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Information on Your New Ark Webs Site

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Note:
  

Note:

If your site is enabled with Microsoft Frontpage, you may use it to replace or edit this page by connecting to this server by using the username and password that was supplied to you.  Make sure to open the RootWeb when you login.

You may also wish to use other publishing tools to create your website, and in that case you will want to use a FTP client to transfer your web pages onto your web site.  Here is a simple and quick guide to getting your website up and running in no time!

1. Create Content
2. Publish your content
3. Publicize your site

1. Create Content

There are a variety of ways to create content. The easiest way is to use a Web content publishing tool such as Macromedia Dreamweaver, Adobe's Fireworks or a variety of other free publishing tools that you can find on the internet.  Other tools that are helpful include graphical editing tools such as Paintshop Pro and even more dynamic content generators like Macromedia's Flash.  

Ark Webs now provides the industry's leading browser-based solution for website design and construction. With Site Studio, you need not know anything about FTP, HTML, Telnet, HTTP, or imaging software. If you can surf the Internet, you can build your own professionally looking website. Click here to read about all the features of Ark Webs Site Studio.

You can click here to request us to add the FREE Site Studio to your site. 

You may also wish to edit your contents yourself by using a text editor and learning HTML. Here are some pointers to learning HTML

• Web Monkey
• CNET Web Builder
• HTML Goodies
• Yale Web Style Guide
• W3C HTML Homepage

2. Publish your content

Once you've finished your page/site, you'll need to upload it to your web server. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows a person to transfer files between two computers, generally connected via the Internet. You can either FTP your files via the command line (i.e. DOS), or you can find yourself an FTP client which executes all the commands in a drag-and-drop interface. We would highly recommend the latter to beginners and experts alike. FTP clients make the publishing process simple.

FTP Basics
 To FTP, you will need to know the host location, as well as your username and password. All your web site contents is stored in \Inetpub\ftproot. There are four virtual ftp directories already created:

Using an FTP Client
Most FTP clients have the same basic layout, functionality, and price. Choosing one is simply a matter of personal preference. Some of the more popular clients for Windows-based computers include WS_FTP, CuteFTP, and BulletProof FTP and for Macintosh computers include Fetch, and Interarchy. All clients come with documentation, and it shouldn't take you long to figure out how to get started. But here are a few basics:

• There will be some kind of "Site Manager" feature which will store all your FTP locations and their corresponding login information. Once you enter this info, the client will automatically log you in.
• There will be three screens. One representing your local machine, one representing the remote host, and one which shows the files that are queued for transfer. You will need to navigate to the correct folders on both your local machine and the host machine.
• You will then highlight the files you wish to upload on your local machine, and there should be a button at the top that queues the files for upload. The upload might execute immediately, or you might have to hit a "Go" button first.
• That's it! Your files are uploaded! You should now be able to go to your URL and view the page.

3. Publicize Your Site

Search Engines and Internet Catalogs
Probably the most common way to publicize your site and generate traffic is to submit it to search engines (i.e. Google) and internet catalogs (i.e. Yahoo!). Most of these sites have a form you can fill out to submit your site. To save yourself some time, you can try a service that submits your site to multiple search engines and internet catalogs by filling out just one form. There are many of these services out there, such as www.submit-it.com. By adding meta tags to your site, you can increase the relevancy of your pages in people's searches. Meta tags will be discussed a bit later.

Ark Webs also offers a help page with several submission services. You can Submit Your Site Here .

Reciprocal Links
If your page has a theme, seek out pages with similar themes and ask the webmaster to post a link to your site. In exchange, you promise to add a link to their site on yours. This is a great way to get the word out about your site for free.

Newsgroups
Look for newsgroups where you think people who would be interested in your site might frequent. Post a message announcing your site and its features. Don't do this too often as it is sometimes considered Spamming (unsolicited advertising).

Web Rings
If there are other pages that are similar to yours, there might be a web ring out there dedicated to your kind of site. Do an internet search for "web ring" and include a keyword related to your site. If you join a web ring, you will need to add a web ring graphic and links to your page.

Advertising
If you really want to give your site some exposure, you can create a banner ad and find a company that will get your banner put up on numerous pages. The cost generally depends on the amount of impressions (how many times it is seen) or click-throughs (how many times it is actually clicked on).

FREE Banner Credits for Ark Webs Hosting Customers
Receive 7000 Banner impressions FREE - To receive your FREE banner credits, just go to http://www.arkwebs.us/free-banners.html and fill out the form. Give us your domain name and link to the 468x60 banner you would like to use. You do not have to join the exchange.  These are FREE impressions because you are an Ark Webs customer. If you don't want them give them to a friend. All that is required is your domain name and username. Just that simple!

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