First Webpage - help! - DreamHost Forum

Hullo!
This is my first time making a website, and I'm completely clueless, doing this as I go along. I guess you could say i'm a webdesign virgin. I've made my pages off line in html, saved as txt files, and uploaded them using the dreamhost onle ftp. And I have absolutely no idea what to do next or how to make it visible online. Any help would be fab.
Thanks!
Ginger

1. We should make sure that you've got everything squared away with your domain registration and the adding of that domain into the DreamHost hosting service. If you let us know what you've done in that area, it would be helpful in figuring out if all that got done correctly.
2. Did you name your homepage file index.html?

Another thing you should consider if you don't want to bother with learning html is to use the WordPress one-click install from the control panel. It's an application that let's you create a basic website without knowing anything about html. It's meant for blogging, but you can use it to create a simple website.

[edited a grammatical error]

Free unique IP and $67 off with code LMIP67 or use LM97 for $97 off. Click for other Dreamhost coupons / promo codesEdited by Lensman on 10/27/07 09:47 PM (server time).

aawe, that would of helped alot. oh well, i've got it all html for now. Can I edit in WordPress later?
I think the domain is all set. I bought the name in August, but just now was able to start in on some creation.
Where do I create the index.html file? in my domain name directory or somewhere else?(i'm sorry, I've really never done this before)

Go to wordpress.com and you can see a whole bunch of examples of sites people have built using WordPress. You'll find that the majority are blogs, but you should get an idea of what kind of site functionality you can get out of the box.

Technically speaking, you can convert anything to anything. It will just be a lot of work cutting and pasting the content. If it's something you want to investigate, you can start by creating a subdomain, installing WordPress there, and seeing how you like it.

But back to your original website. Yes, create a file named index.html in your web home. This is the directory named yourdomain.tld that sits in your user home directory.

ok - so i'm guessing that i'll need to do that for all sub pages?
so i've got my txt and graphics in the basic file - do I need to move those in? Or do I copy and paste the code into the index.html file?

In reply to:
ok - so i'm guessing that i'll need to do that for all sub pages?

I dunno what "that" you're referring to here. :)

In reply to:
so i've got my txt and graphics in the basic file - do I need to move those in? Or do I copy and paste the code into the index.html file?

You can either rename your original file to be index.html or you can create a new file index.html and copy everything over.

When you say you have the graphics in the basic file, how do you have the graphics in that file? What are you using to edit your html?

sorry - I'm guessing I'll need to make new files with blah.html for all sub pages? (replace the blah)

hmmm...ok, I think i get it.
Really, its all bare bones basic. I don't have anywebpage software right now, so its all html code. I've been editing offline just by going in and changing stuff. well, the graphics were just uploaded as files. inthe the ftp. There are only a handful of small jpgs and gifs.
(and Thank you so much for your help)

In reply to:
sorry - I'm guessing I'll need to make new files with blah.html for all sub pages? (replace the blah)

Yup, you're right on the money!

In reply to:
hmmm...ok, I think i get it.
Really, its all bare bones basic. I don't have anywebpage software right now, so its all html code. I've been editing offline just by going in and changing stuff. well, the graphics were just uploaded as files. inthe the ftp. There are only a handful of small jpgs and gifs.

That all sounds right to me!

In reply to:
(and Thank you so much for your help)

You're very welcome. We were all new at this at some point in time. Once you get the first few pages up, that's when the fun really starts!

lol - oh, the fun! I'm already thinking i'm in over my head... oh well.

thanks again for the help!

oh! just do clarify, do I leave the graphics in the main folder, or do I put them somewhere else?

First you must read some HTML books, then try using FrontPage. You can find some free HTML templates on the web and modified it on the way you like.
Good luck!

O97 - $97 off
Another hosting I recommend.

In reply to:
First you must read some HTML books, then try using FrontPage.

That is some good advice co-mingled with some patently *bad* advice!

HTML books, or many of the excellent HTML tutorials freely available on the web, are a great thing and the investment of time in that way will make your web publishing experience much easier and more enjoyable.

Using FrontPage will negate most of what you have learned, likely interfere with you learning proper HTML, prevent you from producing standard/valid web pages, and generally make your life as a web publisher miserable.

Micros*ft has even abandoned FrontPage (and FrontPage is a Micros*ft product).

If you really feel the need to use a WYSIWYG HTML creation tool, stick with one that produces something approaching valid code - such as NVU or KompoZer. Both are free - "free as in free beer" and "free as in freedom" - and will produce much better code than FrontPage.

