This page updated 5 May 2009
Version note: Applies to Second Site 3 & 4
Once you have created a website with Second Site, you will probably want to share it with others. While you could just ask them to gather around your computer, that's not likely to be satisfactory. This article discusses how to either provide copies privately, for example by copying it to CDs and providing them to your relatives, or by placing on the Internet so others can access it from their own computers.
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Topics Included in this Article |
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| Sending copies of your site privately to your readers | |
| Placing your site on the Internet for all to see | |
| The hosting service that's built in to Second Site | |
| Using other hosting services | |
Second Site creates webpages in a folder on your hard drive. You will probably need to make a number of trial runs of your site to get all the options set just the way you want them. You can view your work with a web browser on your computer, but when you are satisfied with the result, you will probably want to share it with others. To do that you can either copy the appropriate files to a CD, and send that CD to others, or you can post them to a website.
When you create a site definition file (.sdf) in Second Site, the program also creates two folders, each with the same name as the sdf file, but with "-i" (for input) or "-o" (for output) appended. The folder with the -o added contains all the files for the webpages, and it's those files you copy to a CD or upload to a website. For example, if you name your site definition file "My Smith Family.sdf" you would copy all the files and folders in the "My Smith Family-o" folder to the CD or upload them to your website. Generally, you do not want to copy the folder itself – just the files and folders within it.
Distributing your webpages on CD offers the greatest security if they contain information you do not want to release to the general public, since access is limited to those that receive the CD, or a copy of it. So long as you trust those to whom you provide a copy, you have some assurance that the information will not become publicly available. Pages posted to a website are generally available to the public, though various methods exist to make them private, offering varying degrees of security.
Making your site available on CD is as simple as "burning" the files within the "-o" folder to a blank CD with your CD drive, assuming, like most today, it is capable of "burning" files. If your computer has dedicated software for copying files onto CDs you may want to use that. But with WindowsXP or later you can use the capability built into Windows to do that:
Locate the "-o" folder in Windows Explorer
Click someplace within the file space, and then press Ctrl-A to select all files and folders
Drag the selected files to the icon for your CD drive, or if your layout for Windows Explorer displays a "Copy to CD" icon, click that
When prompted, let Windows copy the files to the CD
If you are going to make only a few CDs you can create them with your own computer. If you plan to make a substantial number of CDs you may want to explore a CD duplicating service. Wholly Genes, the makers of TMG, offer a CD & DVD Duplication service that has received positive feedback from users.
The concept of publicly available websites is fairly simple. You "upload," that is transfer copies of your site files, to a host computer. A host is a company that has computers connected to the Internet which are configured to receive and send files to other computers. Your readers then view your site in a web browser on their computers. The reader's browser "downloads," that is receives a copy of, your files from the host and displays them.
If you want to make your site public on the Internet you must obtain a web host. You then upload all the files created by Second Site to your web host. Your readers can then view them from any computer with Internet access and a standard web browser. Unless you password protect your site, it will be visible to anyone in the world. Once your site is found by search sites like Google anyone will be able to search for and locate information on your site. This can be a great way to connect with unknown cousins or others researching the lines you post.
The first chore after deciding to post your site on the Internet is to choose a web host. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) may offer free hosting for web pages, although the amount of storage space is often limited, and thus may limit the amount of information you can include in your site. There is free hosting available from a number of sources, including RootsWeb, although "free" really means that ads will be placed on your site.
A second concern with using space provided by your ISP or one of the "free" services is the web address users must type into their browsers to locate your site. In most cases, if you use use a paid host you can choose your own "domain name" - ReigelRidge.com or SmithFamily.net, for example. This provides your readers have a web address that makes sense to them. But if you use "free" space you are generally assigned a web address that may look like "webpages.charter.net/treigel," which is not as easy for your readers to use.
In my view, if you have invested effort to develop a site you are proud of, it's worthwhile to pay for hosting services, so your site can be ad-free and have a web address of your own choosing. When you do that, your domain, or web address, stays the same if you should decide to move to a different host.
No doubt the simplest way to obtain hosting for a site created with Second Site is to use Family History Hosting, the service offered by John Cardinal, the author of Second Site. The advantages are hassle-free uploads from within Second Site, first-rate support, and a service designed for genealogist that doesn't require learning a new technical language.
At this writing John is still including a free two-hour "Get Started" session for Second Site users, in which he helps people overcome whatever issues they might have with publishing, help them register a domain, structure their site, or whatever might be needed to get the new site up and running. Users who have made use of this service have raved about it.
Uploading your site is very simple when you use Family History Hosting. After you purchase your hosting package you receive an email with a few critical items you need to enter into Second Site to allow it to access the host. You enter them in the Pages > Publish screen, as shown below:
In that screen you enter:
FHH Server ID – enter the number provided in the email
Upload Method – choose "Compressed Archive" if possible. It is much faster than the "File by file" method, which should only be used if the Compressed Archive method doesn't work for you, for example if your site is very large.
FTP Server – enter the FTP address provided in the email, something like "ftp.mydomain.com"
User Name – enter your user name as provided in the email
Password – enter your password. If you leave this blank, you will be prompted for it each time you upload your site, which is actually more secure than entering it here.
Subfolder – leave blank unless you are doing something advanced like creating multiple subsites that require separate subfolder
You generally only need to enter the above information once, unless you for some reason decide to create a new site definition file, in which case you will have to re-enter it. Once you have entered the information Second Site needs to access the host site, uploading your site to the host is very simple. Once you are satisfied with your site and are ready to upload, use the Family History Hosting > Publish menu item on the top line of Second Site to open the Upload to Family History Hosting screen:
Click the Start Upload button, and the upload begins. A progress bar shows you the progress of the upload. When it has finished a message reminds you to wait briefly for the compressed files to be expanded for use. After a couple of minutes your site will be available from the host.
You may for one reason or another choose to use a different hosting service. The first-rate service John offers does come at a price. Even though his prices are pretty reasonable, one can find commercial services at lower rates. Or, you may prefer the webspace included with your ISP service, or one of the "free" ad-supported services.
If you decide on a paid hosting service users have reported they are happy with a variety of services. You might check the archives of the Second Site list on RootsWeb for their comments. I've used LunarPages for a number of years with good results (disclosure – if you use the LunarPages link here and subsequently buy a qualifying plan from them I receive a commission).
If you do not choose its affiliated service, Second Site does not attempt to provide a means for uploading your site to the wide variety of hosting services available. Unless your host gives different directions, you will need an FTP program to do that task. I've used CuteFTP for a number of years and been very happy with it, but other users have reported satisfaction with other FTP programs, some of which are free. Again, check the archives of the Second Site list on RootsWeb for their comments.
My book, A Primer for The Master Genealogist, is again available in the U.S. and remains available in Australia.
Details are can be seen here.
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