Uploading the site files to the hosting server is usually done by the site developer. However, you'll want to know how to do this if you plan on making changes yourself. Our article entitled Can Additional Website Fees Be Avoided? gives you a look behind the scenes of SEO optimization. You'll learn how to optimize SEO and make changes to your site without relying on someone to do it for you thereby saving you hundreds of dollars or more per month. You're shown how to make changes using the hosting service software or downloading the file, make the changes then upload the file to server.
If you're just starting out and your site is just a few pages with a small amount of images then you don't need software to upload. Online software such as Cute FTP is normally used to upload many files at once. The hosting service you choose will have their own upload protocol. You simply log on and will be able to upload your site files directly. Here's how it's done...
For the purpose of this tutorial we'll use Entirely Digitals' platform but most hosting services work similarly. You will need to locate the cPanel. Log onto the site. You should see your site URL under Your Active Product/Services. Click on your site. Next, click log into cPanel in the Actions window at left. Under Files click on File Manager. In the left window you will see a folder labeled public_html. Click on the folder and all your site files will appear on the right. If you're using a different provider it may look a bit different. Instead of public_html you may see www, wwwroot, htdocs or httpdocs depending on whether the server is Linux or Windows/Plesk.
You are now in the root folder or top level. Here is where all the site files are stored. Notice that there are yellow folders along with files with extensions such as .html, php, etc. You should see a file labeled index.html or index with another extension. This is the site home page. If you do not see this file it may be in a folder usually labeled home or homepage. Open some of the folders and look around. You should find a folder labeled images where all the site images are stored. Keep in mind that the images folder may be located inside another folder.
<img src="assets/images/image.jpg" alt="This is my pic">
In today's modern designs the image may be called from a<div> tag but we'll get into that another day. Notice the top navigation panel in the pic above. You can create new files and folders, move files, upload new or revised files, delete or rename files, and you can even edit your files right there without downloading them. You can also compress files or images and more. To download a file, highlight the file and right click. Then click on download.
So uploading the files back to the server is as simple as uploading them back to where you found them. If you downloaded and made a change on the css style sheet you would upload it back into the css folder. You know how to find and download files from your server. By the way, you should have a copy of all your site files. If you don't ask your developer for them. Place these files somewhere safe like a flash drive.
So how does one find the page in question on the server? That's a pretty simple task. Let's say you want to change something on your Contact Us page. Usually the name of the file is just that. You will most likely see a file labeled Contact.html or Contactus.html in the root directory. If you're looking for a page but don't know the name log onto your site in your browser and open that page. At the top in the URL window (window where you type website address) you will see the location & name of that particular page. You may see something like this:
https://www.mysite.com/maypage.html
mypage is the name of the file in question. How do we know this? Because of the html extension. Depending on the type of site your site may have a different extension. Like php, asp, xml. So, mypage is the file we're looking for on the server. This file was a simple one to find. However, it may not be that simple. You amy see something like this in the URL window when opening the page in question:
https://www.mysite.com/parts
Notice that parts does not have an extension like html. That's because it is not page it is a folder. Folders do not have extensions. So we now know that the file we're looking for is located inside the parts folder. Inside that folder you'll see the file with an extension. Most likely it will be an index.html file. That's what you're looking for. In html when a folder is listed as the last part of a URL address the file within that folder must be an index file in order to open in the browser unless the URL address points diectly to that file within the folder. Example:
https://www.mysite.com/parts/tires.html
Sometimes the file in question is within a folder within other folders lke this:
https://www.mysite.com/parts/speed/tires
Remember to check your site thoroughly once uploaded whether it was uploaded by the developer or you. Make sure to test the site on all devices. The elements should flow like liquid on the different screen sizes. How is that done? Simple. Log onto the site. At the very top right of the screen you will see the minimize button (button with overlapping squares). Click on it to minimize the screen. Now place the cursor on the right edge until the two sided arrow appears then hold the left mouse button while moving the window inward. If the site was done correctly, the elements on the screen should flow evenly with the different screen sizes. Looks good? You're all set.
Need help? Our low price includes placing your site online and walikng you through it so you learn how. Call or text us at: 484-538-8958 or email us at: info@spidergraphicdesigns.com. Or use our handy form.
