How to Upload and Update your Web Site

Module W54c

Contents
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What do I Need to Do to Maintain my Site?

Site Maintenance is...

To maintain your Web site, your primary need is to make sure the right files are there. That involves being able to:
  1. Copy files to the server
  2. List the files in your directories
  3. Delete files you no longer need
In addition, it's often helpful (and necessary for Web professionals) to be able to:
  1. Rename files
  2. Create directories (folders)
  3. List the contents sorted in various ways - alphabetical by name, size order, date order or reverse size or date order.
  4. Copy files from the server back to your own computer

Ways of Getting Access
How you maintain Web files on the server depends on how your computer is connected to the server. In this section, we'll discuss the most common ways to gain access, and - in case you're not sure - how to tell.

These are the most common ways of getting access; we'll discuss each in turn:

Local Area Network
Is your Web server part of your local area network, and is your Web server mapped to a drive on your computer? If so, maintaining your site is very easy - most of the discussion here centers on how to find out!
An easy way to find out: ask your LAN administrator! If for some reason you can't do that, here's what you can do instead:
How to find out on Windows (most versions are similar, if not identical)
  • If you logged in to a server (usually Novell Netware or Windows NT - not your personal Windows login) you're on a local area network. If you're not sure...
  • Look on your desktop for the Network Neighborhood icon. If there is none, chances are you aren't connected to a local area network. But even if there is one, that doesn't necessarily mean you're connected! So you should also check this way:
  • Open Network Neighborhood and look for the names and icons of one or more servers. (Sorry! "Entire Network" doesn't count.) Then...
  • Open the My Computer icon and look for networked drives. Often drives F: through Z: are network drives (that is, they are actually on a server somewhere). But...
  • If you're not logged in, you'll have to do that by using the Start menu's Shut Down command and choosing "Close all programs and log on as a different user?"; then entering your login name and password in the appropriate fields. 
  • Even if you have access to servers, they aren't necessarily Web servers: you'll still have to ask your local area network system administrator whether one is, and if so, what it's drive letter is.
Mac How to find out on Macintosh
  • If you logged in with a password, you are probably on a local area network. If you didn't log in, you may be able to. Here's how:
  • From the Apple menu (upper left corner of your screen) select Chooser.
  • In the Chooser window, double-click the Network icon. On the right-hand side of the window a selection of network servers will appear, if you have a network with servers.
  • If you're not logged in,you'll have to do that by entering your login name and password in the appropriate fields.
  • Even if you have access to servers, they aren't necessarily Web servers: you'll still have to ask your local area network system administrator whether one is, and if so, what it's name is.
  • Once you're logged in to your local area networked Web server, copy your Web page file using your normal copy process - usually, drag-and-drop works fine, or you can simply save your file to the Web server disk. (However, we'll discuss in a different module why this may not necessarily be wise!)
    		•

    Proprietary Software

    Do you use America Online, Compuserve, or another large service provider? These two, and possibly others, have their own proprietary software for access and for Web site maintenance. The main reason for doing this is to make it "easier" for users to maintain the Web sites. This may be at the cost of some functionality, though!

    Use the Help feature or customer support to find out how to use these. 

    Telnet

    Do you need to use telnet to maintain your Web site? First of all:
    What is telnet?
    Telnet is the original method for getting access to a remote computer's command line interface over the Internet. You have to know how to give commands directly to the host computer - usually using the Unix operating system.
    It's relatively rare that you would need to use telnet for Web site maintenance. All the usual maintenance can be done using FTP or the proprietary access sofware.

    It's even more rare that amateurs would be allowed to use telnet. Unless you are a trusted computer professional, many Web server administrators will not allow you telnet access.
     

    File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

    FTP is the most widely-used method for doing Web maintenance activities. If you use most Web services, that's you'll use...so we'll devote the rest of this module to FTP.

    Using File Transfer Protocol

    Character-based

    		 A "character based" interface is one where you give commands mainly by typing, and it gives you feedback by putting words on the screen. 

    The original FTP client program used an exclusively character-based interface, since it was developed before the days when graphical user interfaces (based on windows, icons, mouse, and a pointer) were practical.

    If you need details of starting this version of FTP and transferring files with it, see module NG30c, "How to Get Files Using Internet".

    CAUTION: when using FTP to transfer anything other than text files, put the program in binary mode by typing the binary command before uploading or downloading files. See module NA36c.htm for details.

    Graphical User Interface (GUI)

    Although the character-based versions of FTP are quite efficient for the computer, humans usually find it easier to use a graphical approach. With FTP, this is useful because it lets you point to files and click their names, rather than having to type them out. 
     
    Where to find a GUI FTP Program Several graphical or mouse-and-menu versions of FTP are available. Many of them are freeware or shareware, meaning that you either don't have to pay for them at all, or you can try them and see if you like them before paying a modest registration fee.

    If you'd like to see what's available, go to one of the file archive sites linked in module NA31g, "Getting Files Using a Web Browser". Search one or more sites for "FTP" and most of the hits will be programs you might want to look at. (The module also explains how to download and decompress programs.)
     
    Using WS-FTP

    One of the most popular graphical FTP programs for Windows computers is WS-FTP. The "lite" version is free to students and non-profit organizations, and inexpensive for others; and as shareware, you can download it to try before you buy. The next module, W55h, shows how to get WS-FTP using the WCC local area network (often faster than the Internet) and use it to transfer files to your Web site.

    CAUTION: when transfering anything other than text files, make sure WS-FTP is in binary mode. See module NA36c for details.

     About this document...

    Audience:

    		 This is for people who have created one or more HTML pages and want to make them available on the World Wide Web. You will need be familiar with Computers, the Internet, and the World Wide Web.

    Objectives:

    		 When you successfully complete this lesson, you will be able to...
    1. List the activities necessary and desireable for maintaining a Web site;
    2. Identify the type of connection between your computer and your Web server;
    3. List the methods and software used for Web site maintenance;
    4. Discuss two approaches to using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP);
    5. Identify one or more sources for FTP client software;
    6. Outline the general steps necessary for using a popular GUI-based FTP client.

    Module W54c:

    		 This document is part of a modular instruction series in Computer Information Systems. For more information, see the overview or the list of modules in this series, World Wide Web. This document has been used in the following classes: CIS 260. See also W55h, "Uploading and Updating your Web Site."

    Author:

    		 Laurence J. Krieg

    Institution:
    Department of Computer Information Systems, Washtenaw Community College
    History: Original: 29 Nov 1998
    Last modification:      Monday, 31-Aug-2009 11:48:06 EDT
    Copyright: Copyright © 2002, Laurence J. Krieg, Washtenaw Community College
    Instructors: You may point to this file in your Web-based materials.
    Students: you may make a copy for your personal use.
    All other uses: contact the author, Laurence J. Krieg for permission. Email krieg@ieee.org