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Since this is the first issue of the Web
Wise Newsletter, let's start at the beginning:
You're wanting to publish a website and
have the ability to manage things nicely. You got a good domain name, and
have signed up with a webhost. Now what?
Assuming you have bodytext you'd like to
put on your website, how do you get it there? That's what FTP is all
about.
Actually, FTP is only one way of managing
your website, but since it's so common (and so useful) let's start with
that. It's kinda like using a Windows Explorer for your webiste.
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol (you
knew that, right?) Just like you store files on your hard disk, and use
Windows Explorer to examine the various files and folders, FTP is like a
Windows Explorer for your website. It allows you to quickly see what files
and folders are on your site, and gives you the facility to view, edit or
add files and folders. This is not to say it's the best way to do that --
it's just a quick and easy way to do it.
For some files, it's the ONLY way they
can get onto your website. For example, some publishing programs (like
Front Page) get confused when working with PHP pages. Thus, you have to
move such pages to your site using an FTP program (or Fetch, if you're
living in the Apple Mac world.).
Just like Windows Explorer is the
main program for organizing and maintaining your hard disk, it's not the only
program that can do that. There's quite a few "disk organizers"
available, but Windows Explorer is the most well-know. Similarly, there's
lots of FTP programs available for you to use, but I suspect that WS_FTP
(by Ipswitch Software) is practically the standard in the FTP world. You
can download
a copy here.
I've found that WS_FTP (Light Version)
does everything I need to do, and so I'll make my comments based upon that
program. After installing FTP, you need to tell it the name and web
address of your site. You do this by filling in "Host
Name/Address" with www.yourdomain.com. Then the "User ID"
and "Password" must be the same ones you use to publish your
website (which would have been sent to you, when you signed up with your
webhost.)
It's a good idea to know what the name of
the root folder is, on your website. You use the StartUp tab to get to the
place where you fill in that information, which can be gotten from your
web host. It's usually listed on the documentation you get when you sign
up with your webhost, but if you don't have it, and you want to guess, try
"/www" or "/web." Or you may not need it at all. The
root folder may be displayed as soon as you "FTP" to your site
for the first time.
In the root folder will be a list of the
webpages that you have previously published. It will also contain a list
of the folders in your website. And there will also be some you may not
recognize. Usually, there's a CGI-BIN folder where CGI scripts can be
kept. There may be a WEBSTATS folder and others. Or you may not see these
folders at all, and be wondering where they are.
Click on the green up-arrow at the top of
the list, in that case. That "moves up a level" as in Windows
Explorer. At that point, you should see all the folders that your web host
provides for you, among them CGI-BIN, WEBSTATS, and etc.
The FTP program is fairly simple to
operate. Once you've arrived where you view a list of the pages on your
site, see the buttons on the right of the FTP window? If you select a file
in the list (in the right-side window), and then click the View button,
you'll see a Notepad text display of the bodytexts of that file.
(Don't bother trying to change anything
here -- it's a read-only file -- all changes will be ignored. If there's
no Edit button, you can right-click on a filename and choose the
Edit option. Then, you can make changes and they'll be saved. I would do
this sparingly and only if you know exactly what you're doing.)
| ChgDir | Change Directory | You can type the name of a directory folder to go to. |
| MkDir | Make Directory | Make a new folder on your website |
| View | View File | Displays the bodytexts of the file in Windows Notepad |
| Exec | Execute File | I don't know what this does - and I don't want to |
| Rename | Rename a File | |
| Delete | Delete a File | |
| DirInfo | Directory List | Display a list of all the files in the current folder, with their permissions |
It is possible (and some people have done
it) to publish entire websites using only FTP. That would require an
intimate knowledge of HTML, and the use of absolute links (such as ones
that look like http://www.webwisesage.com)
instead of relative links you use in a program like Front Page (for
example, index.htm)
Daily, I check my email. Daily, I use
FTP, also. If you have setup a form on your webpage, you've got two ways
to retrieve the info a user types in. You can have the form emailed to
you, or you can have the info saved to your website -- which means you
have to use FTP to look at the info.
What are the advantages (and
disadvantages) of sending form results as email? I used to think it was
the best way to get results. Well, I learned! It's not necessarily so! If
you use a program (like Front Page) to setup your form, and you select the
"Send Email" option, you're depending upon your web host
to have all the email functions installed properly so that it works for
you.
Well, guess what? Sometimes email breaks
down. Or things just aren't working properly. And even if it is installed
properly, there may come a day (it's happened to me) where your web host
changes things on you, without your knowing about it. Suddenly, no more
email. Or you users get a nice big "SERVER ERROR 500" screen
when using your form.
Whooops.
One way around this little problem is to
use the contact
form that I provide for free. However, it can sometimes be better to
use FTP to get your results.
I've got a subscriber sign-up form on my Awakening
Path website. It asks for Email Address and First Name (I like to
personalize my newsletter.) If each subscription request was emailed to
you, you'd end up copy-pasting both the email address and the FirstName
into your subscriber database. If you get 30 to 50 signups at a time,
that's a lot of (unnecessary) work. There's a better way.
When setting up the form in your webpage,
you can have the subscriber sign-ups saved as a text file on your
website. Then, you can use FTP to grab it from your website, and
import the text comma-delimited file into your hard drive (quick and
easy!)
WS
FTP
Copyright © 2004-2005 Web Wise News
by Vidya Ishaya
(also known as Burton Smith)
Ashland, OR
