Creating a MacNet Home Page

As a member of the Macatawa Area Copmmunity Network (MacNet), we have "reserved" a private space on our server for you to store your own home page! To use it you have to first create it using the Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) format. HTML is the way the web identifies your document as a home page and gives it for formating (markup) information that it needs to display it in a "nice" way. The previous page will give you more information on HTML and pointers on how to write a document in that format.

Once you have written an HTML document (to find out more, see How to be an Information Provider), make sure that you name it (exactly and all lower case):

index.html

If your operating system does not yet accept a file extension that long, don't worry, simply rename it to that extension, after you copy it to our web server.

After you have created it, you will need to copy it to your "home" directory on our web server.

• The easiest way to copy it there would be to use an ftp (file transfer protocol) program, or fetch if you are using a Macintosh. I use a shareware product called CuteFTP; you can find out how to configure CuteFTP, along with other configuration tips and utilities from Craig's Tips and Tools page.

• To figure out the name of your "own" directory (where to copy your home page to), figure it like this: If your macnet member name is george, your directory would be:

  /home/george/public_html/

  Simply substitute your own account (or e-mail name, w/o the @macatawa.org suffix) for "george's". In other words, the directory name is assembled like this: "/home/" followed by your MacNet membername and then "/public_html/"

  • Note: You (and our sysop) are the only ones with write access to your private directory, so if you goof it up, everyone will know who did it!

  • To be able to access your home page, after you have copied your file called "index.html" to your directory, you (or anyone else in the world) would Open to your URL address like this (and don't forget the last slash):

    http://www.macatawa.org/~george/

    Again substituting your own account name for george's

• In Summary, if your member name was george, your home page would be named index.html and would be stored on MacNet's server at this location:
  /home/george/public_html/index.html

  The URL (web address) to access that page would be:
  http://www.macatawa.org/~george/

  (Remember, don't forget the last slash in the URL address)

• HAVE FUN! And remember, stay within our acceptable use policies -- you remember, the ones that you accepted when you signed up to the Macatawa Area Community Network!

Back to MacNet Homepage

Last update on 21 January, 2002

created by Craig T. Hall