Uploading your web pages in Windows XP

First open My Network Places by clicking on Start and then it's icon.



Now, you should see the My Network Places window. Click on 'Add a network place', like in the screenshot below.


Click to enlarge screenshot

You will see a welcome screen like in the next screenshot. Click 'Next' the continue.

Click on 'Choose another network location.' Click 'Next'

Type in 'ftp://yourdomain.com/ (replacing yourdomain.com with your web site's domain name). Click 'Next'.

Now, uncheck the checkbox labelled 'Log on anonymously' and type in 'yourdomain.com' (replacing yourdomain.com with your web site's domain name). Click 'Next'.

You can now simply click 'Next' to accept the default name for this network place (or you can change the name first, if you are so inclined).

OK, we are almost done! First, uncheck the checkbox labelled 'Open this network place when I click Finish' then you can click 'Finish'.

Because Windows XP's implementation of FTP doesn't support passive transfers by default (which are required), you will have to enable them. Click 'Start', then 'Control Panel'. Click the link to the left which says 'Switch to Classic View' if you aren't in Classic View already. Now, double-click the 'Internet Options' icon. Switch to the 'Advanced' tab, and check 'Use Passive FTP (for firewall and DSL modem compatibility'. Now click 'OK'.

You can now access your web space by clicking 'Start', 'My Network Places'. You will now have a window similart to the screenshot below. Double-click on the folder labelled with the name of your website.


Click to enlarge screenshot

The first time you connect to your web space, you will have to provide your username and password. Your username will be the same as your domain name; if you don't remember your password, you can contact our office at 389-1303. Be sure to check 'Save Password' if you don't want to type in your password every time.

That should be all! You can now drag and drop files to and from your web space like any normal folder.

Some pitfalls to avoid

  • Try to keep your file names lower-case. Our web server's operating system has case-sensitive file names (Windows/DOS and most others do not). If you reference a web page or graphic in your HTML, you must pay attention to its case, so it's easiest to make sure everything is lower-case.
  • Don't put spaces in your filenames. It's easy to do this with Windows and Macs, but it often causes unforseen problems.
  • Choose a supported name for your index page. The "index page" is the page that is automatically served to the browser when no file is specifically requested, i.e. when someone requests http://www.yourdomain.com/ then your index page will be sent. The supported names are listed below along with their priority--meaning you can have two or more files with the names listed below but the web server must pick which to serve ahead of the others. It's a good idea to not use an index page name except for your actual index page.

    1. index.html
    2. index.shtml
    3. index.php

    You can also use an index page for any subdirectories you have within your web space.

  • Stay within your disk quota. Every account has a disk quota determined by the type of account you have. If you exceed your disk quota, you will have seven days of grace period to remove enough files to get back below it. After the seven days are up, you will no longer be able to upload any more files. The error you will see is "Quota Exceeded." In addition, there is a hard quota that is set above the stated limits for your account that can never be exceeded (meaning, there is no grace period for exceeding the hard quota). To arrange for a larger quota, please call us at 389-1303.