Asp free ftp hosting

Choosing a host is just one step in implementing a business Web site or finding a new home for one. And your job doesn't end when the site is launched. You need to keep monitoring and improving your site to serve your customers better. Here are some tips and tools that can help you build and maintain a more professional site with less effort.

Domain registration or transfer. Shop around for the best price for your domain registration, and don't forget to see what your host offers. DellHost, for example, includes free registration if you purchase a year of Web hosting. If you already have a domain, you can point it to your new site by changing the DNS (Domain Name System) records to include your host's name servers.

Tip: It can take a few days for DNS changes to propagate around the world. If you already have a site, you may want to leave it up at its existing location until then.

FTP clients. If you've created your Web site with Web-design software like Microsoft FrontPage, you can use the built-in site-publishing capabilities to upload your pages. But if you need to move files yourself, you'll want a standalone FTP client such as CuteFTP ($39.95 direct, www.cuteftp.com), FTP Voyager ($39.95, www.rhinosoft.com), or WS_FTP ($39.95, www.ipswitch.com). You can also use the FTP client to download pages off your old site and move them to your new one—or to make regular backups of your site.

Tip: Filenames in Unix, unlike those in Windows, are case-sensitive. You may want to convert all your files to use lowercase names when you upload them and build your site with that in mind.

Link checkers. Nothing turns off customers like clicking on a link and getting a "HTTP 404 - File not found" error. Verify that all the links on your site really work, using a tool like Xenu's Link Sleuth (free, http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html) or REL Software's Web Link Validator ($27 and up, www.relsoftware.com).

Tip: In addition to checking your links, set up a custom 404 page so that users who do try to access a missing page—perhaps because of a bad third-party link—have a way to orient themselves.

HTML validators. Reduce browser incompatibilities by making sure that your HTML complies with standards. You can find freeware and shareware software to do the job or simply use the variety of free tools available at the site of the World Wide Web Consortium (www.w3.org), the Web's standards body.

Tip: Don't forget to comply with basic accessibility guidelines so that customers with disabilities can take advantage of your site, too.

Reporting tools. Find out when your customers are visiting your site, where they're coming from, what pages they're looking at, and how long they're staying. Many Web hosts include software to create reports from your log files, or you can use third-party tools like Funnel Web Analyzer ($495 direct, www.quest.com/funnel_web/analyzer) or WebTrends Log Analyzer ($499, www.netiq.com/products/log/default.asp).

Tip: Don't forget to check your error logs. Mine them for insight into site problems you may not know about.

Search engine submissions. One of the best ways to get attention for your site is to get listed in search engines.

Tip: You don't have to pay for software or a service to do the submissions for you. Although there are hundreds of Web search engines, there are just a few important ones. Submitting your site is usually as easy as filling out a couple of fields in an online form.

Submit your site yourself to Google (www.google.com), MSN (www.msn.com), Excite (www.excite.com), Lycos (www.lycos.com), and AltaVista (www.altavista.com). For a Yahoo! listing, businesses have to shell out $299 per year; noncommercial organizations can submit their sites for free. Go to the category your site fits and click the small "Suggest a Site" link at the bottom of the page. America Online uses Google for its search and the Open Directory Project (http://dmoz.org) for its directory, so if you're on those sites you'll be in AOL's search engine.

For more tips and tools to help you tune your Web site, see "70 Assists for a Winning Site" in our issue of April 23, 2002.

Copyright ?? 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.