Support: Web Hosting FAQs -- My Homebase

Q. How do I transfer (FTP) my current website files to ConnectSouth’s servers?

A.Use a FTP application to tranfer your website to ConnectSouth. If you do not have a FTP application, you can download one from the following links.

www.wsftp.com
www.leachftp.com
www.ftpvoyager.com
www.cuteftp.com
www.dartmouth.edu/pages/softdev/fetch.html (for MAC users)

Follow these simple instructions:
1. Launch the FTP application. Click the New button.
2. Enter your company's name in the Profile Name field.
3. Enter ftp.connectsouth.net as your Host Name / Address.
4. Select Automatic Detect for your Host Type.
5. Enter your User ID and Password.
6. Press the Connect button and a connection should be made.

MacIntosh users using Fetch should:
1. Click on the File menu and select Connect.
2. Enter your company's name as the Site Name.
3. Enter ftp.connectsouth.net as your FTP Host.
4. Enter your Login Name and Password.
5. Leave the Default Directory blank.

You will see two directories: WWW and CGI-BIN. Put your web site files into WWW. Put your CGI-BIN files into CGI-BIN.

After FTPing your site to ConnectSouth, we will test it internally. Once testing is complete, you will recieve an email stating we are ready for you to redirect your Domain Name to ConnectSouth's DNS server. Once complete, your website will be available to the public. If you need help redirecting your domain name to ConnectSouth, click How do I transfer my existing domain name to ConnectSouth?

	CUSTOMER CARE CENTER Please use the FAQs below as a tool to obtain more information about our products, or as a troubleshooting guide. We are continuously updating our FAQ's as technology, and our products change.

		Web Hosting FAQs

		How do I transfer (FTP) my current web site files to ConnectSouth? Are there any limitations in web page programming with respect to your servers? What if I already have a domain name and an ISP - but I want to transfer to ConnectSouth hosting services? How do I transfer my current web site files to ConnectSouth to start hosting on one of your virtual hosting plans? How do I choose the right web hosting service for my business? What type of hosting package will I need: virtual (or shared) hosting or dedicated hosting? How do I determine the storage that I need for my web site? What do you mean by data traffic or "bandwidth," and why is this important in choosing my web hosting package? What happens if I do not yet have a web site but I am ready to get one? Do I need to learn HTML to use Microsoft FrontPage? Does ConnectSouth offer support for Microsoft FrontPage? What does the optional feature CGI-Bin or CGI Scripts mean as part of the web hosting packages? Does ConnectSouth offer a CGI-Library of scripts? When can I update my website? What is FTP? What FTP host name do I use to access my web site(s)? Why isn't my page loading automatically? What directory and file names are acceptable? When will I be able to reach my site using the domain name? [ Back to Index ]

