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Please note
that information contained on this page is for Virtual Host users. If you have purchased a
Virtual Server, you may reference this information, but you will also want to follow this link. Easy Steps For Using Your Hosting Account
The fundamentals necessary to creating a functional Internet presence with your new
We-Host Virtual Hosting account are outlined below.
- Design a Web site
- Upload Content to your account
Use an FTP Client
- Setting up your E-mail Program
Accessing your E-mail Mailbox
- Build Your FTP Site
1. Design a web site
Having a powerful Internet presence is essential for companies that seek to compete in the
future. The first step in creating a powerful Internet presence is designing an equally
powerful Web site. There are basically three ways to create great Web pages:
- Get a Web publisher program and do it yourself
There are numerous Web publisher programs available on the Internet today. Many of the
more popular publishing programs include Netscape
Composer, NetObjects Fusion, Sausage Software HotDog, AOLpress, Adobe PageMill, Allaire HomeSite, GoLive CyberStudio, Galt Technology webMASTER PRO, and Microsoft FrontPage. This is only a small
sample of Web publisher programs. You can find additional programs by typing "HTML
editor" into any good search engine.
- Hire someone with Web know-how
There are numerous consultants, ad agencies, and web design firms who have the technical
know-how to construct a Web site; however, a good Web site is much more than just HTML
code. The consultants you retain should design your Web site from a marketing point of
view, to ensure that the proper message is being communicated to its potential and
existing clients. For this reason, you should be wary about simply turning over its Web
site to someone who has the technical know-how without considering the marketing and
design side of your Web site.
- Learn HTML and build from the ground up
Many people learn HTML and build web content by hand. Though there may be a significant
time investment involved, the power and flexibility you command by manipulating the raw
HTML code cannot be matched (only mimicked) by graphical publishing programs. The best
way to learn HTML (or Hyper Text Mark-up Language - the language used for constructing web
pages) is to look at the "source" of documents you find appealing. The HTML
source code can be viewed using most popular Internet browsers (look under the
"View" menu in Netscape or MSIE), consult your browser documentation for
specific information about viewing HTML source code.
You may also want to refer to other HTML resources such as online guides or books.
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2. Upload Files to your Virtual Hosting Account
Now that your HTML and graphic file design is complete, you are ready to upload the files
to your web account. There are several methods to upload content, some of which are
discussed below.
- Uploading files via an FTP Client
In order to upload your content via FTP, you will first need to choose an FTP client.
Freeware, Shareware, and Commercial FTP clients are available. You can find a good number
of FTP clients by searching Yahoo or c|net download.com for "FTP client". If
you are using the Windows 95/NT operating system, you can use the FTP client that is built
into the TCP/IP stack. The We-Host Support Staff has also found the graphical FTP client, WS_FTP to be very useful. Another one
of our favorite FTP programs is CuteFTP.
If you are using a Macintosh, Fetch
is probably the most popular FTP program available and is quite easy to use.
Since each FTP program is unique, it is impractical to give a step by step description
about how to use each FTP program. However, despite this, there is some common information
required by all FTP programs. This information includes your Host Name, your User ID, and
your Password. The e-mail configuration letter
you received from the We-Host Order Processing department includes this information.
We have included specific instructions about how to use both WS_FTP and Fetch below.
Using WS_FTP (Windows)
- Establish a connection to your Virtual Host by selecting the
"Connect" button. Specify your company name as the "Profile Name",
your domain name (or temporary domain name if your domain name has not yet been
registered) as the "Host Name/Address", your login name as the "User
ID", and your login password as the "Password".
- Once a connection is established, two columns will appear on your screen. The
column on the left displays files on your computer while the column on the right
represents directories and files in your account
- You will want to navigate throughout your web account by choosing items on the
right side (typically) of your screen. This is the directory where you will store your web
content. Remember, your main file, the one that people will view when they first visit
your web site, should be called index.htm or index.html
- Select the appropriate files or directories that you want to transfer from your
computer (the left side) to your web space (the right side) by selecting them with your
mouse. You can select more than one by holding down the shift key.
- Once these files are selected you simply hit the arrow "-->"
pointing toward the right or toward the Virtual Server directory window. Be sure that all
HTML documents and CGI script are transferred in ASCII mode. Graphics should be
transferred in Binary format. The latest versions of WS_FTP provide an "Auto"
toggle button you can select- WS_FTP will then automatically determine which mode to
transfer the file (we recommend you use the "Auto" mode).
Using Fetch (Macintosh)
- Establish a connection to your Virtual Server by selecting the "New
Connection" button under the "File" menu. Specify your domain name (or
temporary domain name if your domain name has not yet been registered) as the
"Host", your login name as the "User ID", and your login password as
the "Password".
- You will want to navigate to the directory to store your web content. Remember,
your main file, the one that people will view when they first visit your web site, should
be called index.htm or index.html
- To upload content to your Virtual server you can either drag files and folders
from your desktop to the Fetch window or select the "Put File..." button and
select files and folders.
