Getting Started

Top Ten Tips

Getting Started

Welcome to the Web! This easy-to-use tutorial has all the steps you need to create a Website. Let's get started...

Step 1. Create your website pages
There are three main ways to create a website:

1. Hire a web designer (check your phone book or search online)
2. Use a commercial software package (many different products are available)
3. Create your own site using our EasySite Wizard

PrimeWeb Shared Hosting packages support all three methods of website creation.

*TIP: Your main page MUST be called index.html and the index.html page MUST reside in your public folder within your website space on the shared hosting servers.

If you hire a web designer or use a commercial software package, you will need to upload your pages when your website pages are ready, follow on to Step 2.

If you use our EasySite Wizard to build your site, skip Steps 1 and 2 and go directly to EasySite

Step 2. Upload your pages
Once your pages are created, they must be posted on the World Wide Web. You can transfer your files using FTP (File Transfer Protocol) software, which copies files from your computer over to your shared hosting account.

To download your own FTP software:

Log in to your Shared Hosting account
Click "Webmaster Tools"
Choose "FTP Applications"
Set up your FTP software by substituting your domain name for "yourname.com" and your password for "yourpassword" in this example:
Host Name / Address: yourname.com
User Name: yourname.com
Password: yourpassword

Once connected, you will see the following four directories:

cgi-bin, logs, private, public
Double click the public directory to open it, and upload your files to this folder.

*TIP: Your domain name and your password can be found in the welcome e-mail that you received when we set up your shared hosting service.

Once you've completed uploading your page, follow on to Step 3.

EasySite Wizard
Use this feature to create a Web site in five simple steps. To begin:

Log in to your shared hosting account: go to www.vmsol.com. On the left of the screen you will see the "websiteOS" login box.
Enter your domain name and your password.
Click the "Site Builders" folder in the upper-left menu of the screen.
In the bottom-left menu, click "EasySite Wizard" or "EasySite Wizard Pro."
Follow the steps in the control panel in the middle of your screen to create your site.

*TIP: Preview your site at any time by clicking the "preview" button on the upper right. To use this feature you must have JAVA 1.4 installed on your computer. To check if it is installed, click the JAVA logo in the lower left of the main EasySite screen.

*TIP: In Step 1 (Define your Site) of EasySite Wizard, it's important to ensure your website description and keywords are relevant and customized to your business. These are called "Meta tags". They are hidden from view, but are used by some search engines to rank your site. For example, a business that specializes in hypoallergenic pet grooming products may have the following description and keywords:

Description: We offer a wide variety of safe, hypoallergenic shampoos and dry baths for your pampered pet - at discount prices. The products are created using only the safest and environmentally friendly ingredients to keep both your pet and the environment happy.
Key words: pet grooming products, environmentally friendly animal care, discount pet products, dog shampoo, hypo-allergenic dry bath, cat care, dog care, hamster bath.

*TIP: You can add as many keywords as you like, but make sure the most relevant words are first - some search engines will only use the first 15.

Now you're ready to promote your site. Follow on to Step 3

Step 3. Promote your site
Our Site Promoter Tool helps you create keywords and a description (if you haven't already done so), and submit your site to popular search engines for addition to their directories. To use the tool:

Click "Website Management" on the left menu.
Choose "Site Promoter" from the menu below.
Follow the instructions on the main screen. Select the page you wish to promote: index.html will be your most relevant page.
Add your keywords and description using the "Metawiz" function. (NOTE: This function will only display if you do not have keywords and description).
Check all the search engines you wish to submit your site to and click "Next"

*TIP: Each submission will show a status such as "Submitting to AllTheWeb ...... OK!" Once you see OK! Click "next" to submit to the next search engine.

*TIP: You can also submit your site to other search engines that are not in the Site Promoter Tool. Just visit the sites of interest to you and follow their submission instructions.

You're done. Your website is now online and open for business! Remember - the best websites are updated frequently, so make sure you review your site from time to time. Plus, check out our Top Ten Tips for building a first-class web presence for helpful tips to improve your site.

Thank you for using PrimeWeb Shared Hosting!