	*Q. How do I transfer (FTP) my current website files to ConnectSouth’s servers?* A.Use a FTP application to tranfer your website to ConnectSouth. If you do not have a FTP application, you can download one from the following links. www.wsftp.com www.leachftp.com www.ftpvoyager.com www.cuteftp.com www.dartmouth.edu/pages/softdev/fetch.html (for MAC users) Follow these simple instructions: 1. Launch the FTP application. Click the New button. 2. Enter your company's name in the Profile Name field. 3. Enter *ftp.connectsouth.net* as your Host Name / Address. 4. Select Automatic Detect for your Host Type. 5. Enter your User ID and Password. 6. Press the Connect button and a connection should be made. MacIntosh users using Fetch should: 1. Click on the File menu and select Connect. 2. Enter your company's name as the Site Name. 3. Enter *ftp.connectsouth.net* as your FTP Host. 4. Enter your Login Name and Password. 5. Leave the Default Directory blank. You will see two directories: WWW and CGI-BIN. Put your web site files into WWW. Put your CGI-BIN files into CGI-BIN. After FTPing your site to ConnectSouth, we will test it internally. Once testing is complete, you will recieve an email stating we are ready for you to redirect your Domain Name to ConnectSouth's DNS server. Once complete, your website will be available to the public. If you need help redirecting your domain name to ConnectSouth, click How do I transfer my existing domain name to ConnectSouth? [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. Are there any limitations in web-page programming with respect to your servers?* A. Currently, CGI, Perl, Linux Binary and Shell scripts are fully supported. Soon Front Page extensions will be supported. We do not support active server pages, PHP, Servlets and Cold Fusion. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. What if I already have a domain name and an ISP - but I want to transfer to ConnectSouth hosting services?* A. If your domain was registered originally with register.com, we can redirect your Domain Name to ConnectSouth's Domain Name Servers (DNS) for you. You will simply get an email from register.com to approve the change and the domain will now be available from ConnectSouth. If your domain name was not registered originally with register.com, but another provider (i.e. Network Solutions), you will need to follow Network Solutions instructions at www.networksolutions.com and fill out the new administrator information from ConnectSouth - see below: For ConnectSouth Domain Name Server, IP address information, and additional instruction on how to redirect your company Domain Name to ConnectSouth, contact your ConnectSouth Sales Representative or ConnectSouth Technical Support at 877-665-7697. Please have your customer account information ready. If your company utilized an Internet Service Provider to secure your company's domain name, please contact your current ISP for assistance. Your salesperson, sales engineer or ConnectSouth Technical Support can also help you with the information you need to get your domain transferred to start hosting with ConnectSouth. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. How do I transfer my current web site files to ConnectSouth to start hosting on one of your virtual hosting plans?* A. We can provide you with the FTP (File Transfer Protocol) information needed to send us the files for your web site. Utilities such as Coffeecup Direct FTP, CuteFTP, and FetchFTP (Macintosh) allow you to transmit your Web Site to us in just a few steps. For additional instructions and links to tools for transmitting your Web Site to ConnectSouth via FTP, contact ConnectSouth Technical Support at 877-665-7697. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. How do I choose the right web hosting service for my business?* A. Web hosting companies may provide a variety of features with their web hosting services. When choosing a web hosting partner, it will be important to review the provider for the following: Type of hosting: virtual or dedicated Storage size Servers Reliability Security Support Speed Scalability Price Check out ConnectSouth Web Hosting Packages here [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. What type of hosting package will I need: virtual (or shared) hosting or dedicated hosting?* A.Virtual (or shared) Web Hosting: If you're a small to medium size business who is putting their first site on-line or your site meets the size requirements of our virtual web hosting package you are probably a great candidate for our Connect&host virtual web hosting. This means that your site would be sharing a server but that your site will have security and it's own name: i.e. www.yourcompany.com. To the outside world it will look like your own server and web site but you are getting the advantages of sharing the facilities and redundancy of multiple web sites on one server. Dedicated Web Hosting: If your company has a more sophisticated site that is receiving heavy traffic (i.e. hits to the web server) and you are doing a significant amount of e-commerce, it may make sense for you to have a dedicated web hosting package. The dedicated hosting means that we will own a server and manage it in our facility but it will be dedicated to your business and your web site only. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. How do I determine the storage that I need for my web site?* A. Your web site is like a set of data files that you store on your computer. Those files take up a certain amount of storage space that is impacted by the number of graphics, pages and features that you have on your web site. With ConnectSouth you will have choices on a selection of business web hosting packages that offer different amounts of storage space - this is the amount of space your web site will require on a web server. Small sites may start at 50MB of storage space and larger sites may need up to 250MB of storage space. You will need to know that storage requirement for your site before choosing a web hosting package from ConnectSouth. All of our packages offer ample storage space that can also be expanded easily as your site grows and changes. Usually the site will be measured in MB (Megabytes) or KB (Kilobyte) sizes. Remember that 1000KB = 1MB which will help you translate the size of the web site for hosting. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. What do you mean by data traffic or "bandwidth", is this important in choosing my web hosting package?* A. Data traffic or "bandwidth" refers to the amount of electronic data sent over the network each month in response to requests from visitors to your web site (hits). This is an important part of your web hosting package choice. Think of it like this...your web site that will be hosting on our servers will be in a facility with a fast, big pipe connection to the Internet. This is good because as you get more customers or people hitting your web site - you want your site to be fast and always available in response to your requests. By having a lot of data traffic or bandwidth, this pipe will be available to access your web server. We measure the amount of traffic that has accessed your server on the monthly bases and if you choose a package too low (maybe your site is getting really popular) we need to increase your data traffic. