How to Transfer Your Web Page Onto a Page Server
The first thing to do when transferring your site to the host site is to conduct some last minute checks. Ideally you should double-check everything. Go through the same routine you would use if you were about to go on holiday. Did you pack your toothbrush? Is there enough petrol in the car etc?
Use your browser to test your site once again offline and make sure that all the files of your site are in the same folder. Check the total size of your site too, as it might restrict your choice of host.
Finally, name your Homepage “Index.htm” or “Index.html”. This restriction is imposed by most hosts. When you transfer files, you will be asked to name the first page in a certain way to tell the server which page refers to the address of your site. This name might not be “Index”. It all depends on your server. In any event, the required title is clearly indicated. There is no basic difference between files with extension .htm or .html. Both actually designate the same format. .htm is used by computers whose operating system (usually DOS) will not accept file format names with the second part exceeding three letters. But these systems are no longer used so the problem is solved. I mean, not many people use this system, but improved versions of it.
When you have finished all this checking and double-checking, you are ready for the big moment. You are about to unleash your site on an unsuspecting world.
To transfer a site onto the hard disk of a host server you will have to use a data transfer protocol known as FTP, which stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP can be used not only to download files on your hard disk from any Website, but also to reverse the process, thus to transfer files from your computer to the hard disk of a server.
This operation requires an FTP client or downloading module, thus a file transfer software. Some Webpage editors have their own transfer modules. Downloading an FTP client from the Web is no problem. These programs are quite numerous, most often shareware and are relatively small in size, so they will take you only a few minutes to download.
Every Webpage hosting site will urge you to download a transfer module. Cue FTP and FTP Expert, both which are shareware, and are frequently used. We would advise you to use the software offered by your host, because you will have the benefit of a help feature that will explain to you how it works and offer step-by-step instructions on how to publish your site.11
