Department Websites
Below are the steps required to develop and publish a Department Website (all department, program, institute and officially recognized student organization sites are considered Department Websites in this document) in Metro State's Web Environment. If you need assistance which this process, or have any questions, please contact the Educational Technology Center.
Requesting an Account
The first step to launching an Academic Department Website is to request a Web Server Account. This is where you will post your site to make it accessible via the Web. Please follow the steps on the Request an Account page to obtain a group account.
Once approved and processed you will be provided which the following information:
- An URL to your site (ex www.mscd.edu/youraccount)
- An Account Name and Temporary Password (ex youraccount)
- The Path to your local site root (ex U://Department Websites/youraccount)
- Test Server Information
Requesting/Installing Adobe Dreamweaver CS4
Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 is the official website development and design tool at Metro State. The use of any other tool such as Microsoft FrontPage, Apple iWeb, Microsoft Expression Web, or previous versions of Dreamweaver may receive limited support from Educational Technology Center. For more information about obtaining Dreamweaver CS4 for your Campus Workstation, please contact the Division of Information Technology.
Resetting a Department Website Password
Once you receive your temporary password, it is recommended that the password be updated immediately using Resetting a Department Website Password [PDF] as a guide. Keep in mind that you may also need to use the instructions to reset a password that may have been given to a former Web Author or if the password was accidentally distributed to unauthorized users.
Defining a Test Site [TEST] in Dreamweaver CS4
Once you have your site account and Dreamweaver CS4 installed, you will need to configure your Dreamweaver Site Definitions. We recommend that you first configure a TEST site to ensure everything is workeing before loading your site to PROD. Please use Defining a Test Site in Dreamweaver CS4 [PDF] to guide you through the process of configuring a TEST account.
Defining a Production Site [PROD] in Dreamweaver CS4
Once you have your TEST site configured, you will be ready to set up you PROD site. Please use Defining a Site in Dreamweaver CS4 [PDF] as your guide to defining a Prod site in Dreamweaver.
Resetting an EXPIRED Department Website Password
If you have not changed your password in 120 days you will notice that you are no longer able to connect to your website using Dreamweaver. If this is the case, your Department Website Password has expired. To reset your password, please follow the instructions in Resetting an Expired Department Website Password [PDF].
Quick Guide to UNIX/Linux Commands
As you may have already noticed, your Department Website is hosted on a Linux based system. When connecting via Putty or another SSH client you will be able to manage your files via the command line. The Quick Guide to UNIX/Linux Commands will help you get started if it has been a while since you last worked on a UNIX/Linux system.
Web Usage Statistics
Current web stats, usage graphs, and more. Official Web Authors may request that usage reports be sent regularly by using the Service Request Form.
Protect Your Website or Portions of Your Website
Sometimes you will upload a website or a directory containing files that need to be restricted from the public or that should not be available to the site indexes such as Google. The simplest way to prevent public access to such sites/directories is to add a .htaccess file. Please use Password Protecting a Department Website [PDF] as a guide to creating your own password protected directories.
Running CGI Programs
CGI applications are executable programs that can be run from a web server.
CGI Programs for use on departmental web sites
Running PHP Programs
PHP is currently not available on Campus web servers.