On the other hand, since you have already started writing HTML pages by hand, the time spent with HTML books and tutorials will be time well spent, The knowledge you gain from that experience will enable you to more effectively, and properly, use other tools (WYSIWYG editors, Dreamweaver, dedicated HTML editors, etc.) in a more productive and useful way. wink

--rlparker

In reply to:
lol - oh, the fun! I'm already thinking i'm in over my head... oh well.

Heh, don't worry. I really did mean it in the sense that the hardest part is getting to the point where *something* works. After that, things get much easier because you're just modifying a page that's working already. Just make sure to keep copies of your old pages so you revert back to them if you mess up.

In reply to:
oh! just do clarify, do I leave the graphics in the main folder, or do I put them somewhere else?

To start off with, just leave them in the mail folder. As long as you don't have too many files, it will be fine. (and even if you have a lot of files, the only problem it creates is confusion for you)

That said, many people create separate subdirectories for pictures and other media. I call these people... "organized". :)

Also, for the moment, don't bother with WYSIWYG editors. When you're ready to go beyond what you're doing now, ask some questions here and you'll get a whole bunch of advice - both good and bad, expressing preferences and opinions. I have a lot of opinions about editors too but I'm going to stay silent until you're ready.

In reply to:

To start off with, just leave them in the mail folder.

I am sure lensman meant main folder. I am also sure he meant your main website folder, which is in your user folder.

I prefer the term "directory" instead of folder, but folder does make more sense for mac and MS users.

There are a few mechanical steps to getting your site live.
- Setting up the registration and the hosting (these are two separate things)
- You need to be able to install files (looks like you are doing that with ftp)
- The most basic file needs to be called index.html (a small number of other names work, but lets keep it simple)
- The index.html file needs to be installed in your website folder as described above.

The most basic way to know any of these requirements are not correct is to browse to your site.

If the site is not found, the problem is in registration or hosting setups (or typoed URL or network down... Since you are using ftp to put files in place, this is probably already correct)

If your site is empty (page shows "index of"), the files are not in the correct location. The most common error I see here is putting the files in the user directory, instead of in the website directory, (deep breath) which is in your user directory. If you set up your site in the panel using defaults, the correct directory (folder) has the same name as your domain.

Here is a minimal index.html file useful for testing:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0//EN">
<HTML>
   <HEAD>
      <TITLE>
         Hello
      </TITLE>
   </HEAD>
<BODY>
   <H1>Hello World</H1>
   <P>This works, so now I can make my site better!</P>
</BODY>
</HTML>

And finally, welcome aboard!

Regards,
Rudy

thanks all! I'll definately be back with more questions later.
(and definately no microsoft for me (evil thoughts about my attempt to understand frontpage) - i'm addicted to my mac :) )
I have been thinking about picking up dreamweaver. Do you think its worth it or not?

told you i'd have more questions!

alright, i'm trying to get the index page up, but when I go to open it, I get an error message that says the page isn't found. the address is also a little wonky, reading "http://mydomain.com/mydomain.index.html". do I have the directory in the wrong place?

In reply to:
alright, i'm trying to get the index page up, but when I go to open it, I get an error message that says the page isn't found. the address is also a little wonky, reading "http://mydomain.com/mydomain.index.html". do I have the directory in the wrong place?

So you're typing in "http://mydomain.com/" as the url into Safari and the browser "converts" it into the one you mentioned?

Thanks for the correction oodways! Yes, I was thinking "main" but typed "mail". :(

In reply to:
I have been thinking about picking up dreamweaver. Do you think its worth it or not?

The professional web designers I know swear by dreamweaver, but it's a helluva expensive piece of software. I think of it like Photoshop - the most expensive piece of software I've ever purchased for personal use, if you need the powerful features it provides and will use it all the time, there's no substitute.

What I'd do if I were you is to start a *new* thread in this forum asking for recommendations for an html or website editor. You should also read the Wikipedia article on the types of editors and any other reference article that the super-geniuses here suggest. I do think you should start a new thread, though. Otherwise the posts trying to help you solve your specific problems will get lost in the massive (but fun) argument you will have started!

never mind, it actually comes up! but my header graphic doesn't. I put the gif in my website directory, is that correct? Also, if i want to use a specific font, do i have to upload the font suitcase?

never mind again! I got it figured out! Thank you so much for all your help! (yay! Dreamhost people rock!)

Congratulations. Now the fun really starts!

i am new website desgining and hosting recently i brought new domain with hosting i have my site directory whole set of file
can any 1 please let know how put my files in dreamhost for hosting

First Webpage - help!