- Do you have FTP software available for download?
- How do I transfer files to the web server?
- What FTP host name do I use to access my web site(s)?
- What should I do if denied access via FTP or to "stats"?
- What should I do if denied access to my web site using a browser?
- How do I get my home page to load automatically?
- How do I update web pages?
- What is the function of the "cgi-bin" directory?
- How do I create sub-directories within my website?
- When will my domain be active? (propagation)
- How do I register with search engines?
- How do I update my web site's listing on the search engines?
Do you have FTP software available for download?
Yes, we recommend using an excellent shareware program called WS_FTP. You can download this program for free directly from their website.
- http://www.ipswitch.com/downloads/index.html#WS_FTP
For the Mac, there is a utility called "Fetch" that is very popular.
- http://www.dovergroup.net/faq/fetch_2_1_2_sit.hqx
What FTP host name do I use to access my web site(s)?
To update your web pages, FTP into yourdomain.com using your the USERID and PASSWORD provided on your account activation notice (you should have received this via email within 2 days of placing your order. If you haven't please email us). Prior to domain registration (or transfer) you will need to use the IP address as the FTP hostname. (i.e. 209.xxx.xxx.xxx vs. yourdomain.com) The IP address associated with your domain is also included in the activation notice. If you create any links using the IP address, we suggest that you modify the HTML to reflect your domain name once active world wide. Using relative paths rather than absolute paths when linking web pages will eliminate the need to modify your links.
What should I do if denied access via FTP or to "stats"?
1. If you can access your account Control Panel, but cannot access your account via FTP, the FTP configurations may be incorrect. Be sure to read the FTP tutorial.
2. If you are denied access to either or both AFTER entering your userid and password, you may be using the wrong password. Check the activation notice sent to you via email when the account was first set up. If you changed your password and it doesn't seem to be working, contact support@broadspire.com to reset your password.
3. If you can connect via FTP, but not open your Control Panel, carefully read the Control Panel access instructions included with the activation email.
What should I do if denied access to my web site using a browser?
If you receive the message "There is no DNS entry for http://www.yourdomain.com", there are several possible explanations:
1) Try to reach the site using the IP address. If you are successful, the domain name is either not active or not yet propagated.
For a NEW domain, it may take up to 48 hours for the name to be propagated to DNSs (Domain Name Servers) throughout the Internet. (Foreign domains and transfers take longer).
If it is an older domain that has previously been reachable, the name may be on hold with Netsol. Contact Netsol directly to determine the reason the name is on hold.
You can check the status of your domain name by doing a "whois" at: http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois
2) If you can reach the site with the IP address and you know it has been more than 72 hours since the name was released by Netsol (or domain registrar):
- Clear your browser cache and try again.If you are using Netscape Navigator, first select Options | Network Preferences, then choose the Cache tab. Click on the buttons "Clear Memory Cache Now" and "Clear Disk Cache Now" and OK, then click Reload.For Internet Explorer Select View | Options, then the Navigation tab and click "Clear History" and OK, then click Refresh.Note: Netscape may require manually clearing the cache. With Windows Explorer find the Netscape folder (e.g. C:Program FilesNetscapeNavigatorCache - then highlight and delete the files in the Cache folder - then click on Reload)
- If you know that others are able to reach the site with the domain name but you can't (even after clearing the Cache), contact your local ISP. They may not have updated their DNS records.
- If you are still unable to reach it after all of these steps, email support@broadspire.com for assistance. Be sure to describe all the steps you have already taken.
How do I get my home page to load automatically?
You must name your main loading file either "index.html". Be sure to name everything in lowercase, not "INDEX.HTML." Also, this file must to located in your home directory, which is the first directory you see when accessing the web server via ftp.
You can literally create and maintain your web pages, images, and scripts locally and upload them to the web server at your leisure via FTP. You can overwrite existing files or transfer a new file.
How do I create sub-directories within my website?
To simulate a sub-web site, you have to create a new directory (or folder to MAC users) and then upload the main loading page (index.htm). You can setup as many sub-web sites as you wish. BroadSpire only charges additional fees if you go over the allotted disk and data transfer limits that are established in your pricing plan.
When will my domain be active? (propagation)
Once the domain registrar announces that your domain name has been registered (or transferred, if applicable), it usually takes about 48-hours before it is active. All internet providers must update their records (DNS tables) to reflect new site locations. This is called propagation.
How do I register with search engines?
We currently offer some customers a Free Search Engine Submission Service, where your site gets submitted to over 800 search engines. If you would rather perform this task yourself, we recommend that you register your web site with the major search engines beginning with Yahoo, WebCrawler, Lycos, and AltaVista. Look for an "add URL" option at each of these sites as well as links to other search engines. There may be charges registering with the aforementioned search engines.
How do I update my web site's listing on the search engines?
You should update your listings in the major Search Engines and Directories (Yahoo, Lycos, Altavista, HotBot, Excite, etc.) if you have made any significant changes to your web site such as: changing your domain name, changing file or directory names, moving pages to different directories, adding or deleting files, or making significant changes to the text on a page for which you want your listing updated quickly.
To update your listings with the Search Engines, you can re-submit the URL of your index page and let their spiders 'crawl' through the rest of your site or you can re-submit the URL of each of the pages that has changed.
You can delete an old listing for an outdated URL by submitting the URL of the old page once that page has been removed from the web server. When the Search Engine tries to index the non-existent page, it will get a "File Not Found" error and will delete any entries it has for that URL.
If you simply move your entire web site (including your domain name) from one web hosting provider to another, you will not need to update your listings with the search engines.
