Chapter 85. Uploading Your Site

You have a Web site. You have Web server space. Now all you need to do is upload your site to the server.

GEEKSPEAK

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, the method that computers use to pass data files back and forth on the Internet.

To do this, get yourself a free FTP program. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocolit's the method that computers use to pass data files back and forth on the Internet. An FTP program allows you to connect to your Web host (the remote computer) from your personal machine (the local computer). Once connected, you simply indicate which files you want to move to the server, and the FTP program uploads them. You can also download files from the server to your personal machine. Two of the most popular and absolutely free FTP programs are WS_FTP and CuteFTP, both readily available on the Web. Search for them with your favorite search engine. Then download and install, and you're ready to go.

To connect to your Web server through an FTP program, you need to know a few technical details:

The host address. This is the URL to which you upload. Many times, the host address is the same as your domain name, but not always. Check with your Web host to be sure.
Your user ID. This is the username that your Web host assigned to you.
Your password. This is the password of your hosting account.

Depending on your Web host, you might need to provide some other information, too. When in doubt, contact customer support.

GEEKSPEAK

The structure of a Web site is its hierarchy of folders. A directory is another name for a computer folder.

After you connect for the first time, you must create the remote structure of your sitethe hierarchy of folders where you store your files. The remote structure should match the local structure as closely as possible. For example, if you have five folders in your site's local root folder, you need to create five identical folders on your remote site. Your FTP program has buttons or commands for creating folders or directories, as they're called technically.

TIP

When you upload your site files for the first time, work from the bottommost level up. The first things you upload should be the sub-sub-subcategory files, in other words, and the last thing you upload should be the home page, index.htm.

Once you have created the remote structure, start uploading files. Copy them from their local folders to their corresponding remote folders through your FTP program. Note that uploading files doesn't remove them from your personal computer. Instead, the process creates identical copies on the Web server.

When the files on the remote server match those on the local computer, your site is synchronized. But when you edit your local site, adding new content or modifying existing pages, your site becomes out of sync. Why? Because the local and remote files don't match anymore. When you save your edits to the home page on your personal machine, your computer doesn't automatically update the home page on the Web server. Remember, the remote file is a separate document. To get your site back into sync, log back on to the Web server through your FTP program, and replace the out-of-date remote files with their updated local counterparts.

GEEKSPEAK

A Web site is synchronized when its local files match its remote files. A Web site is out of sync when the local files don't match the remote files.

For the most part, the files on the remote server are for reading only. You usually can't open and edit them on the remote computer. As an alternative, just download the files that you want to edit. (Be sure to download them somewhere other than your local root folder, or you could overwrite the local files of the same name.) Make your changes, and upload the modified files back to the remote machine.

TIP

You should always make a local backup of your Web site's files. But if the unthinkable happens and you lose all your local files, just grab the most recent published versions from the remote server. You'll lose any changes that you made since you last uploaded, but at least you'll be able to recreate a version of your site.