishing -
Uploading your content to make it
visible to all on the internet
you will
need:
- the files created,
(including your index file)
- username and password
for the web hosting account
Then there are
several methods for web
publishing the files on your web
space:
- Use the
administration tools
provided by your web hosting
service
- Use a dedicated web
publishing file transfer
software
- Use the web publishing
tools that are part of your web
authoring tool (most of them have
this feature integrated)
- Use your
browser (Internet Explorer for
example)
1. Using the web
publishing facilities in your host's
Administration Tool:
The instructions included in
these modules are usually self explanatory and
easy to follow. Depending on the capabilities
of your hosting services tools there may some
limitations on what these web publishing
tools can do.
For example, you may
have to duplicate the folder structure
identical to the way you have saved the files
on your computer. This is because some of these
systems do not allow to upload folders, but
only files.
2. Web publishing
using a dedicated file transfer
software:
There are many file transfer
software systems available. Some are free of
charge, some have a 30 day trial period others
cost some money. What it means is, that when
using this type of software, there is a bit of
a learning curve. You will need to learn some
intricacies of the system and how to set up
your uploads, passwords and hosting details
within these systems.
But once it is set up, it is
really simple to manage the files that you have
published.
3. Using the included
tools of your web authoring
software.
The setup within these
systems is similar to the ones in dedicated
software packages, but has an advantage that
the file integrity is generally better
maintained. This means that the file is placed
into the right folder and the links you have
created within your site are pointing to the
correct files and folders
automatically.
4. Web publishing
using your web browser:
This is probably
the most basic way to access your web
space, because everyone is already familiar
with the browser. It may however be, that your
host does not allow direct access to your
webspace.
But it does not hurt to
try:
For web publishing using
your browser, instead of
typing
"www.forexampleyourwebsite.com",
you type
"ftp.forexampleyourwebsite.com"
into the address
bar of your browser. Usually some
type of error message appears at this
point, letting you know that you can
not anonymously access
this folder or something similar. You
aknowledge this message and
then go to the browsers "File"
Menu and select "Login
As...", which will bring up a dialog
box asking for your username and
password. You enter these as provided
by your web hosting company and hit
OK.
If access is granted, you
will now be at the right spot where you want to
place the files you have created
earlier.
Find the
files on your computer, copy
them as well as all the underlaying
folders and paste them into
the window you have reached via the ftp
command. That's
all.
What ever method you
use, when web publishing, it is most important
you maintain the file structure of the site
exactly the same way you have generated them
on your computer, otherwise the links or
images etc. will not work
propperly.
Now you can go and visit your
website from the internet.
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