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Getting your web site onto the internet

01 December 2008
Posted in D.I.Y. Ecommerce - How to get your business online

Now you have created your site it is time to put it on the Internet. The next part gives a quick overview of FTP which is what we will use to do it. We will look at how to get your FTP details from 1&1 and of course, how to use FTP.

What is FTP

FTP is an acronym that stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is the most commonly used protocol (language with rules) used to swap files around on web servers. As FTP defines the rules and languages it is possible to use any from a wide range of FTP programs to upload your web site. The good news is that Windows already has a reliable(ish) FTP program built in. It is called Windows Explorer.

Getting your FTP details from 1&1

To use FTP you will require the FTP user name and password for your 1&1 account. This is NOT the same as the user name and password you set up your 1&1 account with. Here is how to get it.

Go to the 1&1 home page. Click on customer login near the top right of the page. Type your account number and password in the boxes provided and press Enter. You are now in your account control panel. On the top left there is a list of options. Click on FTP Access.

In the main part of this screen you will see your FTP user name and password. Write it down being careful to make note of upper and lower case capitals.

Configuring the 1&1 system

Next we need to create a folder in your 1&1 web space that will hold your new web site. Click on Webspace Explorer from the list of links on the left hand side. Give the page a few moments to load. Near the top of the box that pops up in the main area of the page there is the picture of a folder with a '+' on it. Click it we are going to create a new folder to separate this site from the main store that we will create later.

You need to choose a name for this folder. Choose something memorable, similar to the domain name you chose for your satellite site, but without the dots '.'. And make it all upper case to distinguish it from the many regular folders that will be created when we set up your store.

For example if my domain was fluffyteddies.co.uk I might choose 'FLUFFYTEDSUK' as my folder name.

Now we need to tell 1&1 that this folder relates to fluffyteddies.co.uk, or whatever your new domain is called, so that when somebody types in www.fluffyteddies.co.uk into their web browser, anywhere in the world, the internet system and 1&1 combined will direct them to this folder which will soon have your web site in it.

Here is how to do it. Click on Domains on the top of the list on the left. On the next page you will see your domain name in a short list. Click on your domain name. On the next page you will see a number of options in drop down lists. Here are the options to select.

Field	Value
Destination	Home Directory
Existing Directory	The folder name you created a moment ago

Click on OK to save your settings.

Uploading your site using FTP

Windows Explorer is integrated into Windows itself. There are many ways to start Explorer. You could simply open a 'my computer' window or open any folder on your computer to initiate Explorer. Here is a quick way to do it.

Hold down the Windows key on your keyboard. (Its the one with the flag in the bottom row of keys). Next tap the e key. Easy. Now do the same again to get a second Explorer window. Arrange the windows side by side similar to how it is pictured below. You might need to resize the windows by clicking the resize button in the top right (and or) dragging their edges to the required size.

In the address bar of the left hand window browse to the folder that contains your web site on your computer. If you are using the exact structure I suggested it will be at My Documents/Web Sites/Some Template. Were 'Some Template' is the name of the template you chose to create your site. So we can later synchronise the names and locations of files and folders with what is on in your 1&1 web space, rename 'Some Template' to the exact same name that you used when you created a folder for your new site on in your 1&1 web space.

You can do this by right clicking on the folder, selecting rename then typing the folder name exactly as you did earlier. As we progress we will create a mirror image of what is in your 1&1 web space onto your PC. This will serve as an initial backup.

In the right hand window address bar, type in:-

ftp://fluffyteddies.co.uk

Replacing fluffyteddies.co.uk with your domain name. You will get a pop up box. Enter your FTP user name and password in the spaces provided and press enter.

The right hand window now will show all the contents of your 1&1 web space. Double click on the folder that you recently created for your web site. Now you are 'inside' the correct folder you can continue.

In case you are wondering it doesn't matter which window is on the left or right it is just good practice to get in the habit of doing one way and sticking to it.

Double click on the folder that contains your web site on your PC (left hand window). Now to transfer the files. Single click on the top file within the folder where your pages are on your PC (in the left hand window). Now hold down the shift key and then use the down arrow cursor key to highlight all of the files and folders. Now single click and hold over those highlighted contents. Now still holding the left mouse button drag all those files and folders across to your web server and let go of the mouse button. Wait while the contents are copied the web server.

That's it. Visit your web site by typing in your domain name into a web browser. Congratulations your business now has a presence on the web.

Now it is time to tell Google about your new web site.