Chris Bluemel

The starting point is that you have a PC (I suppose Macs and others will work as well),d  with a working web connection and Internet browser.  You need to be able to download certain software, so there must be no restriction on 'admin rights', so your own or a friend's PC is probably better than one at work.

 

Webpages use a language called HTML.  Whilst a lot of techies can write HTML directly, my view is that life is too short and you would be better off downloading an 'HTML Editor'.  This is a programme in which you type and insert pictures in a similar manner to Word, and it automatically writes the html (which is invisible to you, although there is a way of viewing it if you really want to).  In other words, what you see is exactly what you get.  You can do everything you would expect - choose font, size, text colour, background colour, insert pictures (and I recomment JPEG files), etc.  You can even copy text from another programme, though you'll probably have to edit fonts and spacing a lot.  Importantly, you can insert links to other files or websites.

 

The HTML editor I use is Sea Monkey, but Dream Weaver is another very popular one.  Both are free to download.  Best thing when downloading is to save, rather than open, then open once it is on your hard disk.  The files you save will also be HTML files (e.g. palestine.html).

 

 

Keeping all the files in the same folder makes it much easier to upload all the pages at once.  It also means that if a host objects to the political content of your site and closes it (which has happened to some groups), it is not too much hassle to upload again once you've got your new host.

 

 

This is slightly harder, but not too much so.  For the site itself you will need:

 

- a host.  This is someone who has a web server, which runs 24/7, and is always connected to the web.  When you type a URL (e.g. www.pscsoton.org.uk), your browser locates the web server and sends a request for the pages, which are subsequently downloaded to your browser.  Normally, the host is a company (see below for examples), and you register with them online, for a nominal fee (I pay £30 a year, but they can vary considerably).  Some people have their own servers, but this is not an area to go down until you have had some experience (ie not me).  But you may be lucky enough to know a sympathetic person or small local organisation who will host your site for free.

 

- a domain name.  This is simply the name of your site that comes after www, e.g. google.co.uk or pscsoton.org.uk.  You have to register a domain name with a registrar (and you will be the registrant).  Again, this costs a nominal amount which varies considerably - I think ours is £7.99 for two years.  The registrar will check whether your preferred name is available; e.g. if you asked for google.co.uk, it would tell you it was taken).

 

Quite a number of companies do both hosting and domain registration (without obbligation to take both), some are even Internet Service Providers as well.  I use Low Cost Names (http://lcn.com) for both, though I had some problems getting the pages online.  I know someone else who has used www.fastnets.com.

  

Once you have sorted your host and your domain name, you will need an FTP (File to Transfer Protocol) programme to transfer the HTML files from your hard disk to the remote directory (the host's hard disk).  I use FileZilla Client; Coffee Cup is another programme.  Both are free downloads (again should be saved then opened from your hard disk). 

 

The FPT programme should be simple to use - it shows two columns, one with your local disk, and one for the remote directory, and you simply transfer from one to the other.  Remember start with the index file, and to transfer associated image files and PDF attachments.  You will need your host's upload address which they will provide, and your username and password for the site.