Using CuteFTP

Using WSFTP

Enter the FTP address of the domain you wish to access in the proper location of your FTP client. The address should look like this: ftp.yourdomainname.com (or .net as appropriate).

Enter your password in the proper location of your client, in the proper case.

If you can't access the server, note the error code displayed in your FTP client. If it is 'password' or 'user invalid', you are probably using an old password or incorrectly casing the right one. Try capitalizing the first letter. This usually solves the problem.

If you receive a 'host not found' or similar message, this does not mean that the server is down. In most cases it means that due to a internet traffic bottleneck, your ISP (Internet Service Provider or 'dial-up connection') can not reach the server at that specific moment. These situations usually clear up within a few minutes.

Each time you connect to your ISP, part of the process is the formation of a cache to speed the user's surfing. This is essentially the same function as your browser's temporary internet files (IE) and cache files (Netscape) only it's at your ISP, on their dialup server. Occasionally a incorrect URL will be cached. When this occurs, you will not be able to reach the server. The only remedy for this is to break the connection with your ISP and redial.

If you still can not reach the server, contact us by phone or page, or email. If you do not have our contact numbers, email us and we will provide them.

About File Transfer Protocol 

One of the oldest Internet protocols still in use today is the File Transfer Protocol, known as FTP, which was first developed in 1971.  FTP, a standard Internet protocol, is the simplest way to exchange files between computers on the Internet. Like Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which transfers Web pages and related files, and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), which transfers e-mail, FTP is an application protocol that uses the Internet's TCP/IP protocols.  FTP is commonly used to transfer Web page files from their creator to the computer that acts as their server for everyone on the Internet. It's also commonly used to download programs and other files to your computer from other servers.

The key to download speed is how much data must be transmitted from the server through the internet, to the browser on a surfer's computer. Data is the web page and it's HTML coding plus any graphics embedded in the page. A few over-sized graphics files can kill a page's download speed. It's quite easy to inadvertently build a page that loads slowly even when transmitted over a dedicated T-1 line. And remember, most surfers are still on a 56K modem at best! That's a very narrow pipe to squeeze a lot of data through in a reasonable amount of time.

Take a look at your pages and directories; pick one of your more graphics-intensive pages, then look at the file size for each graphic. Add the kilobytes up. Unless you have already been paying close attention to graphic optimization (in which case you probably don't need to read this help section), I think you will be surprised. This is the amount of data that must be transmitted for a surfer to see that page.

In this section I refer a lot to file size. 'As viewed' refers to the size of an image when displayed in your graphics editor. When I simply refer to 'file size' I am referring to the actual amount of data that is stored on the server which must be transmitted. Typically graphics are much larger as viewed, than the actual file.

GIF files are great for small graphics, drawings and 'text' (banner) type images. They generally are a 'sharper' image to the eye. They have the drawback of being huge files. That means there is more data that must be downloaded from the server through the internet to the surfer's browser.

This can be mitigated by reducing the number of colors of the image. Care must be used when doing this, it can ruin the image for viewing. It is greatly dependent on the quality of the original image. If you have a GIF that you must use and it can't be reduced in color, crop out unnecessary content. This isn't as effective as color reduction, but does help.

JPG or JPEG files are great for pictures such as scanned images, and those from digital cameras. They actually feature more colors than a GIF too.

When creating a JPG for web-use, pay attention to the compression setting of your graphics editor. A good quality image can usually be compressed at least 25% with no visible loss in image quality. The result is a much smaller file that can download to the surfer, quicker. If at all possible large images (as viewed) of products, people and scenery should be saved as JPGs.

Thumbnail images (small as-viewed images linked to the large images) can rescue a slow-loading page. I strongly encourage the use of thumbnails!

One final graphics tip: When creating a web page use the image size (as viewed) setting of your HTML editor. This allows the surfer's browser to set aside the proper amount of space for the image, as the page is displayed. This reduces processing time on the surfers computer, especially if the page is graphics intensive.

There are so many different types of photo editors. We use PaintShopPro as we have found it to be very user friendly. 

A table will not show up in a surfers browser until all of the objects located in the table are downloaded to their computer.

The easiest way around this is to make several small tables on a page instead of one huge table. This allows each small table to display in the browser as it's objects are downloaded. The page will appear to load in 'stages' which is a pretty cool effect too.

Tables can also be 'nested'. That is, a table can be created in a cell of a previously created table. This can get very tricky, especially if you want to do any editing by hand. When nesting tables, don't go more than three layers deep.

When creating tables use the width setting of your HTML editor. This allows the browser to set aside the proper amount of space for the table, as the page is displayed. In other words, this doesn't affect download time, but processing time on the surfers computer is reduced.