Webspace
Information :
Access
to User Administrator: http://users.fireflyuk.net/user/
To
activate your webspace, please log into the
control panel and request activation, full
details will be emailed to you.
Each individual user has access to their own
administrator page. To login you will
need to supply your webspace username, the
domain, and the password that was given to you
on return of your webspace activation email.
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You
may also wish to use other publishing tools to create
your website, and in that case you will want to use a
FTP client to transfer your web pages onto your web
site. Here is a simple and quick guide to getting your
website up and running in no time!
- Create
Content
- Publish
your content
- Publicise
your site
There
are a variety of ways to create content. The easiest way
is to use a Web content publishing tool such as Macromedia
Dreamweaver, Macromedia
Fireworks or a variety of other free publishing
tools that you can find on the internet. Other tools
that are helpful include graphical editing tools such as
Paintshop Pro and
even more dynamic content generators like Macromedia's
Flash. You may also wish to edit your contents
yourself by using a text editor and learning HTML. Here
are some pointers to learning HTML
Once
you've finished your page/site, you'll need to upload it
to your web server. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows
a person to transfer files between two computers,
generally connected via the Internet. You can either FTP
your files via the command line (i.e. DOS), or you can
find yourself an FTP client which executes all the
commands in a drag-and-drop interface. We would highly
recommend the latter to beginners and experts alike. FTP
clients make the publishing process simple.
FTP
Basics
To FTP, you will need to know the host location (i.e.
users.fireflyuk.net ), as well as your username and
password. All your web site contents are stored in /var/www/html.
Using
an FTP Client
Most FTP clients have the same basic layout,
functionality, and price. Choosing one is simply a
matter of personal preference. Some of the more popular
clients for Windows-based computers include WS_FTP,
CuteFTP, and BulletProof
FTP and for Macintosh computers include Fetch,
and Interarchy.
All clients come with documentation, and it shouldn't
take you long to figure out how to get started. But here
are a few basics:
- There
will be some kind of "Site Manager"
feature which will store all your FTP locations and
their corresponding login information. Once you
enter this info, the client will automatically log
you in.
- There
will be three screens. One representing your local
machine, one representing the remote host, and one
which shows the files that are queued for transfer.
You will need to navigate to the correct folders on
both your local machine and the host machine.
- You
will then highlight the files you wish to upload on
your local machine, and there should be a button at
the top that queues the files for upload. The upload
might execute immediately, or you might have to hit
a "Go" button first.
- That's
it! Your files are uploaded! You should now be able
to go to your URL and view the page.
Search
Engines and Internet Catalogs
Probably the most common way to publicize your site and
generate traffic is to submit it to search engines (i.e.
Google) and internet catalogs (i.e. Yahoo!). Most of
these sites have a form you can fill out to submit your
site. To save yourself some time, you can try a service
that submits your site to multiple search engines and
internet catalogs by filling out just one form. There
are many of these services out there, such as www.submit-it.com.
By adding meta tags to your site, you can increase the
relevancy of your pages in people's searches. Meta tags
will be discussed a bit later.
Reciprocal
Links
If your page has a theme, seek out pages with similar
themes and ask the webmaster to post a link to your
site. In exchange, you promise to add a link to their
site on yours. This is a great way to get the word out
about your site for free.
Newsgroups
Look for newsgroups where you think people who would be
interested in your site might frequent. Post a message
announcing your site and its features. Don't do this too
often as it is sometimes considered Spamming
(unsolicited advertising).
Web
Rings
If there are other pages that are similar to yours,
there might be a web ring out there dedicated to your
kind of site. Do an internet search for "web
ring" and include a keyword related to your site.
If you join a web ring, you will need to add a web ring
graphic and links to your page.
Advertising
If you really want to give your site some exposure, you
can create a banner ad and find a company that will get
your banner put up on numerous pages. The cost generally
depends on the amount of impressions (how many times it
is seen) or click-throughs (how many times it is
actually clicked on).
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