Starting a website!

Need help on how to upload my pages?

[mikey4m]

Hi there, I hope someone can help. I have just got the internet into my new flat and my isp has given me personal web space to create my very own site! The thing is i dont know where to start and particularly how to get my pages onto the webspace. I am slowly learning html and other pieces but can I do this easily or do I have to buy frontpage or similar software?

Thanks for your help!

[korkus2000]

If you are running windows you can open a dos prompt and type in "ftp" and enter. Then type in "open" yourftpaddress like www.mywebspace.com and enter. Then you will be prompted for your username then password. Then you use put filename to upload to the web space. Get will allow you to get stuff from the space. There are ftp programs out there, but windows does have this ability built in.

[ncsuk]

I think seens this poster seems to be a newbie to the web as such that he will need a better way of doing it.

I would suggest you download a graphical ftp program. You can find free ones that are good to use simply by doing a search on Google. I would recommend Leech FTP which is free to use and download and is quite basic.

You next will need your ftp information from your supplier which is most likely the same details as your e-mail address. The ftp path will be needed also.

There are a few things that you should check before you upload like what format the pages should be etc. I would suggest your start page is a basic index.html file as this will work as default for just about any major server.

If you need anything else just ask.

[Maxformed]

Hi, mikey4m! ncsuk is right - graphical ftp is much easier to use. I do believe though, that most places offering some free webspace have an interface to help you upload your files. They kind of walk you through it.

Good luck,
Max

[mikeH]

WS_FTP is a good free ftp program to upload your site with. Just collect your website info and host login data and it's all pretty straight forward.

[chiyo]

all good advice mikey, but some webspace like this have their own uploading software which is sometimes just a webpage which allows you to find files on your own computer and then transfer it to your webspace. So check their instructions before learning FTP. They may not even allow FTP.

[mikey4m]

Hey! thanks so much for all the help, one thing you may know is if my isp, blueyonder accepts ftp, they suggested frontpage and other ftp software which was not free. Are there any dangers of using this free software?

Thanks again for all your help!

Mikey

[Sinner_G]

If they state they accept FTP than you can use any FTP tool (i.e. LeechFTP, WS_FTP, CuteFTP, whatever).

[dragonlady7]

You probably don't have to buy anything; the free stuff works acceptably well. I'd recommend seeing what you can get for free before you spend any money-- that way you'll know which of the features the expensive software advertises you actually want. You can spend a lot of money on this stuff and still not get what you need, so it's best to try and get some experience first so you know where to lay your money down-- if at all! Some people never bother upgrading to software they have to pay for, because the free tools do everything they want. But that might not be for you-- only you know. Try a couple of programs, including the free trials of the expensive ones, until you find something you really like. (I'm talking about the software you'll need to make the webpages as well as the software to upload them. I presume you'll want an HTML editor as well as an FTP program. But that depends on your needs.)
Good luck and welcome to webmastering. :-)

[MWpro]

For me, I find LeechFTP and Editplus to be a great combination.

[John_Caius]

I just use Internet Explorer - much simpler than any ftp program. Type in ftp://whatever.yourftpdomain.is and you get a username and password prompt. Type this in and you're connected. Then just drag and drop files into and out of the window just as you would with moving files around normally. Create folders as you would normally, to generate subdirectories.

If you don't know the shortcut, the Windows button and E gets you into Windows Explorer file management for your hard drive etc. which works with exactly the same interface.

[Alternative Future]

If you go to the newsagents check out most of the PC magazines they offer free ftp software along with many web authoring tools and editors.
Some, time out, after a trial period of use, others are free for anytime use (these tend to be earlier versions of the software)
Along with the software, you can also get tutorials on basic/advanced web authoring.

HTH,

-gs