Hosting a Web Site on the MSLN Web Server

If you would like to have MSLN host your web page you need to do three things.

1. Determine how you will update your web site.

MSLN now has 3 options you can choose from.

• FTP / Fetch
• WebDAV

How you update your web page is usually determined by the software that you use to create your web page.

• FTP (Windows) and Fetch (Mac) will work with most software. - uploading files to the web the "old-fashioned way"
• WebDav is a new way to publish on the web. Many new web publishing tools currently support DAV. WebDav stands for "World Wide Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning" and is a set of extensions to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that facilitates collaborative editing and file management between users located remotely from each other on the Internet. Currently web authoring programs such as Macromedia's DreamWeaver and Adobe's Go Live support WebDav.

2. Will you be using a standard domain?

You will probably be using the standard school or library domain names unless your school, district or library purchased a domain name.
Examples of standard domains:

• School district - www.yarmouth.k12.me.us.
• Library - www.york.lib.me.us.

These domains are free through MSLN and follow domain name standards used nationwide.

Some schools and libraries purchase domain names.
Examples of purchased domains are:

• Topsham Library - www.topshamlibrary.org
• SAD 55 - www.sad55.org
• SAD 71- www.msad71.net.

MSLN will host domain names that are purchased through an outside entity as long as they set them up according to our standards.

MSLN will host the standard domains plus .org, .and net, domains but MSLN will not host .com domains. More info about hosting domains.

3. Request an id and password to use the shared web server.

MSLN will set up one web site per school or library. MSLN requires an email request of the official Tech Coordinator for that school of library website. This email must come from the Tech Coordinator on record and must come from a valid MSLN email account.

MSLN can also setup a district wide site if asked to, as long as the Tech Coordinator making the request is the "district" Tech Coordinator.

Have your MSLN Tech contact send email to MSLN@maine.edu from a valid MSLN email account or call the MSLN Help Line at (888) FOR-MSLN (888-367-6756) for instructions. Once the request is fulfilled, the technical coordinator will receive:

Host machine: www.schoolname.k12.me.us
or Host machine: www.libraryname.lib.me.us
ID: username id
Password: website password

Once you have the server name (host machine name), the id and a password, you will have to use your FTP software (Fetch or WS-FTP) to transfer the files from your computer to the MSLN server.

Important: Make sure your homepage is named index.html

Need help with Fetch or WS-FTP?
Download the latest versions of the software.