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The information here
is designed to help you make the most from your website. Please
read these carefully. If you don't find what you need, our technical
support team are waiting to hear from you.
Electronic mail
How
do I access my mail (using POP3)?
What can be done to reduce spam?
How can I have a mailing list for my site?
Do you offer dialup facilities?
Do you offer a webmail service?
Domain name registration
What domain name(s) should I register for my site?
Website authoring
Where can I find a guide to website
creation?
What is the best authoring tool for my site?
Does the server support MS Front Page extensions?
Can you build and manage a website on our behalf?
What's a good site for Spanish-speaking webmasters?
Website uploading
How do I upload my web site?
Can I upload using Dreamweaver?
How much webspace do I have for my site(s)?
Website content
Are there any restrictions on what I can publish?
Logging on to the server
How do I log on to the server?
How do I set my preferred lanaguage?
Web scripting and interaction with users
What
operating system does the server run?
How do I get CGI scripts to work?
How do I get PHP3 scripts to work?
Are Server Side Includes (SSI) enabled?
Why can't I successfully log into MySQL?
How do I include FormMail on my site?
What's my full directory root path on the server?
Performance and web-site analysis
How
busy is the server? Can I watch its traffic?
What bandwidth do you offer? Are there any bandwidth resictions on my sites(s)?
How busy is my site? Where are my weekly
site stats?
How can I improve my hitcounts? How can I best promote my site(s)?
Do you offer search-engine consultancy services?
E-Commerce
How can my site take credit card payments?
How
do I access my mail using POP3?
The
POP3 server is at delysid.bltc.net (on port 110 as is
normal.) Use the same user name and password that we gave you
for FTP access. To collect and send mail off the server, go to your e-mail client "Options" menu and enter "mail.bltc.net" for both checking and sending mail. It is best, however, to use "mail.bltc.net" for checking mail, and "mailhost.myisp.net" [etc] for sending mail. Your ISP will tell you its mailhost address e.g. "mail.btinternet.com" if you do not know already.
If you have more than one email address ("alias") and
have asked for them to be sent to separate email boxes, each one
will have the same server but a different user name and password.
We will have sent these to you when the service was arranged.
For security reasons there is no automatic system for re-issue
- instead, please contact
us.
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I'm getting a lot of spam. Can anything be done to reduce it? Will I lose any messages?
We use SpamAssassin and the following blocking lists:
They operate under varying
policies. When combined, the lists should (hopefully) cover most open replays,
open proxies and known spam sources. You shouldn't lose any messages. But in exceptional circumstances you may wish to request a manual override.
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How
can I have a mailing list for my site?
There
are two sorts of mailing list. You should tell us whether you
want 1) an "info list" to which only one person, normally you,
posts announcements; or 2) a "discussion list" to which anyone
on the list can post. You can have multiple lists under a single
domain. A web-based administration tool allows you to subscribe
and unsubscribe email addresses from the list. Alternatively,
your subscribers can add or remove themselves via email.
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Do you offer dialup facilities?
No, we don't offer a dialup service ourselves - only web and email
services. However, there is a dialup that needs no signup or monthly
charges and only costs the amount of a local call (in the UK) while
you're online. Just use the following details:
Phone number: 0845 609 1370
Username: uk2
Password: uk2
SMTP server: smtp.uk2.net
The DNS servers should get set automatically when you dial up, but if
not, then they can be set manually to:
Primary DNS: 212.4.208.100
Secondary DNS: 212.4.208.106
They've also got a news server should you need it - news.uk2.net.
The service is a standard PPP connection and works with modems and
ISDN. To use it the number of the phone you're dialing from must be
available, so if your number's withheld by default, then you'll have to add
1470 to the beginning of their telephone number.
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Do you offer a webmail service?
Yes. Go to https://www.knightsbridge.net/mail/. Enter your username and password. You can now access your e-mail from anywhere in the world via a browser-based interface.
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Where can I find a guide to website creation?
For information on beginner's guides, web design and development tips, and online HTML tutorials, visit the excellent Google Directory. Or explore the web developer's resources at webmonkey.com.
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What is the best authoring tool to use for my website?
If you don't want to hand-code your webpages in HTML using Notepad, then we recommend Macromedia Dreamweaver MX. Another option is to use Microsoft FrontPage.
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Does the server support MS Front Page extensions?
