Requirements:

• Mason Cluster Account
• Sufficient disk space on the Mason Cluster Account
• WS_FTP installed on your computer - to download a copy of this tool to your computer, click here ftp://mason.gmu.edu/support/www/ws_ftp/ws_ftple.exe, save the file to your local drive and then install the application.
• Internet connection

Assistance:

• Questions regarding account access (e.g., password problems), please email support@gmu.edu or call 703-993-8870
• Questions regarding web page development, faculty and staff should ask an IRC staff member (703-993-3141) and students should contact STAR for assistance.
• Copyright issues (2 resources) - Copyright and the Internet and U.S. Copyright Office

Definitions:

The words Directory and Folder mean the same thing and will be used interchangeably below. It is a way of managing and storing files. You will see the word folder when using Windows Explorer and you will see Dir for directory when working on the server.

Opening comment:

There are several ways to do this but for those of you who do not have one in mind, here you go.

Step 1 - Create a master folder/directory on a local disk

On a local device like a Zip disk, create a folder/directory called public_html to match the same folder name on your Mason account. That way you know that:

1. The contents in the local folder will be the same on the server
2. If the file/folder structure of the web site(s) you create and test locally will work work on the server

Step 2 - Create sub-directories in public_html

Introduction to your Root Directory - Your public_html directory is the root or primary container for your web publishing area. One way to look at public_html is to think of it as the big container that holds all of your websites. Another way to look at it is, public_html is the book binder and all the folders/directories inside are chapters.

Homepage of the Root - The homepage for your root directory is has a file name of index.html. Each of your websites inside your root will have homepages and they also will have the file name of index.html. This homepage (index.html), which is directly inside public_html might be considered the table of contents for that "book" of "web site chapters." What this means with respect to URLs is:

• Your root/basic URL will be http://mason.gmu.edu/~masonusername/
• Your URL for your websites under your root will be http://mason.gmu.edu/~masonusername/subdirectoryname

Because you used index.html as the file name for your homepage, the URL does not need to have a file name placed on the end.

Example scenario for creating multiple web sites

You have three classes and each instructor wants you to create a webpage that reflects something you are learning in class. You also want to make a web site that is just for you, remembering that you only have so much disk space, you can create these sites.

This is an illustration of example folder structure discussed below.	This is an example of the book or table of contents option. The index.html page has links that point to each index.html page is each subdirectory

This is what you would want to do:

1. Website #1 - Create a directory under public_html and give it a name that reflects the assignment or the class. It might be romeproject for a history class. Note: Folders names must act as one word (romeproject, rome_project, but not rome project). Lowercase is best because the server you will be working on is case sensitive. The URL for this site will be http://mason.gmu.edu/~masonusername/romeproject as long as you use index.html as the file name for your homepage. If you use home.htm, the URL will be http://mason.gmu.edu/~masonusername/romeproject/home.htm and this is not a URL that is easily remembered. Also, if you want to manage the images directly associated with this site, create a folder inside romeproject called images to store and reference your images. Remember, large images use up disk space and are slow to load.
2. Website #2 - For your next class, for example English 101, create a directory called something like eng101 because in this class maybe there isn't a project name but just class work. Again note the use of one word and lowercase. This directory will also have an index.html file but this one will have English 101 stuff on it. The URL for this site will be http://mason.gmu.edu/~masonusername/eng101. This is a new site and will probably need an images folder of its own.
3. Website #3 - For still another class project, say University 100, you are asked to do a short resume page. This project is not class or subject specific but instead something that you may use again and again. In this situation, create a directory called myresume for example. The URL will be http://mason.gmu.edu/~masonusername/myresume (remembering to use index.html as the homepage in this directory also).
4. Website #4 - Your personal site can be constructed in the same way. Maybe you want one for your club or for your family. The folder names could be xyzclub or smithfamily.

More on images folders - If you create an image directory directly under public_html, you are assuming one or more of the following:

1. That you have images that apply to each of the websites listed above.
2. That you have images that you want to display on your Mason Account homepage (see below) and you want to organize them in a directory.

Step 3 - Create a Mason Account Home Page

The public_html directory can hold html and image files. You can have a web site with the URL of http://mason.gmu.edu/~masonusername. To decide if you want this, keep the following in mind:

1. Possible confusion - If you are running multiple web sites from this root folder and then you add a website that is actually in the root, you run into the possibility that sub-folders of the root website will look like a distinct website (scenarios above) and you could get confused.
2. Root Homepage Purpose - If you ever wanted to send a potential employer to your site so that he/she could see your sample work, then you would probably want a page that lists your sites and links to them. If you use the index.html page directly inside public_html as just another site, you miss the opportunity to use it as a table of contents that points to all your other sites.

Example scenario for the public_html homepage. Create an index.html file that will be your public_html homepage. This index.html file will be saved directly under public_html and not in a sub-folder. It will contain links to each of the other index.html files found in the sub-directories that hold the different websites. This does not mean this page has to look like a table of contents. Make it interesting and informative. To help you get started with the basics of making your links to each of the websites in public_html from the public_html/index.html webpage, here are some examples:

• Link #1 - The link to the Project on Rome home page will look like <a href="romeproject/index.html">History of Rome Website</a>
• Link #2 - The link to the English 101 homework will look like <a href="eng101/index.html">English 101 Homework Website</a>
• Link #3 - The link to the University 100 resume page will look like <a href="myresume/index.html">My Resume</a>
• Link #4 - The link to the websites that you make on your own work the same way. In general, the link will be <a href="directoryname/index.html">Name of Website</a>
• etc.

You may have other web pages directly under public_html that work with index.html if you want. You are not limited to just the index.html page. Just remember to link them to the index.html page directly under the public_html page. These are not pages associated with your projects.

Step 4 - Setup Directories on your Mason Account

Open WS_FTP and log into your Mason account. Double click on the public_html directory. On the right side of the screen, locate the MkDir button. Click the button and in the field provided, enter a name for your first website. For a more detailed look at WS_FTP, review WS_FTP Basics and Publishing to your Mason Cluster Acct.

Note: The name of the folder on the server MUST be identical to the one you created on your local disk if the links from public_html/index.html webpage is going to work the same on the server as you set it up to work locally. Repeat this process for the other sites you create.

Everytime you add another website to public_html, add another link to your public_html/index.html webpage. See instructions above.