The email configuration letter you receive from the We-Host Order Processing department contains your new account configuration and login information. The information in this section includes server type (and services included), your activation date, the Hosting Account IP address, and temporary domain name.

A sample hosting configuration letter is shown below:

Information in the email configuration letter that you should pay particular attention to (highlighted in bold in the sample letter above) is explained below.

The Basics: Getting Started

Easy Steps For Using Your Hosting Account
The fundamentals necessary to creating a functional Internet presence with your new We-Host Regular Hosting account are outlined below.

Please note, when your account is setup, we initially install a filed called "index.htm" which actually contains the "Welcome to your new web home" announcement. You may delete this page if you wish. The web server will first look for "index.html" pages, and if they do not exist, it will look for "index.htm" pages. Your DEFAULT home page must be one of the two.

1. Setting up your E-mail Accounts
2. Setting up your E-mail Program
3. Design your Web site
4. Upload Content to your account

1. Setting up  your E-mail Accounts
Simply log into your web hosting account control panel by entering http://your_domain_name/cpanel. Enter your username/password and visit the E-mail area.  

2. Setting up  your E-mail Program
All  hosting accounts come with POP mail boxes which allow you to have a personalized "company" email server. That is your email settings may be set to reflect your_domain.com  in the POP3 and SMTP settings of your email program. You can create, add, delete and editwith the NEW Control Panel.

1. Accessing your E-mail Mailbox
   Any number of e-mail clients can be used to access e-mail stored at an e-mail mailbox, either on your local ISP's server or on your hosting account.  If you are using the Post Office Protocol (POP) to "pop" mail off of your Hosting Account   mailbox (i.e. download the mail to your local computer) then you should consider Qualcomm Eudora, Netscape Communicator, Pegasus Mail by David Harris, or the Microsoft Outlook Express. 

   The below information is to be used if you have setup a mail POP box on your hosting account.
   
   Each mail client, though different, will require essentially the same information, namely: the mailbox location, your identity, your e-mail address, and the SMTP relay host. Some sample configuration parameters for several e-mail clients are given below:

    

   Microsoft Outlook Express Configuration Settings (POP)
   Under the Tools menu, select the Accounts menu item.
            Select Add > Mail
      In the "Display Name" section:
          Type the Name that you wish to send mail as NEXT
      Email Address
          Select I already have an email account...
          Type your email address in the form NEXT
      Incoming Mail Server (POP3) 
            your_domain.name
       Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP) 
             your_domain.name   NEXT
      Account Name:
             Type your email Username (typically the first half of your email address)
                 ex. joe@your_domain.name   account name = joe
      Password : 
              Type your email password   NEXT > FINISH
      This completes the email setup!
   

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3. Design a web site
Having a powerful Internet presence is essential for companies that seek to compete in the future. The first step in creating a powerful Internet presence is designing an equally powerful Web site. There are basically three ways to create great Web pages:

1. Get a Web publisher program and do it yourself
   There are numerous Web publisher programs available on the Internet today. Many of the more popular publishing programs include Netscape Composer, NetObjects Fusion, Sausage Software HotDog, AOLpress, Adobe PageMill, Allaire HomeSite, GoLive CyberStudio, Galt Technology webMASTER PRO, and Microsoft FrontPage. This is only a small sample of Web publisher programs. You can find additional programs by typing "HTML editor" into any good search engine.
2. Hire someone with Web know-how
   There are numerous consultants, ad agencies, and web design firms who have the technical know-how to construct a Web site; however, a good Web site is much more than just HTML code. The consultants you retain should design your Web site from a marketing point of view, to ensure that the proper message is being communicated to its potential and existing clients. For this reason, you should be wary about simply turning over its Web site to someone who has the technical know-how without considering the marketing and design side of your Web site.
3. Learn HTML and build from the ground up
   Many people learn HTML and build web content by hand. Though there may be a significant time investment involved, the power and flexibility you command by manipulating the raw HTML code cannot be matched (only mimicked) by graphical publishing programs.

   The best way to learn HTML (or Hyper Text Mark-up Language - the language used for constructing web pages) is to look at the "source" of documents you find appealing. The HTML source code can be viewed using most popular Internet browsers (look under the "View" menu in Netscape or MSIE), consult your browser documentation for specific information about viewing HTML source code.

   You may also want to refer to other HTML resources such as online guides or books.

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3. Upload Files to your Hosting Account
Now that your HTML and graphic file design is complete, you are ready to upload the files to your web account. There are several methods to upload content, some of which are discussed below.

1. Uploading files via an FTP Client
   In order to upload your content via FTP, you will first need to choose an FTP client. Freeware, Shareware, and Commercial FTP clients are available. You can find a good number of FTP clients by searching Yahoo or c|net download.com for "FTP client".

   If you are using the Windows 95/98/NT operating system, you can use the FTP client that is built into the TCP/IP stack. The We-Host Support Staff has also found the graphical FTP client, WS_FTP to be very useful. Another one of our favorite FTP programs is CuteFTP. If you are using a Macintosh, Fetch is probably the most popular FTP program available and is quite easy to use.

   Since each FTP program is unique, it is impractical to give a step by step description about how to use each FTP program. However, despite this, there is some common information required by all FTP programs. This information includes your Host Name, your User ID, and your Password. The configuration letter you received from our support department often includes this information.

   We have included specific instructions about how to use both WS_FTP and Fetch below.
    
   Using WS_FTP (Windows)
   

   1. Establish a connection to your Hosting Account by selecting the "Connect" button. Specify your company name as the "Profile Name", your domain name (or temporary domain name if your domain name has not yet been registered) as the "Host Name/Address", your login name as the "User ID", and your login password as the "Password".
   2. Once a connection is established, two columns will appear on your screen. The column on the left displays files on your computer while the column on the right represents directories and files in your account
   3. You will want to navigate throughout your web account by choosing items on the right side (typically) of your screen. This is the directory where you will store your web content. Remember, your main file, the one that people will view when they first visit your web site, should be called index.htm or index.html
   4. Select the appropriate files or directories that you want to transfer from your computer (the left side) to your web space (the right side) by selecting them with your mouse. You can select more than one by holding down the shift key.
   5. Once these files are selected you simply hit the arrow "-->" pointing toward the right or toward the Hosting Account directory window. Be sure that all HTML documents and CGI script are transferred in ASCII mode. Graphics should be transferred in Binary format. The latest versions of WS_FTP provide an "Auto" toggle button you can select- WS_FTP will then automatically determine which mode to transfer the file (we recommend you use the "Auto" mode).

   Using Fetch (Macintosh)
   

   1. Establish a connection to your Hosting Account by selecting the "New Connection" button under the "File" menu. Specify your domain name (or temporary domain name if your domain name has not yet been registered) as the "Host", your login name as the "User ID", and your login password as the "Password".
   2. You will want to navigate to the directory to store your web content. Remember, your main file, the one that people will view when they first visit your web site, should be called index.htm or index.html
   3. To upload content to your Hosting Account you can either drag files and folders from your desktop to the Fetch window or select the "Put File..." button and select files and folders.
   4. Be sure that all HTML documents and CGI script are transferred in ASCII mode. Graphics should be transferred in Binary format. Fetch also has a setting, "Automatic", that you can select- Fetch will then automatically determine which mode to transfer the file (we recommend you use the "Automatic" mode).

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As always, if you encounter a problem or have a question that you cannot resolve do not hesitate to contact our We-Host Support Staff at support@we-host.com.