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Web Page Publishing Notes
Once a web page (or site) has been created (i.e. designed, implemented, and thoroughly tested), it is ready for publication on the Internet. After publication, the page owner should make a solid commitment to accepting feedback, keeping the content current, and maintaining off-site linkages.
Internet Service Provider (ISP) Selection
Choosing an appropriate service provider for your Internet needs is more than just finding the cheapest rates. Important factors to consider are:
- Customer Service: Is there a phone number to call? Is it answered or is there a message that says 'we'll call you'? Does it run 24/7 or at least have evening hours?
- Connect Speed: What is the connect speed for the user? Is it T3 (45 Mb/s), T1 (1.5 Mb/s) or ISDN (even slower)? Are there significant rush hour dropoffs?
- Fees Charged: Are charges based on throughput (number of Mb accessed per month) as well as storage used?
- Storage Space and Volume Limits: What disk space is available (5 Meg is smallest usable)? Is there a limit to the number of connects per day or simultaneous connects?
- User Feedback Reports: Are log files processed and reports available so that you can profile customer browser, screen resolution and color depth? These pieces of information help site designers focus efforts where needed.
- File Uploading: Can you use any uploading program you want or does the ISP force you into a specific method? What is the speed for uploads? Can uploads be done over the Internet or are they restricted to dialup service?
- Content Organization and Control: Is there a restriction on types of files or content? Can you create new directories? Are there file naming conventions which must be observed?
- Server-Side Scripting Capabilities: Does the ISP offer canned scripts such as hit counters and generic form processing? Will they write custom scripts for you? Will they let you run your own scripts such as Perl, PHP and ASP. Advanced websites need these facilities to provide on-line databases and customer oriented services. Personal sites may not need this option.
Finding A Free Home
If you are on a basic service (e-mail and browser only) or a student/cafe surfer, you can make use of one of the free web hosting services. These services come with many tradeoffs such as having to include advertising, slow access, or limited support. You normally get what you pay for!. Also watch for file changes that break your valid HTML code. Some examples of free webspace providers are:
- Angelfire - FTP uploads. Banner advertising. Alters colors - author must be sure to set his own.
- Fortune City - 50 Megs. FTP uploads. Banner advertising. Slow response at times.
- FreeWebSpace - 100 Megs. FTP uploads. Banner advertising.
- Google - 10 Gigs.
- Tripod allows HTML, Javascript and CGI material. Adds banner advertising in a method that breaks valid HTML code severely!
CAVEAT!: Utilities that force you to build your site using fill-in templates violate most of the rules for good design and proper HTML coding. Avoid them at all costs.
Acquiring A Domain Name
Although this step is completely optional, it is useful for commercial sites to acquire a domain name for two very important reasons: site branding and mobility. Site branding is the technique of imprinting your name, logo and company image on all products and advertising material associated with your organization. It is much easier for one to find StephenKing.com than to search for whatever server he has chosen to roost at. And the mobility factor allows your viewers to keep their bookmarks pointed at OzWizard.org whether it is on a server in Kansas or has shifted to one in Missouri.
A registration is paid for on a one year or greater subscription fee and must be renewed or someone else can claim or 'cybersquat' on your address. Some inexpensive services to investigate are:
- CIRA.CA - for Canadian .ca domain
- RegisterNames.com.
- DirectNick.com
- AbsoluteDomainNames.com
Uploading Web Pages
Uploading your web page documents to your host site is easy if you have a visual FTP (file transfer program) such as fileZilla [OpenSource], AceFTP [free], WS_FTP Home or CuteFTP. For secure host sites try WinSCP.
Server Copy Testing
Never assume that viewers obtain the same file that you wrote. The uploading process sometimes corrupts the file. Occasionally the server will muddle the file at newlines especially if there has been a platform conversion. An extreme case is three platforms (eg. authored on a Mac, uploaded to a Linux server and downloaded to a Windows user). This should not be a problem but sometimes is. Even the most knowledgeable and experienced content providers have been caught when they ass/u/me that downloaded files mirror the uploaded ones. Sometimes servers fail to send the correct mimetype for the file. There are several easy tests to guarantee that downloads are going to be useable by the widest group of viewers:
- Revalidate your html files ON-LINE. This will catch some forms of file corruption.
- Revalidate your stylesheets ON-LINE. This will catch corruption errors as well as checking whether the mimetype setting is ok. Some servers do not configure the CSS stylesheets as text/css. See .htaccess files for possible solutions.
- Repeat the visual testing using the ON-LINE version. Remember that WYSIWYG!
- Use a site ripper to make a copy of what the server downloads. HtTrack is one example of a free site cloning tool.
Site Maintenance
Site content should always be monitored for currency and relevancy. Fresh information adds interest and should be added on a regular basis. Changes reflecting reader feedback are also very important. A 'Whats New' section is a popular item on many sites. Every change should also be followed by rerunning your html validator and css validator.
One of the largest problems in site maintenance is checking for dead links. Dead links are links that worked when the site was originally published but have been removed or renamed since then. Link checkers make sure that your hyperlinks are going to work. This verification process is especially important when you link to other sites on the Internet. The dynamics of the Web is such that the link checking process should be done as often as possible and at least once per month. This is mandatory for corporate sites. Visit my test center to pick up your own link checking tools. Note: Automated link checkers DO NOT catch every broken link. You must also check manually! This is because some ISPs such as MSN substitute their own pseudo-404 or redirect to a search page. Beware: URIs can be vacated and then reused by other providers so delivered pages may not be those intended by the author!
Using .htaccess
Apache servers (and clones) will let website designers add a .htaccess ASCII file that can: control access by password or isp, redirect users, set mimetypes, prevent directory listings, generate custom error reports, prevent image hot-linking and much more. For information on the full capabilities of .htaccess file configuration view cgiextremes.com's tutorial and javascript.com's howto page.
Do you require folders that are members-only or password protected. They can be added using the following steps:
- Create a subfolder (eg members) for the protected documents.
- Place the following in a file called .htaccess in the members folder.
- Create a file called .htpasswd in the members folder. Use this handy tool to add the userId / password pairs to the file as needed.
A simple .htaccess script to add to the website root folder to correct poor default mimetype settings and let users find the home or front page document without typing its name is:
You can use the Amaya editor/browser to view the mimetype actually sent by a server. Load the document from the web and on the File menu select Document Info.
The Delorie.com header check utility is useful for checking mimetypes served up.
Your browser type can be identified by using the http protocol header 'User-Agent' in a server-side application. Check your browser with Osinet.fr.
NOTE: The User-Agent identification string can be easily faked by technically aware programmers.