Checking your site

Before you upload your site to the internet it's a good idea to give it one final check. In particular check the spelling and grammar. To check the spelling choose Check Spelling from the Text menu

It's also important to check your that links work. To do this you need to be in the Site Window (Choose Site Files from the Site menu) In the Site window click the Site menu and choose Check Links Sitewide. Dreamweaver will go through your site checking your links automatically.

Time to go live!

In order to upload your site you'll need an account with an Internet Service Provider or ISP. Your ISP will provide space on their server for you to upload your site onto. You'll need various details from your ISP in order to be able to do this, information like, the address of the web server you are uploading to, and the username and password your ISP has given you.

Uploading your site in Dreamweaver

Remember that back in worksheet 2 we set up the details for our local site, that is the site you created on your home or school computer? Well, now we have to set up the details for the remote site, that is the site you are uploading to your ISP's web server. Get together all the information your ISP has sent you about uploading your site and make sure you have an older person or adult to help you with this next bit.

To set up the remote site info:

1 - From the Site menu select Define Sites. The Define Site box will appear.

2 - Select the name of your site and click on the Edit button. The Site Definition box will appear.

3 - In the category box on the left, click on Web Server Info

4 - From the drop-down menu select FTP

5 - In the FTP Host box type the address for the web server, e.g. ftp.websites.com or www.jackiesweb.com.

6 - In the Host Directory text box type the name of the root directory for the site. This isn't always necessary, - sometimes you can leave this blank.

7 - In the Login box type your the username your ISP has given you for your ftp or Internet account

8 - In the Password box type the password for your ftp or Internet account. To save these so you don't have to remember them each time click the Save checkbox.

9 - Click OK

It can be tricky getting all the above information correct. If you get stuck, log onto your ISP's web site and find the page that talks about uploading sites. This should give you lots of help on getting your site online.

OK, so now everything is ready for you to be able to upload your web site.

To upload your site to the Internet

1 - First we need to connect up to the remote site. To do this click the connect button in the menu bar at the top of the site window

2- In the site window select (highlight) all the files you want to upload. If you are uploading your site for the first time you'll want all of them, so choose select all from the Edit menu

3 - Click on Put. The Dependent Files box appears. This asks you whether you want to upload all the image and other files that are linked to your web pages. Click the Yes button.

4 - You'll see a little bar appear to show the progress of your site upload. Depending on how big your site is and the speed of your Internet connection, you may have to wait anything from a few minutes to about an hour for your entire site to upload.

Viewing your site

Your site has now been uploaded, but if it's a completely new site, (and not for example an add on to your school's web site), you may have to wait up to 48 hours to actually see it on the web - Check your the information your ISP gave you to find out.

Check your site is online by simply typing your web address into your browser's location bar. If you spot any mistakes, don't worry, just go back and correct them in Dreamweaver and then upload that particular file again. There is no need to upload your whole site, just the files you have changed.

To upload the odd file

1 - In the site window connect to the remote site by pressing the connect button.

2 - In the site window select (highlight) the file or files you want to upload again. These will replace the ones with mistakes in your live site.

3 - Click on Put. Say Yes to include Dependent files and off goes your corrected file.

4 - Check it online to make sure it's been replaced. You may have to refresh the page in your browser first!

That's it , all your hard work for the whole world to see, congratulations!