Welcome to the People Web Server

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Using the Faculty/Staff Website Server

The Faculty/Staff Web server (people.cofc.edu) enables College of Charleston faculty/staff members to publish homepages. The server uses your COUGARS account. This is the same username and password used for email and many other College of Charleston services. Your account must be specially provisioned to access the server.

The College uses Secure FTP (SFTP) to connect to the server. Programs that use standard FTP only will not work with this server. Secure FTP protects your username and password as it is sent over the Internet. The College recommends Dreamweaver, a popular full Web development suite, or FileZilla, a cross-platform Secure FTP client; however, any Secure FTP program will work. Instructions for FileZilla and Dreamweaver are listed below.

FileZilla

FileZilla is a free, open source SFTP client. It runs on Windows PCs, Apple Computers running OSX, and many other platforms.

Get FileZilla

  • FileZilla is available for free from http://filezilla-project.org.
  • Use the "Download FileZilla Client" to obtain the proper version of FileZilla for your operating system.
  • Run the installer, accepting default settings.

Connect to the server

  • Open FileZilla.
  • Fill in the fields:
    • Host: sftp://people.cofc.edu
    • Username: your COUGARS username
    • Password: your COUGARS password
    • Port: 22
  • Click Quickconnect to connect to the Faculty/Staff Web Page Server.

Managing Files

  • The FileZilla window is split into two columns. The left column shows files on your computer, while the right column shows files on the server.
  • To upload a file:
    • First, navigate to that file in the "Local site" tree.
    • Next, make sure that you've selected the appropriate folder in "Remote site" (/home/COUGARS/username/www/)
    • Then, just drag and drop the files you'd like onto the server.

Your Website

  • Only files in the www folder will be visible on your website.
  • Be sure to create a file named index.html or index.php. It will be the first file anyone sees when they go to http://username.people.cofc.edu/.
  • You'll be automatically added to the Faculty/Staff Website Directory a day after you create a file named index.html/index.php.
  • Filenames are case sensitive. DO NOT USE SPACES IN FILENAMES; use underscores if needed.
  • Make sure to also upload any images or other files you have used in your website.

Dreamweaver

To configure Dreamweaver for People, do the following:

  • Go to Site -> Manage Sites.
  • Click the New... button. From the menu that appears, click Site.
  • Click to the Advanced tab.
  • Set a location to store a local copy of your site.
  • In the left pane, click Remote Info.
  • For Access Type, choose FTP.
  • Enter the server settings:
    • Remote host: people.cofc.edu
    • Username: Your COUGARS username
    • Password: Your COUGARS password
    • Host directory: www/
  • Ensure the Use Secure FTP (SFTP) checkbox is marked.
  • Test your site using the Test button. You should see a message stating that you've connected to your server successfully; if not, check your settings and try again. If you continue to experience problems, contact the College Webmaster for assistance.