Uploading Your Site To our Server

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

To upload your files with FTP you will require an FTP client. You can download your own FTP client by clicking on Webmaster Tools in the Website Management section of the WebsiteOS and choosing FTP Applications. Commonly used FTP clients such as CuteFTP or WS_FTP LE are available here.

Here is the information you will require to configure your FTP client, substituting your domain name for "yourname.com":
Host Name / Address: yourname.com
User Name: yourname.com
Password: yourpassword




Using the IP address as the Host Name will ensure that you can upload your website before your domain name’s DNS propagates to our name servers.

***Please note that once DNS propagation is completed, www.yourname.com (substitute yourname.com with your domain), will have to be used as the Host Name.

You can also click on the FTP icon in the top right corner of the WebsiteOS. By selecting the auto-FTP icon on the right side of the taskbar it will start an FTP session for the domain in a new browser window.




Authentication is required using the WebsiteOS password.

***Please note that FTP functionality varies between browsers from full drag and drop capability to downloading only.


Once connected, you will see the following directories:
cgi-bin
logs
private
public

Any files (other than CGI scripts) that are to be viewed by the public should be placed in the "public" directory (or a subdirectory of "public"). CGI scripts must be placed in the "cgi-bin" directory.

Frontpage

If you are using Microsoft FrontPage to design and publish your website, it is essential that you follow these instructions:

Once logged into the WebsiteOS, click on “Site Builders” and then "FrontPage Manager" from the menu on the left. Once the "FrontPage Manager" page is displayed, click the "install" button. You will be prompted to set up a FrontPage password. The FrontPage password is independent of your domain password. It is used exclusively for accessing your FrontPage web with the FrontPage client. Enter and confirm the password, then click the "Submit" button. After reading the warning message concerning FrontPage restrictions, click the "install" button again and the extensions will be installed on your domain.

In FrontPage, from the "File" menu choose the "Publish Web" option. You will be prompted to provide a URL to publish your web to.



Enter your domain (in the form of "yourname.com") as the URL. This will publish your web to your domain and place it in the /public directory.

***To publish your site using FrontPage before your domain name’s DNS propagates please use http://yourname.com.previewyoursite.com as the URL.

After specifying the address to publish to, you have the choice of publishing the entire web, or just the pages that have been changed. If you are publishing for the first time, choose "Publish all pages."
The "Include subwebs" option is for webs that parent multiple webs. If you're not sure if you have subwebs, you probably don't. In this case, leave the box unchecked.
Important notes:
Publish your site using FrontPage's "Publish Web" function. Your publishing address is your domain name (in the form of "yourname.com").

• FrontPage extensions disable regular FTP access along with the following WebsiteOS functions: Ad Manager, Business Card, Plug-in scripts, File Manager, Database Manager and Website Security.
• Once your website is published, use a browser and check to make sure all your changes occurred. If they haven't, try refreshing your browser and clearing the temporary Internet files (cache) before making further changes to your site.
• In Internet Explorer, this is done by going to "Tools," "Internet Options." On the General tab under "Temporary Internet files" click "Delete files."

Homepage Naming Conventions
The first page should be named either "index.htm", "index.html", "index.shtml", "index.phtml", "index. php", “index.wml”,  “index.asp”, “index.cfm” or "index.php3". The server will return the first index file it finds, regardless of any other files you have. Therefore, it is best to keep only one index file in your public directory to avoid confusion. If your package does not include scripting, your page must be named index.htm or index.html. Subsequent pages may be named whatever you wish, but the primary page must be named this way.

If you want your home page to be titled differently from the above names, we recommend that you use the DirectoryIndex command in an .htaccess file. (This is not an option if your package does not include scripting.) Alternatively, you can use a redirection script.

Javascript Redirection script:

<head>
<script language="javascript">
//redirect to default.htm
function goNow() {
location.href="/default.htm"
}
</script>
</head>
<body bgcolor=#FFFFFF text=#000000 onload="goNow()">

Meta tag Redirection script:

<head>
<meta http-equiv="refresh"
content="0;URL=http://www.domain.com/default.htm">
</head>
<body>


Previewing Your Site

To preview content pre-DNS propagation, use the following tool:
http://yourname.com.previewyoursite.com

Links using absolute URLs will not work, because DNS has not propagated. For example, this link will not work:
<a href="http://yourname.com/images/yourimage.gif">    


Relative URLs, however, will work properly. For example, this link will work:
<a href="/images/yourimage.gif">

*** Please note that only hosted accounts, (accounts that point to 216.251.43.98), can be previewed pre-DNS.