Summary

All SJU faculty, staff, and students can set up their own personal website. Some may want just a simple webpage to tell the world something about themself; others may want more larger, multi-page websites. Still others may simply be looking for a place to experiment with the web. In short, a personal website is the place for webpages not directly tied to a department or other affiliation--something personal. It is a website YOU control.

This document will describe the process of setting up a personal website for those completely new to it. For more advanced users, there is also some information on CGIs, Feedback Forms, and other utilities.

Personal Does Not Mean Private

While a personal website is... well, personal, please remember that it is your personal space on the public world wide web. The audience, in most cases, will be the public and others within the SJU community. While some may use their personal website as a way to post things for themself, always keep in mind that webpages on your site will be browseable by the world, and could easily get indexed by search engines like Google. Given this, all the normal rules and regulations apply to what you post on your personal website, as well.

Initial Setup

A personal website can be setup in minutes, and only requires following a few simple steps. If you are familiar with Unix, the directions below should suffice. However, for those unfamiliar with Unix, we have created a Personal Website Setup Utility to make the initial setup process easier.

Step 1: Create pub_html
To begin, first create a folder (a.k.a. "directory") named -- and this is important -- "pub_html" and place it in your "network drive" (also often referred to as your "J Drive"). It should not be nested within any other folders, but instead be right at the top level of the network drive. Again, it must be named pub_html and it must be placed at the top of your network drive.

Step 2: index.html
Believe it or not, but after completing Step 1, you already have the necessary setup complete for your personal website. Problem is, there are no webpages in it. Therefore, you will first want to create an "homepage." This homepage file should be named index.html and be placed in your pub_html directory that you just created.

Create this index.html file any way you like. You can use website software such as Macromedia Dreameaver, or alternatively, if you are comfortable with HTML, by hand. The only important thing is to take that HTML file, name it index.html and place it in your pub_html folder.

Figure: sample hierarchical layout of files.

Step 3: View Your Homepage - That's it!
At this point, go check out your website with your web browser! (See below for the address.)

What's My Address?

Your address (aka URL) is based on your username. For example, my address is http://www.sju.edu/~pdoshi/ because my username is pdoshi.

To determine your address, simplly substitute your username below:

http://www.sju.edu/~username/

(Note that the "~" mark before your username is a "tilde," which is entered on most keyboards by holding SHIFT and the key left of the 1.)

When you have a "index.html" page setup in your personal website, and the permissions are correct, you should be able to see your webpage at the above address.

Figure: personal homepage opened in web browser.

How Much Space Do I Have?

Personal websites are located on individual's network drives. As such, you are limited to however much space your network drive quota allows. If, after viewing your account quota, you find you are short on space, try moving some files (if possible, start with large files first) off your network drive to free up some space. It is recommended you check your network drive disk usage before you start building your personal website so you have some idea of how much space is available.

Advanced Options and Utilities

Feedback Forms

For those users that would like to set up a webpage whereby visitors can submit their comments, please use the online feedback form generator to generate the necessary HTML for a basic form. By following the format of the HTML, you can modify the form to your needs. Not all people will want an "Address" field, for example; simply delete the relevant portions of the HTML to remove that field.

For those new to feedback forms, you can get an idea of what they look like by looking at this sample page. When visitors fill in the form, their information is sent by the webserver to a pre-defined email address. You will define that address(es) when you use the online feedback form generator.

Can I Run CGI Scripts?

Yes. Please refer to the Personal Website CGIs How-To document for details.