Indiana University

IU Webmaster

Getting Started

Table of Contents
Introduction

If you are new to developing Web pages, this brief overview will help you get started. It outlines the steps you will take to publish your Web pages on IU's central Web server (Webserve). If you are familiar with the process of creating and publishing Web pages, see the Webmaster's "Tools and Guides" page to learn more about improving your Web pages and for help with the tools offered for the central web server accounts.

Return to Top of Page

Getting an Account

Before you can put Web pages on IU's central Web server (Webserve), you need to get an account. To see if you are eligible to have an account on an IU web server and to learn how to get an account if you are eligible, see the Webmaster's Accounts page.

Return to Top of Page

Getting the Tools

Once you have an account on the Web server, the next step is to get the tools you will need to create, upload, and view your Web pages. If you do not already have these tools, you can get most of the them from IUware Online. For information on obtaining the IUware CD please see the Knowledge Base entry: At IU, where can I get the IUware CD?

Here are the tools you will need to get started:

  • A text editor or word processor: To create your Web page, you'll need a text editor or word processor. Windows computers come with a text-editor called "Notepad" and Macintoshes come with a text editor called "Simple Text." Several popular word processing programs are available on the IUware CD (see above for more details) or at IUware Online.

  • An HTML Editor program (optional): You may want to use a software package that can help you create Web pages. Programs like Microsoft FrontPage, Netscape Composer, and Macromedia Dreamweaver are easy to use and readily available on the IU campus. Most word processing programs also offer the option to "Save As" an HTML file.

  • A Secure File Transfer program: To move or upload your Web pages from your computer to the Web server, you will need an SFTP (Secure File Transfer program) client. You can download SSH Secure File Transfer Program from IUware Online. The program is packaged with Secure Shell (SSH) Client and is located under "Communication".

  • A Web browser. To see what your files look like on the Web, you need a Web browser. If you are reading this page on the Web, you already have one! IUware CD has a few Web browsers -- Internet Explorer, Netscape, and Firefox -- for Windows and Macintosh.

Return to Top of Page
Getting Training at IU

If you'd like to take instructor-led, hands-on training at IUB or IUPUI, IT Training offers a variety of classes and workshops. IT Training also offers online self-study courses. Please see IT Training for more information.

Return to Top of Page

Learning Some HTML

Web pages are formatted using HTML (HyperText Markup Language). Don't worry. It's not as intimidating as it sounds! With some simple HTML, you can link to your other Web pages and to other people's Web pages, format the text on your Web pages, insert graphics, and more. There are plenty of great guides for learning HTML on the Web. Here are some that we've found particularly helpful:

The IU Knowledge Base has some helpful documents about basic Unix commands you'll need:

Also be sure to take a look at the IU's Web Policies, Procedures, and Resources for details on making your Web page consistent with those of other departments and offices on campus. If you're an instructor, check out the Teaching and Learning Technologies Centers (TLTC) Course Website Templates Web page.

Return to Top of Page
Creating Your Web Pages

Once you've learned some HTML, it's time to start making your Web pages using your text editor or word processor. One way to get started is to look at the HTML code for a site you like in order to use it as an example. To view the coding for a page that you're viewing in your Web browser, from the browser's View menu, choose "Source" (Internet Explorer) or "Page Source" (Netscape and Firefox). This will show you the HTML code for the Web page. You can examine the coding to learn how the author of the Web page created the effect that you like.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when you're creating your Web pages:

  • If you're using a word processor to create your HTML file, be sure to save your document as an html file. Saving the file as a Microsoft Word or WordPerfect file will not work properly.

  • Be sure to save your HTML file with an "html" extension on the end (e.g., myfile.html). Note: Windows machines may shorten this extension to "htm" but that will work fine.

