ADL Parents as Partners

Web Admin Notes

This page has notes for the people who manage this web site for the Parents As Partners group.

  1. Number 1 Rule: Update these notes from time to time!
  2. Accessing the server:
    1. We're hosted on bluehost.com under an account owned by Rick Yates.
    2. You access the server using an FTP account. Paul McLaughlin knows how to manage those accounts.
    3. When you have an account, you use an FTP program (see below) to get to the server, upload new files, and delete old files.
    4. A couple good FTP programs are MS Internet Explorer version 6 (yes, the web browser) and WS_FTP. You probably already have MS IE 6. You can easily search on Google to find WS_FTP. Note that if you use MS IE you really want version 6 and not 7 because 7 doesn't do the FTP the way we're used to.
    5. Your account will be something like yourid@rickyatesphotography.com.
    6. If you're using MS IE 6, you can easily access the server files using a URL like this:
      ftp://yourid%40rickyatesphotography.com@adlparents.com
      Funny looking, huh? But it works. Once you hit the server, it'll prompt you for your password.
    7. If you're using WS_FTP, you should ftp to adlparents.com and enter your userid and password when prompted.
  3. File editing notes:
    1. Before you work on files, it's usually a good idea to copy the current files to your hard drive and work on them there. Also, don't assume that you always have the most current versions! Someone other administrator might have made updates while you weren't looking.
    2. You can use lots of HTML editing programs. I don't have any special recommendations, though I would avoid programs like MS Word or Lotus WordPro since they mangle the HTML so badly!
    3. We have created cascading stylesheets to make the job easier! But it's only easier if you remember a few rules:
      1. Put this text in the <head> section of your file: 
              <!--LOAD OUR STYLESHEETS -->
      <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="ourStyle.css" />
      <!-- DONE LOADING OUR STYLESHEETS -->
      <!-- Now that we've defined our stylesheets, please don't override the
           style in your stuff below! -->
      2. That stylesheet file (the .css file) defines what our pages should look like. It includes details on headings, links, background images, etc., etc.
      3. Here's the biggy: Don't try to override the styles any more than absolutely necessary.
      4. And a related rule: Do try to use the right formating instructions. Example: If you want a heading that's big and bold, don't just make the font big and bold. Instead, use the H1 (heading 1) instruction!
      5. As an example, look at how most of the current files are organized. In general, they don't identify a lot of formating (and they're simpler!) ... all because we have the stylesheet file.
    4. Also, we usually put a "heading3" (h3) at the top of each page where we say "ADL Parents As Partners".
  4. Web site organization notes: When you get to the server files, look around at how some of the folders are organized. We have folders and sub-folders to help keep the clutter down. For example, we don't just splatter all the photos into the main directory. Instead, we keep them organized in folders under the photos directory.
  5. Finally, don't forget to update these notes from time to time!