- Be sure that all HTML documents and CGI script are transferred in ASCII mode.
Graphics should be transferred in Binary format. Fetch also has a setting,
"Automatic", that you can select- Fetch will then automatically determine which
mode to transfer the file (we recommend you use the "Automatic" mode).
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3. Setting up your E-mail Mailboxes
Some hosting accounts come with POP mail boxes which allows you to have a personalized
"company" email server. That is your email settings may be set to reflect
your_domain.com in the POP3 and SMTP settings of your email program. By default, set
up your email account to forward all mail sent to your domain to the email address that
was used to establish your account. You can, however, request us to change this.
- Using E-mail Addresses
Each Virtual Hosting account is typically configured with a "forward all" email
address. Therefore, any mail sent to your domain automatically forwards to your sign-up
email address. sales@your_domain### administrations@your_domain### etc. Therefore, unless
you would like to have some or all of your email re-rerouted, it is unnecessary for you to
request us to make a change. An example of this function is shown below: webmaster@your_domain.name
to actually delivers to
your@current_isp.address
Accessing your E-mail Mailbox
Any number of e-mail clients can be used to access e-mail stored at an e-mail mailbox,
either on your local ISP's server or on your hosting account. If you are using the
Post Office Protocol (POP) to "pop" mail off of your Virtual Hosting account
mailbox (i.e. download the mail to your local computer) then you should consider Qualcomm Eudora, Netscape Communicator, Pegasus Mail by David Harris, or the Microsoft Internet Explorer. If you are using the
Internet Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) to read mail from your Virtual Server e-mail mailbox then Netscape Communicator or Qualcomm Eudora 4.0+ are good choices. The below information is to be used if you have requested to have a mail
POP box created on your hosting account.
Each mail client, though different, will require essentially the same information, namely:
the mailbox location, your identity, your e-mail address, and the SMTP relay host. Some
sample configuration parameters for several e-mail clients are given below:
Qualcomm Eudora Configuration Settings (POP)
Under the Tools menu, select the Options menu item.
In the "Getting Started" section:
POP account: username@pop.your_domain.name or
POP account: username@pop.temp_domain.name
Real name: your full name
In the "Personal Info" section:
Return address: username@your_domain.name or
Return address: username@temp_domain.name
In the "Hosts" section:
SMTP: smtp.your_domain.name or
SMTP: smtp.temp_domain.name
Pegasus Mail Configuration Settings (POP)
Under the Tools menu, select the Options menu item.
In the "General settings" category:
Personal name: your full name
Reply address: username@your_domain.name or
Reply address: username@temp_domain.name
In the "Network configuration" category:
POP3 host: pop.your_domain.name or
POP3 host: pop.temp_domain.name
User name: username
Password: your mailbox password (optional)
SMTP host: smtp.your_domain.name or
SMTP host: smtp.temp_domain.name
Netscape Navigator 3.x Configuration Settings (POP)
Under the Options menu, select the Mail and News Preferences menu item.
Under the "Servers" tab:
SMTP server: smtp.your_domain.name or
SMTP server: smtp.temp_domain.name
POP3 server: pop.your_domain.name or
POP3 server: pop.temp_domain.name
User name: username
Under the "Identity" tab:
Your name: your full name
Email address: username@your_domain.name or
Email address: username@temp_domain.name
Netscape Navigator 4.x Configuration Settings (POP)
Under the Edit menu, select the Preferences menu item.
Click on the Mail & Groups Category.
Select the "Identity" item:
Your name: your full name
Email address: username@your_domain.name or
Email address: username@temp_domain.name
Select the "Mail Server" item:
Mail server user name: username
Outgoing mail (SMTP) server: smtp.your_domain.name
or
Outgoing mail (SMTP) server: smtp.temp_domain.name
Incoming mail server: pop.your_domain.name or
Incoming mail server: pop.temp_domain.name
Mail server type: POP3
Netscape Navigator 4.x Configuration Settings (IMAP)
Under the Edit menu, select the Preferences menu item.
Click on the Mail & Groups Category.
Select the "Identity" item:
Your name: your full name
Email address: username@your_domain.name or
Email address: username@temp_domain.name
Select the "Mail Server" item:
Mail server user name: username
Outgoing mail (SMTP) server: smtp.your_domain.name
or
Outgoing mail (SMTP) server: smtp.temp_domain.name
Incoming mail server: imap.your_domain.name or
Incoming mail server: imap.temp_domain.name
Mail server type: IMAP
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4. Build Your FTP Site
All Virtual Hosting accounts are also set-up with FTP access, however, username and
passwords are configured by the We-Host Support Staff. This allows you access to your
specific hosting directory using the correct username and password pair.
As always, if you encounter a problem or have a question that you cannot resolve do not
hesitate to contact our We-Host Support Staff. |