  • Name your opening Web page index.html. Browsers look for a file with this name in your www subdirectory when someone tries to access your account without specifying a specific file name such as:

      http://www.indiana.edu/~your_account_name/
      http://www.iun.edu/~your_account_name/
      http://www.iuk.edu/~your_account_name/
      http://www.iupui.edu/~your_account_name/

  • You can use your Web browser to see what your Web page will look like before you upload it to the Web server. To do this, launch your Web browser and from the File menu, choose "Open." In the dialog box that appears, click "Browse" (Internet Explorer), "Choose File" (Netscape), or "Open File" (Firefox). Navigate to your HTML document on your computer and click "Open" to view it in the Web browser. Be sure you've saved the changes to your document before you try to open it with the Web browser.
Return to Top of Page

Putting Graphics on Your Web Pages

First, you must create a graphic that is saved as a .jpg or .gif file. You can do this by scanning a photo or drawing, or by using a program such as Photoshop or a paint program to edit, alter, or create a graphic. Check out the IT Training and Education classes on Graphics and Presentations to learn more about working with graphics.

You may also wish to read the Knowledge Base entry How do I include graphical images on a web page?

Return to Top of Page

Uploading Your Web Page to the Web Server

When you think your Web page is ready to be published on the World Wide Web, it's time to upload it to the IU central Web server where you have your account. First, make sure your computer is connected to the network via Ethernet or a PPP modem connection. If you are not on campus or using the IU modem pool, you will need to make a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection. Information about VPN can be found at Accessing Webserve from Outside the Indiana University Network.

Use your SFTP software to upload (copy) your files to the web server. For Host Name, enter

webserve.iu.edu

For User Name, enter your Web server account name. For password, enter the password for your account.

For details on using SFTP software, see the SSH Section from Tools and Guides.

When you connect to the Web server, you'll see all of the files and directories in your account's directory. Open the www directory and save your Web page there. If you have graphics on your page, you also need to upload the graphic files to the desired directory (If your img src tag is like "<img src="images/mypicture.jpg">", you need to put your graphic file, mypicture.jpg, in the www/images directory).

Return to Top of Page
Viewing Your Web Page

Once you've uploaded your Web page, you'll want to try to view it to make sure that everything worked correctly and that the world can see it. To do so, make sure you're connected to the network (via Ethernet or a PPP modem connection) and launch your Web browser. To view your pages, you would use the following web address:

http://www.indiana.edu/~username/filename.html (for IUB)
http://www.iupui.edu/~username/filename.html (for IUPUI)
http://www.iun.edu/~username/filename.html (for IUN)
http://www.iuk.edu/~username/filename.html (for IUK)

Replace username with your account's name and filename.html with the name of the file you uploaded to the server.

Return to Top of Page
Changing File Permissions

Even when you have saved your web pages in your account's www directory, you may get an Error 403 - Restricted error message. In this case, you need to change the file permissions to make the page viewable on the web.

To change file permission, you can either use the Unix chmod command or change the permissions from the File Transfer Program. For instructions, please see the Webmaster FAQ item "How do I change file permissions?" .

If you need to change the file permissions whenever you move files to your Web server, then you need to change the settings of the default sftp file permissions from your end. For detailed step-by-step instructions, please see the Webmaster FAQ item, Should I change the file permissions whenever I move files to the Web server?.

Return to Top of Page
Maintaining Your Web Pages

You'll want to update your Web pages regularly to make sure that the information you're providing is accurate. You can maintain your Web pages in two ways:

  • Working from your desktop. The best way to make big changes is to work on your files as described above and upload them again when you've completed your changes.

  • Working on the Web server. If you have minor edits to make, you might want to log into the Web server and make them using a Unix text editor such as nano. To do so, use an SSH client to connect:

Host Name: webserve.iu.edu
User Name: your web account name
Port Number: 22

When prompted, type the network passphrase for that account to login. Once connected:

  • Move to the www directory by typing cd www at the Unix prompt.
  • To list the files in your www directory, type ls at the Unix prompt.
  • To edit a file using the nano editor, at the Unix prompt, type nano myfile.html (replace myfile.html with the name of your file).
  • Make your edits.

Return to Top of Page

Keep Learning!

The more you learn about creating Web pages, the better your Web pages will be. To learn how to improve your Web pages and enhance them with the special features that the IUB Web server offers (including image maps, forms, and counters), see the Webmaster's Tools and Guides page.

Return to Top of Page