An Overview

So now you are ready to upload a site for all to see. It's not all that tough. You should already have your site (or at least part of it) coded and ready to upload. Don't forget to upload the images and external stylesheets and JavaScripts your pages need.

Next you'll need to set up an account with a server. When the account is set up and you've got the info provided by the server concering your URL, FTP uploading address, user name, and password; you will use a FTP client to connect to your server and upload files from your machine.

When the upload is done, you'll disconnect from your server and go to your site's URL to see the newly uploaded pages. Now you've got a web site!

FTP Client

To upload your pages from your machine to your server, you'll need an FTP Client. The link goes to a list of good FTP clients you can download and use for free. Learn how to configure your FTP client here.

Finding A Server

Next you need to find a server. I've got some free web servers listed here. Use search engines to find more and shop around. Make sure to check this stuff before signing up for an account. I strongly recommend that you use a free web server for your first few uploads until you get the swing of things.

Making An Account

Signing up for an account varies from one server to the next. Generally there's a web form to fill out. You may be asked to create a user name and password. When the form is complete, the server will send you an email with all the information you'll need to access and upload to your site. Save this email. Write down the info. It's important so that you can set up your FTP client and view your site online. Get any confusion cleared up quickly.

Some servers need time to activate your account. This is generally a day or less. Give them the time they ask for and then try uploading to your site to see if it's activated. Don't hesitate to write the server with problems or questions.

Your First Upload

With a FTP client and server account, you're ready for your first upload. Configure your account data in your FTP client so you can connect with your server for uploading. This might take some fiddling. Almost all problems with FTP uploading concerns conntecting to your server. Mispelled user names and passwords are a common culprit.

Once connected, make any subfolders your site requires and then use the FTP client to find the pages to upload on your hard drive. Now begin the upload. FTP clients are all different and different methods are used to initiate the upload. Most FTP clients are blessedly simple to use.

When you have finished your upload, disconnect from your server and close your FTP client. Now open your browser and go to your URL -- There it is! Your first web site.

Some Troubleshooting

You may find some problems on your site. A site might look great on your machine, but not show up right on your server. These problems usually fall into two categories - filenames and filepaths.

Make sure all of your filenames are properly spelled in your tags. A <img src="mypic.jpg"> will not open an image named "mypix.jpg" or "mypic1.jpg".

Not all servers support fancy filenames. All modern servers will accept long file names. But, some don't accept spaces or special characters. Some don't accept files with upper-case characters in the name. Others treat upper-case and lower-case characters as the same. Keep all this in mind when first naming your files. The safest bet is all lower-case letters and numbers.

File paths can also get confusing. If you put everythng on your site's root domain, you only have to use filenames in HREFs and image SRCs. This changes if you have to upload images to a specific "image folder". You'll need to change the filepath in your links and images. Remember that the filepath must reflect the file structure on your server. The easiest way to keep up with this is to make an exact copy of your server's file structure on your hard drive.

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