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. What if I do not yet have a web site but I am ready to get one?* A. You really have a few alternatives to "getting" a web site built and on-line for your business. This may depend on how much you want to spend, how sophisticated your site will be and if you are planning to do a site with or without e-commerce capabilities. Option 1 - SIMPLE WEB SITE BUILDER ConnectSouth can help you build a simple "business card" web site that provides general information about your company, hours of operations, products and services etc. There is no programming experience required - just good ideas about what you need to communicate about your business. Check out the ConnectSouth Web Site Builder here Option 2 - SIMPLE E-COMMERCE WEB SITE BUILDER Similar to the simple web site builder, your business can point and click to build an e-commerce enabled web site. This web site will have information about your company, hours of operation, product and services but will also include a product catalog, shopping cart and a merchant back office to check you on-line orders. You will be able to upload pictures of products, manage pricing and promotions as well as shipping and taxes on-line, plus much more. Check out the ConnectSouth E-Commerce Web Site Builder here Option 3 - USING AN HTML EDITOR OR WEB SITE DESIGN SOFTWARE Your business may use off the shelf software to design a web site. Examples of these include Microsoft FrontPage, Dreamweaver, Trellix Web or others. After you build you web site, you can host it with ConnectSouth on one of our virtual or dedicated web hosting plans. Option 4 - WORKING WITH A PROFESSIONAL WEB DESIGNER/PROGRAMMER If your company has big aspirations to build a more sophisticated web site, you may be working with a professional web site designer and programmer. Often when the site is ready for business, you will need a web hosting provider. Look to ConnectSouth to provide our virtual and dedicated web hosting plans for your new site. If you want to work with a web designer or programmer, ConnectSouth may be able to recommend a firm in your area to meet your needs and host with us. Check out the ConnectSouth Web Designer Referral Program here [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. Do I need to learn HTML to use Microsoft FrontPage?* A. No. Software products like Microsoft FrontPage creates the HTML in the background, adding tags and filling in attributes based on your choices. You edit your pages using a familiar, word-processor interface. You can add HTML by hand, but only if you want to. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. Does ConnectSouth offer support for Microsoft FrontPage?* A. ConnectSouth supports Microsoft FrontPage in several ways. We configure your site for FrontPage by installing and maintaining the server extensions. We provide Technical Support related to the functionality of the extensions. We point FrontPage users to resources that will help you solve problems, publish your FrontPage webs and learn techniques for getting the most from your FrontPage software. You may find answers on many user issues at Microsoft's Front Page Web site and, of course, in books on MS FrontPage. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. What does the optional feature CGI-Bin or CGI Scripts mean as part of the web hosting packages? Does ConnectSouth offer a CGI-Library of scripts?* A. CGI stands for Common Gateway Interface. Many web designers and customers use CGI scripting to add functionality and interactivity to their web sites. Examples of these functions would include scripts to create email forms, calendars, counters, and more on web sites. ConnectSouth provides a CGI-Library of scripts that have been pre-tested on our servers. This library includes common scripts that can add interactivity functions listed above to your Web site. Click here for our CGI-library. If your business requires writing your own custom CGI Scripts, ConnectSouth will charge a setup fee for CGI-Bin scripts. The reason is that we take great care in applying CGI-scripts on our servers and will have a professional administrator review the script prior to implementation. An incorrectly written script applied to a server could impact multiple web servers and security. We feel that focusing on implementing these correctly the first time is the best thing for our customers and other servers on our network. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. When can I update my website?* A. You have access 24-hours a day, 7-days a week through our customer site, www.connectsouth.com/homebase/. With your username and password you can log in and manage your web site. You can create and maintain your web pages on your own computer and upload files to your web site at your leisure. You will need Internet access in order to update your pages. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. What is FTP?* A. FTP means file transfer protocol. This feature is important for transferring the files of your web site to our servers. For example, if you company already has a web site and wants to host on our servers, you will need to FTP the files to ConnectSouth. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. What FTP host name do I use to access my web site(s)?* A. When using an FTP program to transmit your web site, use ftp.connectsouth.net as the host name/IP address. Please contact ConnectSouth Technical Support at 877-665-7697 for additional instructions. What should I do if denied access via FTP? If you cannot access your account via FTP, the FTP configuration may be incorrect. Be sure to read the FTP tutorial. If you are denied access to either or both AFTER entering your username and password, you may be using the wrong password. Check the activation notice sent to you via email when the account was first set up. If you changed your password and it doesn't seem to be working, contact ConnectSouth to reset your password. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. Why isn't my page loading automatically?* A. You must name your main loading file either "index.htm" or "index.html". Be sure to name everything in lowercase, not "INDEX.HTM". Also, this file must be located in your home directory, which is the first directory you see when accessing the web server via ftp. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. What directory and file names are acceptable?* A. To prevent errors, we suggest naming all files in lowercase. Spaces and special control characters are generally not a good idea. The underscore character ("_") is acceptable. You should avoid special characters (e.g., ! @ # $ % ^ & * : ') in file names. We suggest that you keep the length of file names to a minimum. The tilde (~) cannot be used in directory or file names. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] *Q. When will I be able to reach my site using the domain name?* A. Once the register.com announces that your domain name has been registered (or transferred, if applicable), it usually takes about 72-hours before it is active. All Internet providers must update their records (DNS tables) to reflect new site locations. This is called propagation. [ Back to Index ] [ Back to Top ] Have you been through our support area and still have questions? Let us give you some personal attention. Call us at 1-877-665-7697, email us at customercare@connectsouth.com, or contact us online.