How to upload and maintain your web page

Your Web Site

how to upload and maintain your home page

To upload info to your account you will need to use a program that supports the FTP protocol. There are several FTP clients available free via the Internet (check out http://www.tucows.com for one place to find such programs).

The basic procedure for you to upload your home page is for you to create the HTML files, graphics, etc. on your computer, then FTP them to the server. The only info you will need for your FTP program is your usercode and password. This is the same usercode and password which you use to access the account manager. Once you are connected, you can upload your files. You will want to name your "main" page either "index.html" or "index.htm". (When someone goes to "http://www.yourdomain.com", the server will look for the file "index.html" or "index.htm" in your home directory. If it does not find either of those files, it will simply display a directory listing of your files.)

If you use Win9X/ME/NT/2000, the easiest thing to do may be to simply use Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer to FTP to your site. (Note that this generaly works, but it does tend to have some quirks). To use Explorer try the following:

Pull up an instance of the Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer. In the Address bar edit box type "ftp://username@yourdomain.com/" or "ftp://username@www.twistedbits.net/" . After a short bit a login window should pop up. Enter your username and your password in the appropriate places. After another short bit you should be logged into your account. At this point you should be able to work with your account just like exploring through the local Windows file system with the Window Explorer (note, again, that there are quirks).
For instance, at this point you should be able to select a local file or a directory (in another window, for example), right click on it, select copy. Then you should be able to go to the Explorer window you openned above, right click in the file area, and select paste. This should copy the files to your account on the TwistedBits machine. (You can also use the "drag 'n drop" method.)
One note about copying files in the other direction - from your TwistedBits account back to your local machine - using Explorer. Unfortunately this is one place where Explorer has a quirk. The Copy menu item doesn't work correctly in the reverse direction. Instead you can select a file or directory from your account, right click, and select "Copy File To..." which will allow you select where you want to copy the file to.

Once you have uploaded your web site, if you would like to make a change to any of the pages, simply edit the page on your computer and re-upload the page, over-writing the old one on the server.

Note that in the above examples, you should replace "yourdomain.com" and "username" with your actual domain name and username...

SECURITY NOTICE: We highly recommend that you use SCP, rather than FTP to transfer your files. Click here for more details.

Hopefully this page has given you enough information to be able to upload and maintain your home page. However, if something is not clear or if you have any questions, feel free to e-mail us at support@twistedbits.net.