Yes. An apache module for FrontPage extensions is installed on the server.
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Can you build and manage a website on our behalf?
We recommend that you choose a professional web design company. Whether you're after simple html pages or an innovative, high-specification web site using the very latest technologies, e-mail dave@bltc.com for a free consultation and a price quote.
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Can you recommend a site for Spanish-speaking webmasters?
Perhaps try WebEstilo. Other useful sites are Cómo construir un sitio Web, Construya un Sitio Web Website and Introducción al HTML.
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What domain name(s) should I register for my site?
Ideally,
your domain name should be short, memorable and authoritative.
Domain names can generally be between 2 and 67 characters long
(including the extension), and contain the characters a-z, 0-9
and '-' (hyphen). Domain names cannot start or end with '-' (hyphen).
Domain names are not case sensitive and should generally be displayed
in all lowercase. You can now also register multi-lingual domain
names. If you are based in the UK, then it probably best to register
the .co.uk and the .com;
and perhaps also the .org, .net, .info
and .biz. We can set up
your domains as separate hosts, or alternatively, they can point
to the same address. You may also wish to register any likely
misspellings of your domain, hyphenated and unhyphenated versions
where appropriate, and any particular goods, products or services
with which your company is associated. You can check domain name
availability by going to the whois lookup.
Sometimes, if a domain is taken, it may be available on the secondary
market, but prices are typically expensive. To register an unclaimed
domain, you will need to send us the name you wish to appear as
the legal registrant (i.e. the domain "owner"), your address,
post-code/Zip code, phone number and an e-mail address. When you
own a domain, it is also possible to set up an unlimited number
of extra sub-domains i.e. subdomain.mydomain.com.
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How do I upload my web site?
We recommend that you first download CuteFTP. When you have installed the program, open it, then click on "file", then "site manager", then "new". Choose any label you like for your site. In the FTP host address field, type "www.mydomain.com". Then type the FTP username and password we have allocated you: a username and password ensures that only you can upload or modify files on your site. In the default local directory field, type the folder address on your local computer with your website [e.g. "C:\mywebsite"]. You can ignore the other fields. Then click "connect". The left-hand panel in CuteFTP represents your web site on your local computer; the right-hand panel represents your site on the Internet. You should try to keep them identically matched.
When you connect via CuteFTP, you will see two yellow folders on the right hand panel. Ignore the folder called "www.yoursite.com-logs"; this contains your raw log files. Instead, doubleclick to open the folder called "www.yoursite.com". To upload your site, simply select and then drag-and-drop your files from the left-hand panel to the right-hand panel in CuteFTP. Do not upload files to anywhere outside your "www.yoursite.com" folder; they won't work.
It is a good idea to use exclusively lower-case file names. It's also best to name your main web page "index.html"; delete the index.html holding page already there. The server is configured to default to the index.html file if web users simply type in your domain in their browser address bar without specifying a particular file name.
If you publish your pages and the changes don't seem to show up, then your browser is probably showing you an old page that it has cached on your local hard drive. To force the browser to reload the current page from the server, hold down the SHIFT key while you click on the Reload button (Netscape) or Refresh button (MS Internet Explorer). Or, if you are using the built in AOL browser, hold down the CTRL key while you click on the Refresh button (Normally just ot the left of the address bar and Home Icon).
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Can I upload files to my site using Macromedia Dreamweaver?
If you are using Macromedia Dreamweaver MX or later, then the answer is yes. The software includes its own FTP client. Even though Dreamweaver lacks the advanced functions of some dedicated software like the highly recommended CuteFTP (see above), Dreamweaver should be sufficient to manage most sites. To set up a site in Dreamweaver and connect via FTP follow these instructions:
In Dreamweaver’s "Files" window, click ‘Site’ and from the pop-up menu select ‘New Site’. Give it a name and click 'Next'. Now choose whether or not to use a server technology (e.g. PHP). If you are unsure, select 'No' for now. This can be changed later. Click 'Next'.
Now you should select ‘Edit local copies on my machine then upload to server when ready (recommended)'. Select a folder on your machine to act as your local development folder. Click 'Next'.
