Quick Start Guide for New Account

This Quick Start Guide is to get you up and running with minimum effort and hassle. For the beginner it provides easy step-by-step instructions. For the experienced user it is a handy reference. Thus, it is recommended you print this document and keep it nearby. You can always access it by visiting the Support site at http://hostnex.net/support where you will find additional technical support documents.

Notes: If you have a technical question or problem please email support@hostnex.net (don't forget to tell us who you are!) Turnaround time is less than 30 minutes 95% of the time during our regular support hours. As illustrated in your setup email you can always log into your control panel with http://panel.hostnex.net. If you are transferring your site from another host, and require zero downtime, it is recommended that you complete the steps below before canceling your other account.

STEP 1: Register Your Domain Name -- During signup, you had option to register the domain name. If you haven't already registered your domain name then visit http://hostnex.net/domain-names/lookup.asp to register domain.
If you've already registered a name some place proceed to STEP 2.

STEP 2a: Upload Your Web Site Using FTP -- Please see our Knowledge Base regarding how to configure a connection to an FTP site and use the following settings:

* Host or Site Name: * Username: See your setup email * Password: See your setup email * Click Connect. Voila! Now double-click on the www folder to open it and transfer your web files into it.

For security and simplicity, your Web-visible files are stored in a separate directory tree from your home directory. When you FTP you will see 4 folders; WWW, DB, LOGS, and SPECIAL:

WWW - This is your Web-visible directory. You will uplad all files related to your website in this folder. You files become visiable on web as soon they are uploaded. For example, your domain name is www.YourSite.com and you upload contact.html to WWW folder then this file become available at www.YourSite.com/contact.html. If you need subdirectories in your Web site, they should be created inside your WWW directory.

In any Web directory, the server looks for a default file with one of these names:

index.html
index.shtml
index.cgi
default.asp
index.htm
home.html
default.aspx
default.aspx


... in that order. If no file can be found, a directory listing will be returned instead.

DB - This folder holds the database of your website. If you website is database driven, you should upload the database here and set the corresponding path in your code. Uploading database here makes sure that your database cannot be downloaded over the web.
LOGS - This folder holds the raw log files generated for your website.
SPECIAL - This folder holds the e-mails and settings. You should not edit or delete this folder.

STEP 2b: Publish Your Web Using Microsoft FrontPage -- You cannot publish your website using FrontPage until you DNS Transfer is complete. See STEP 4 for DNS Transfer.

Once DNS Transfer is complete, you can publish your site with FrontPage. Use the username/password supplied in your setup email. Please see FrontPage Knowledge Base article regarding how to open, publish and edit a web).

You may delete or rename the under construction page, default.htm, to give your home page priority.

STEP 3: View Your Site -- Viewing your site with http://mydomainname will not be possible until your domain name propagates the internet (up to 1 days after domain registration o transfer)

STEP 4: Transferring DNS -- If you registered your domain name some place other than Hostnex you will need to point it to our servers. If you did register your domain name with us this is automatically done and so proceed to STEP 5.

You will need to contact your current registrar to transfer your domain. This is usually done by some sort of Domain Manager/Control Panel at the registrar's web site. You will replace the current Name Server (or DNS server) information with Hostnex's.:

* Primary Name Server: ns1.hostnexdns.com
* Secondary Name Server: ns1.hostnexdns.com

It takes 24 to 48 hours for this new information to propagate the internet. Until then, access your site according to STEP 3.

(Note: You may optionally transfer your domain name to http://hostnex.net. Doing so will reduce your domain renewal costs and gives you full control on your domain. For more information, see knowledgebase article Transferring Domain Registrar.)

STEP 5a: Email Access and Setup for New Domain Names -- Upon signup, two email accounts are created: "postmaster" and "LoginName." You may create additional accounts in your control panel (see Knowledge Base for instructions).

You will also need to configure your email program according to the settings below. (See the Knowledge Base for specific Outlook and Outlook Express Instructions)

* Username: LoginName@yourdomainname (e.g. bwilliams@microsoft.com). See your setup email for your LoginName.
* Password: this is supplied in your setup email
* Incoming (POP3) Server: mail.yourdomainname (e.g., mail.microsoft.com)
* Outgoing (SMTP) Server: mail.yourdomainname
* SMTP Requires Authentication: No
* Secure Server Authentication: No
* SSL: No

Note: Email will not work until your domain name propagates the internet, which can take 24-48 hours. After propagation you can also access email via the web at http://mail.yourdomainname.com.

When you are sure that all incoming email is coming through your new account you may cancel your old account and replace the email server info with the info in STEP 5a.

STEP 6: 24 - 48 Hours Later -- You should be able to access your web, FTP and send/receive email with your own domain name. If this is not possible send an email to support@hostnex.net.

Advanced Features

With any account, you have full access to the development environment, and may use System CGI, SSI, ASP.NET, PHP, Perl, ColdFusion, and any custom CGI that you develop.

Support Resources

These online Support Resources are our first line of support; if you have any problems for which you cannot find an answer here, please open trouble ticket using your account control panel at http://panel.hostnex.net or e-mail support at support@hostnex.net.

Upgrades & Add-Ons

For information about adding extra domain names, disk space, or other features to your account please contact sales.