How to set up and maintain Web pages

Where to put your Web pages

You have access to a Linux web server to host your web pages at DCU.
Login to your DCU Linux account.
See How to login to Linux at DCU

Put your web pages in a directory called public_html:

cd
mkdir public_html
cd public_html
gedit index.html &
gedit file.html &

to make the files:

https://student.computing.dcu.ie/~user/
https://student.computing.dcu.ie/~user/file.html

Then see the page at a URL something like:

https://student.computing.dcu.ie/~mhumphrysdculab/

Web hosting in DCU

File and Directory permissions / protections

The hierarchy of directories above the files needs to be executable by "others". See Notes on directory protections
```
cd
chmod o+x .
chmod o+x public_html
```
On DCU this is done by default when you make directories.
All files need to be readable by "others". See Notes on file protections
```
cd
chmod o+r public_html/index.html
chmod o+r public_html/file.html
chmod o+r public_html/image.jpg
```
On DCU this is done by default when you make files.

How to write your Web pages

Raw HTML in a text editor
- HTML Reference
Raw HTML in an assisted text editor
- HTML editors
- NoteTab
WYSIWYG Web editors
- Browser editors
- Word Save As
- May generate very complex HTML. (In my experience.)
- Word 2 html
- Script to fix the complex HTML generated by Microsoft WYSIWYG tools
Web content management system
- e.g. CA site
- Great for organisation where many users enter data.
- Usable by non-technical people. Users don't write HTML at all.
Web template system - use the skill of graphic/CSS designers who make sites look good / portable.
- Often usable by non-technical people.
- Wordpress
Web frameworks. For designing complex sites, web applications. Aimed at developers who will still access the code.

Summary: Incredible number of tools and frameworks. Some aimed at ordinary user who wants to avoid ever seeing code. Others aimed at developers who want support but still want to retain full control.

Things to consider:

If tool generates very complex HTML then it makes it hard to make any small changes by hand. Have to use the tool.
Scaling up. Some tools are ok for editing a 5 page site but not for editing a 5,000 page site.
Consider how difficult it would be to "replace X with Y" in 5,000 pages. Or move Images to a different directory and fix the links to them in 5,000 pages. Do you have to edit 5,000 pages directly or can you script the changes?
Note WYSIWYG editors may be misleading on the Web because the Web is not WYSIWYG. Your users are looking at your pages on mobiles, tablets, netbooks, old systems, tiny screens, wide screens, with custom colours, fonts not installed, ad blockers on and windows resized. WYSIWYG editors may delude you into thinking that what you are looking at is how the page will look to the user.