From the server connection options dropdown menu, select ‘FTP’. The questions below it will then change. Enter your ‘hostname’ in the form www.yoursite.com or www.yoursite.co.uk [etc]. Next enter the folder you want your files stored under - e.g. www.yoursite.com for the top of the site, or www.yoursite.com/myfolder to put everything in the folder ‘myfolder’ and below (assuming this already exists). Finally enter your username and password. These will have been given to you when you arranged your FTP account.
Now click the "Test Connection" button. Dreamweaver will then attempt to connect to the server to verify that it is able to upload using these details. If it does so, then you are ready. Most single users will probably want to answer ‘No’ to the "Checking In/Out" question.
To upload a file, right-click it in the local view in the Files window and select 'Put'. You should now be able to locate it with your browser by going to, for example, www.yoursite.com/file.htm. Select 'Remote view' to see the files and folders in your site.
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How much webspace do I have for my site(s)?
Knightsbridge Online standardly offers 1Gb disk space per website. Most websites do not exceed 10Mb. We do not impose absolute disk space size restrictions. But clients who may require more than 1Gb are requested to drop us a line first.
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How do I log on to the server?
If you have a login account (you'll need specifically to ask
for one - an FTP account is the default) then you can use SSH
to log in to the server. Telnet access is disabled since the ssh
alternative encrypts all traffic over the internet and is available
for all common platforms. Most recent unix and unix-like implementations
(including Linux,
Mac OS X, Solaris and Cygwin) include a command line ssh client
as standard. Ssh clients are also available for Windows and older
versions of MacOS. Alternatively there's a Java applet implementation
of ssh at http://delysid.bltc.net/ssh/
that you can use to save having to install any software. All you
need is a Java-capable browser so you can even log in securely
from an internet café!
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How do I set my preferred language?
To change the language that messages are displayed in you need to
specify your "locale" using the LANG environment variable. Under bash
(the default shell) you do this using the command "LANG=ll_CC" where
"ll" is a two-letter language code and "CC" is a two-letter country
code. We currently support the following locales:
- de_DE German, Germany
- en_CA English, Canada
- en_GB English, Great Britain
- en_US English, United States
- es_CO Spanish, Columbia
- es_MX Spanish, Mexico
- fr_CA French, Canada
- pt_BR Portuguese, Brazil
If you would like more supported, please ask.
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Are there any restrictions on what I can publish?
Knightsbridge Online is opposed to all forms of censorship. We do not monitor, nor accept liability for, the content of any of the websites hosted on our servers. However, all our clients are urged to exercise responsibility and discretion in what they publish: we are constrained to operate within the laws of the land. If instructed by court order, we will remove any content judged unlawful. Moreover, potential clients intending to set up their own warez, illicit mp3 download, etc., sites are requested to look elsewhere.
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What operating system does the server run?
Our
London Telehouse server runs Debian,
a free operating system using the Linux
kernel. Our North American server runs Red Hat Linux.
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How
do I get CGI scripts to work?
Our
web server - Apache - is configured to recognize script and program
files in all document directories - i.e. anywhere you'd normally
put HTML files - with the extension either ".cgi" or ".pl". So
you don't need to put the files in a special cgi-bin directory
outside of your site.
Your CGI
files must have execute and read permission set
for "other" users in order to work. Otherwise you'll
get the "You don't have permission..." or "Premature end of script
headers..." error messages. To set execute and read permission
you can use a good FTP program - see the documentation for your
chosen one. Or if you have "telnet" access to your site,
send the file by FTP then login, find the file, and type something
like:
chmod a+rx myscript.cgi
The file must
also have UNIX-style line endings. Sometimes your DOS or Windows
computer may change these, so if you're FTP-ing from a non-UNIX
machine, it's best to use ASCII mode rather than binary. Naturally,
we'd recommend that you also get a good programming text editor,
like TextPad,
so the problem won't arise. Otherwise, once the file is uploaded,
login and type:
dos2unix myscript.cgi
Finally, if you
want to use Perl for your CGI you need this "magic string"
on the first line because Perl lives in different places on different
computers. So if you have downloaded a freebie script from the internet,
this is something you will have to change.
