This Unit:

Reading Assignment:

There are online videos for this unit's Assignment. Please check on the left side of the Unit 4 Learning Module in WebCT. The videos are listed as hotlinks. They should help you a lot to understand this unit's work.

Read Chapter Four and do all the exercises in the chapter.

If you roll your mouse over my picture on the left, you will see something unusual. What you see is done ENTIRELY with XHTML and CSS--no Java Script is used. By the end of the course you will know how to do this. Hint: it's related to the <a> tag discussed in this chapter.

But, let's get back to business. The first section of the chapter tells you how to get connected with a Web Hosting Company. The book has to be a little general in this regard because there are so many companies and so many way to go about this task. So, I would like to give you some suggestions that will work well in the San Diego area.

  1. The Real Deal: You can get an account with a top quality web hosting company. This sort of company will set you up with a Domain Name such as www.craftwebproject.com, they provide email accounts for the domain name, and they have what is known as a "C-Panel" which allows you to control many functions of the webserver remotely. For example, you can link to a MySQL database and make your site interactive. You will need this kind of host if you plan to get serious in web design work or even if you want to put up a big personal web site. They give you lots of bandwidth and file storage space. Cost: about $100/year including the fees to register you own domain name. (I don't get any kickbacks or rewards from the following companies. I am just telling you a few that I have used without any hassle.) Here are three full-service hosts I know of personally:
    1. Lunarpages.com: This is the company I use to host www.craftwebproject.com. I have been using them since June 2007. So far, so good. I had a question and they answered in less than a day. However, I make no promises or make any guarantees for any company. All I can tell you is what I have used. Your mileage may vary.
    2. Discountasp.net: This is a company that I have used for three years. They have been very reliable and they offer very advanced services. So far, so good. No problems at all. However, I make no promises or make any guarantees for any company.
    3. Alterhosting.com: This is a company that one of the other instructors has used for several years. He tells me that they have been very reliable and they offer very advanced services.
    4. Doteasy.com: This is a hosting company that is recommended on the website of the publisher of our textbook. I tried it out, and it is actually free after you pay a small amount (around $8.00) to register your domain name. However, the amount of data you can store on their servers or send over the Internet for free is very small. If you need more, they ask you to upgrade to a paid account. The paid accounts are not bad, but others providers may end up being cheaper. My website on this host is at: http://www.cbte.info/ I can't make any promises or make any guarantees for any company. All I can tell you is what I have used. Your mileage may vary.
  2. Amateur Level: These hosts offer limited storage and limited bandwidth (i.e., they limit the amount of data that can be downloaded by visitors each day) and they do not give you your own private domain. Your address will be something like: http://members.cox.net/wcraft. As you can see I have one of these accounts through Cox Cable.
    1. Cox.net: As you can see above, I have used this service. It can do FTP and it is good enough for what we will do in this course, but it would not be good enough to do anything professional. It DOES NOT put advertisements on your pages. Cox.net is FREE to subscribers who get their Internet service from Cox. It can be set up very quickly. If you can't find it on their website, search for "personal web page."
    2. Time Warner Road Runner: This is the other cable company in San Diego. I have never had their service but they do give free personal web pages to their subscribers if you get your internet from them. FREE. As with Cox, good enough for this course but not good enough to do anything professional.
  3. Unsatisfactory Case: There are some companies who provide webpage hosting for free, but it comes with a catch. They put adds on your pages. You get what you pay for. This sort of site will NOT work for this class. When those extra adds and banners are added into your code they will not validate with the W3C as XHTML-strict which is a key factor in the syllabus criteria to pass this class.

My Advice: Get a top quality hosting company if you can afford the price. If you are going to develop a "Digital Portfolio" it will look much better to your clients and future employers if it has a domain name that relates to you. Also, if you keep at this stuff, you will want to use the features such as database integration that only a professional web hosting company can provide.

FTP: Pages 132-133 talk about FTP in the manual mode. Don't Do It! There are too many easier ways to do FTP:

  1. My favorite is a plug in for FireFox called FireFTP. It is FREE and it is one of the best FTP programs I have every used. Check it out at the FireFTP website. It works as good as programs costing $75.00, but it is free—really free not with hidden costs.
  2. Another option is WS_FTP. It has a 30 day free trial and I have used it many times. I recommend it highly, except that it isn't free. FireFTP is good enough unless you want to go pro-level.

There are a couple of movies on the left hand side of the Learning Module that show you how to install FireFTP on FireFox and how to log in and upload files to an Internet Service Provider. Please watch them because FTP is a little tricky if you have never done it before. However, once you have figured it out, it seems pretty simple. Hopefully the movies will give you a head start.

HTTP, Absolute Path, Default Pages, Linking, Target, and Destination Anchors : These topics are the real meat of this chapter. Please read the text carefully and do the exercises. Don't get too fond of "Target" because it is not allowed in XHTML (strict) and that's where we're headed. However, lots of old sites use this trick and it's good to know about it. (Target = Popup)

Discussion

Tell the class what sort of web host you are planning to use to post your pages and why you picked that company or method. Comment on your classmates inputs if you care to do so.

Quiz:

Take the quiz.

Assignment:

  1. Get your web host account set up and give me your new address or domain name. It usually takes 3 days to get a domain name promulgated so do not wait too long to get started on this.
  2. Install Firefox Web Browser on your computer and then install Fire FTP into Firefox.

Note that the due date for the Discussion, the Quiz, and the Assignment are all due on the date listed on the homepage of the course. If you need an extension, let me know in advance and I will try to work with you. However, you really do need to get an online website to do the work in this class. So do not delay unless it is absolutely necessary.

...Bill