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Hosting Manual

 

     The Hosting&Designs.com hosting manual will help you familiarize yourself with the many features we have to offer. Whether you're looking for a quick start to uploading your files, or would like to learn about our many advanced features, this manual provides easy to follow step by step instructions on just about everything you'll need to know. You may want to bookmark this page for future reference.

     Assuming you've just signed up with Hosting&Designs, you're probably wondering how to test out a few of the features and begin uploading your web site with files. You're just a couple of steps from doing just that, but first things first. Your welcoming email contains the basic information you'll need to access your account and get things underway. Print it out, or open it up in a separate window, as you'll need to refer to it during these tutorials.

Account Basics:

Username and Passwords:

These are stated in the first paragraph of the welcoming email. Until you change them, they're needed to authenticate everything from FTP, to Email access, C-Panel, and MS FrontPage if you're using it. In short, use this Username and Password for any access you're attempting to your account.

NOTE:  When submitting a tech support issue to the help desk, you'll need to create a separate username and password.  DO NOT use your 'main account' username and password for the login!  You can select a "Support Desk" username and password upon your first visit to: http://hostinganddesigns.com/cgi-bin//pdesk.cgi (where all support issues should be sent).

Accessing your account via its URL or associated IP number

If you've just signed up to HostingAndDesigns.com, chances are you've begun the process of a domain transfer to our servers. In all likelihood, it will take anywhere from 48 to 72 hours for all worldwide DNS records to reflect you domain name as pointing to our servers. While everything in our welcoming email refers to the domain you signed up, we recommended you use the accompanying "IP" number until you can verify your domain is actually answering to your new account on the HostingAndDesigns.com servers. 

The IP we've provided you will soon be registered to your domain name.  Until such time as your domain is officially answering to our servers, you can use your new IP to access and setup your web site.  For example, if your assigned IP was 64.21.80.13, your welcoming email would provide the URL http://64.21.80.13/ as an option for accessing your new account. Again, it's a great way to test all those features and make sure everything is functioning smoothly before launching your web to the world.

Accessing accounts :

You need to call your account with an IP and "your associated Username." Both of these were sent to you in your welcoming email. Let's try an example:

Your username is frank
Your IP is 64.21.80.13

To reach your account via the web, you would call this site as: http://64.21.80.13/~frank/ Don't forget the ~ before your name! Also remember that the IP we're using in this case is an "example." Check your welcoming email for the IP number and Username, which was assigned to your account.  Once again, when your new DNS settings have propagated across the worlds DNS servers, you'll be able to access your domain by calling it the standard way, which is http://www.yourdomain.com.

 Accessing your account via FTP:

These accounts are accessed in generally the same way as a dedicated IP account would be. Again, if your domain name is not officially pointing to our servers yet, use the IP and Username, which was sent to you in your welcoming email. If you have additional questions regarding the ins and outs of FTP, please see our FTP support section, which covers it in broad detail.


Accessing C-panel:

To access your C-Panel account manager, you can login into it with:

http://www.mydomain.com/cpanel  
or
http://64.21.80.13/~frank/cpanel/ (Make sure to change the IP number to the one we sent you)

Again, if your domain name is not pointing to our servers yet, calling it with your IP will enable access to your account.

The Home Directory:

Your html files, and or the files you want to make accessible to the World Wide Web must be uploaded to your account. When you first FTP into your account, you'll be taken to your "Home" directory. Don't confuse this with your "web directory." The home directory is "not" accessible to the World Wide Web; it's a private directory where critical system files reside. DO NOT delete files that have been created by the system, otherwise your web site may disappear into cyber oblivion!

 The public_html and www directory - (Where web accessible files are placed)

These are the two directories, where files you want accessed from the web must be placed. Open the folder "public_html" , which is your "web accessible directory." The folder named "www" is actually a shortcut to public_html, (both of them take you to your web directory). Upload the files you want accessible to your visitors and feel free to make the appropriate sub-directories you'll require.