#!/usr/bin/perl -w
You can run
your script with a simple link to its URL, like this:
http://www.mydomain.org.uk/myscript.cgi?extrainfo=likethis
or with a
form, in which case your form has the "action" set to
be the URL for the script, like this:
<form action="http://www.mydomain.org.uk/myscript.cgi">
<input name="extrainfo" value="likethis">
<input type="submit" value="Submit Query" name="submit">
</form>
If you have
problems getting your script to run, have a look at recent entries
in your "error_log" file, since that's where the error
streams from CGI scripts end up. Use a command like more
to page through the file, or just use tail to see the
last line. The file will have a name of the form:
/home/me/www.mysite.com-logs/error_log
For more
information on our web server and its capabilities, See the Apache RTFM pages
for a very brief explanation, or see the User's
Guide.
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How
do I get PHP3 scripts to work?
Name files with the extension ".php4"
instead of ".html" or whatever. The file will be passed
onto the PHP module in Apache. For PHP, you can put the files anywhere you'd put an HTML file, but use
the suffix ".php4". No special configuration needed.
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Are
Server Side Includes (SSI) enabled?
Yes.
Give files the ".shtml" extension.
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I can see MySQL after logging into the shell successfully. Why can't I now log into MySQL?
MySQL uses its own usercode/password system - it doesn't rely on the
normal usercode/password unix system used by telnet/ssh. So if you'd like to use MySQL as well, first ask the sysadmin to set you up a MySQL account and a database (or
databases). This account will have a username/password
separate from the username/password you log in with. You need to specify the name(s) of
the database(s) you want creating when requesting your MySQL account from the sysadmin. When connecting to the MySQL server from within your program use the
hostname "localhost" if needed.
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How do I include FormMail on my site?
The path for sendmail is "/usr/sbin/sendmail". Note that the FormMail
CGI script has the potential to be abused by spammers. The way to
avoid this happening is to hard-code the recipient address into the
Perl script rather than using the "recipient" hidden input field in
the HTML.
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What's my full directory root path on the server?
You can find can find your folder via the UNIX path /var/www/www.mywebsite.com ...
This path will always work even if your username ever changes. Therefore it's
ideal for including in scripts which would otherwise just break when for any reason your
username is changed.
On the other hand, for authentication purposes (such as the .htpasswd
method) you should use the path /home/ftp/username/www.mywebsite.com ....
This allows you to access other directories, such as your own FTP
directory, needed for this purpose.
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How
busy is the server? Can I watch its traffic?
Yes.
Go to http://delysid.bltc.net/mrtg/ to
see the traffic to and from our main apache web server.
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What bandwidth do you offer? Are there any bandwidth resictions on my sites(s)?
Our London Telehouse server sits on a 100Mb feed. Beyond this physical constraint, we do not impose absolute bandwidth restrictions on your website(s), cap your bandwidth usage to prevent bursting, nor charge extra for unusually popular sites. However, we trust all our users to behave responsibily. Clients seeking to run e.g.live video streaming etc., from their websites are strongly encouraged to rent or purchase their own dedicated server for the purpose.
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How
busy is my site? Where are my weekly stats?
Go to https://www.knightsbridge.net/stats/www.yourdomain.com/
You enjoy full password-protected access to log files including referrer and browser
fields via FTP and Webalizer graphical
analysis of these logs via the web. Note your website is accessible both as http://yourdomain.com/ and http://www.yourdomain.com/
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How can I improve my hitcounts? How can I best promote my site(s)?
Submit your site to Yahoo and the Open Directory Project. For guidance on designing search-engine-friendly pages, together with registration and submission tips, we recommend Webmaster World and Search Engine Watch, formerly A Webmaster's Guide to Search Engines.
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Do you offer search-engine consultancy services?
The best long-term recipe for popular success is to provide lots of original content, not obsessive search-engine optimization. "Over-optimized" websites may even incur a negative penalty weighting in some search-engine ranking algorithms. However, Knightsbridge Online does offer consultancy services and search-engine strategy seminars for clients seeking to ensure
their website(s) obtain maximum long-term exposure.
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How
can my site take credit card payments?
Smaller companies and website novices are probably best advised to outsource their credit card payment processing to a third party. In addition, commercial sites, whether large or small, may wish to consider the option of a Paypal button for the benefit of the large percentage of the world's population who do not use credit cards.
If and when you are ready to take credit card payments directly from your site, then you will need a secure server to collect credit card numbers encrypted over the Internet.
The address under which your pages appear will be of the form https://www.yourdomainname.com. We will arrange to provide you with an SSL [Secure Socket Layer Web Server] certificate from an appropriate certifying authority.
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