How to use the Firefox Web Browser to upload files for your MAIN hosted Dedicated Directory website.

Before you begin uploading, make sure you have your website page(s) ready and are connected to the internet. Make sure that your home page file is named EXACTLY:

index.html
(make sure all the letters are lower case!)

For some software and tips to help in creating your webpages click here.

Getting Firefox
Firefox can be used with all Windows and also Mac OS X systems. Firefox is a web browser that is much more secure than Internet Explorer. It also supports modern features such as tabbed browsing.

1. If you don't have the free Firefox web browser: Click Here
   
2. Get FireFTP, an extension to the Firefox browser that allows you to transfer files with the browser: Click Here
   Close and then reopen Firefox to enable FireFTP, it will be loaded in when the program restarts.
   
3. In Firefox, go to the "Tools" menu, and if it is installed properly, you will see FireFTP. Click on it.
   

   

   
   

4. Click on "Manage Accounts", then click "New".
   

   

   "Account Name" - enter whatever you want, possibly your website name or MAIN
   "Host" - put in:
   main.nc.us
   You may need to refer to your MAIN Dedicated Directory Reference Sheet for:
   "Login" - your MAIN username from the sheet
   "Password" - the Password from the sheet
   Click "OK" to save the changes. (When you come back later to update your site, you can click on "Choose An Account" and choose whatever you named the account and click "Connect".)
   

5. Connect to the internet however you usually do.
   
6. Click the "Connect" button on FireFTP. It will connect to MAIN's server where your website is hosted.
   On the left side of the window are the files and folders on your hard drive and on the right hand side is your space on MAIN's web server.
   
7. You will see a folder with a
   /
   on the right hand side. That is the folder on the server to hold your webfiles. (See the graphic at the top of this page.)
8. Locate your homepage file on your hard drive. Use the windows on the left hand side to navigate to where your homepage file is stored. (We cannot give exact instructions for this as everyone's computer is set up differently!) Make sure your homepage file is named exactly:
   index.html
   and make sure it is all lower case letters. If you don't do this, the server will not locate your home page and will give you an error message when you try to go to your website. If you need to change the name, do so before you transfer it.
9. To transfer the index.html file from your computer to ours, click on the index.html file on the left hand side once to highlight it and then click on the arrow pointing to the right (in the center strip between the windows) to transfer the file to MAIN's web server. Transfer the rest of the files for your website in a like manner.

To check your website, go to "File" (all the way in the upper left of the window), then "New Window" (or "Tab") and enter your website address in the address bar in this form:

http://main.nc.us/yourdirectoryname
- substituting YOUR Dedicated Directory name where indicated. Hit the Return key on your keyboard or click Go. If you entered your address correctly, your index.html file should load and you should see your home page.

(You should be able to check your website with the FTP connection still open in most cases.) When you are done, click "Disconnect".