Webspace FAQ

Webspace problems

1. Problems putting webpages onto your webspace?

Double check the webserver address, (ftp.plus.net) and your login details (account username and password). Try using a different FTP program, you can even use Internet Explorer to test your access to your webspace. If you are a dial-up Pay As You Go customer, you need to be dialled up on your account.

2. Why can't I connect to the webspace FTP server?

First, check your FTP program is setup correctly. Most FTP programs will provide an error code that may tell you why you are not connecting, such as an incorrect password. If you are using a browser for access, try using an FTP program. Most browsers will try to connect without using a username or password. Check the browser settings to confirm that it is showing your account username and password.

Don't give up after one failed attempt to connect. Sometimes the FTP server is too busy.

3. Why can't I see my webpage, only the webspace directory?

Make sure that all your web files are placed inside the htdocs directory. Your main index page must be called index.html or index.htm.

Make sure that your file names are all in small case letters, browsers are case sensitive.

4. What is causing my broken links or missing images?

Most broken links and missing images are caused by errors in the file paths that are written in the web page code, or the use of inconsistent capital letters in your file names or paths. Internet files are case sensitive, if you use a capital letter on a file name, it will not be visible if you refer to it without using exactly the same character cases. For this reason only use small case letters in file names and extensions (logo.gif instead of Logo.GIF etc).

The best way to check the cause of a broken link is to right click on the link and view properties. Check that the path to the file is correct.

5. Why don't my changes show up when I update my website?

Sometimes when you visit a page that has changed, your browser does not always show you the changes. This is because browsers sometimes store a snapshot of a page and its images so that it doesn't have to download them again. By clicking Control then F5 at the same time, you will force your browser to download the latest version of the page you are viewing.

You can also delete all the stored files by going to your browser settings and selecting to delete Temporary Internet Files.

6. My website has disappeared, has it been deleted?

First, check to see if there is a problem with the webspace service - a fault on the service may make your site temporarily unavailable. Check Service Status for Webspace.

If an account is cancelled, then the files on its webspace are deleted.

Pay As You Go dial-up accounts are cancelled if unused for more than 90 consecutive days. The websites hosted on these accounts are removed from the web servers and placed in an archive for 30 days. We can restore websites if requested to do so within 30 days of their removal.

This policy doesn't affect free accounts that host a domain or extra paid-for services such as Virus Protection.

If the files on your website have breached our acceptable use policy, or if your site has repeatedly exceeded its Daily Allowance, then your site may be removed. Note that we would contact you by email to inform you of such changes. See the next question about what to do if your site is removed.

7. My site has been removed, what do I do to get it back?

You will need to confirm that you understand why your website has been removed, and agree to take action to stop this happening in future. You can do this by completing the form below and copying it into a new Help Assistant Question. Please replace all information within '(brackets)' with appropriate information.

++ MESSAGE FOR ABUSE MASTER ++
I, (ENTER YOUR NAME HERE), confirm that I understand why my site had access removed.
I would like to request that my site is reactivated as soon as possible. I propose to prevent this action
reoccurring by (ACTIONS TO TAKE). I also understand that if this problem persists, then PlusNet
may restrict my site further, and if necessary, remove the site permanently.
++ END OF MESSAGE ++

Once this request has been processed, your webspace will be reactivated. You can monitor the progress of your request by checking Help Assistant at regular intervals.

8. Can I use my webspace with HTTPS (SSL security)?

Yes, although you need to use a different web address for viewing your website over a secure browser session.

For Secure access to your site - https://homepages.plus.net/your user name/

Hosted domains and your regular virtual domains (www.username.plus.com,ccgi.username.plus.com etc) don't support SSL. You can learn more in our Guide to SSL Security

Webspace features

9. How much webspace can I use on my account?

The amount of webspace you get depends on what account you have.

* No webspace included. However, if you're already a Plusnet customer and switch your account to to this product you won't lose any webspace, FrontPage or CGI service you've got.

* No webspace included. However, if you're already a Plusnet customer and switch your account to to this product you won't lose any webspace, FrontPage or CGI service you've got.

Daily Allowance This is the amount of data that is downloaded from your website by visitors (including you) in a 24-hour period and all data that you upload to the site in that period. It includes all webpages, images and other files you make available for download.

This should not be confused with your account data transfer (which is not related to your webspace at all), which is limited to files that are transferred to and from your computer, and only contributes to your daily traffic bandwidth when you upload files to your webspace.

Your daily traffic can be viewed from the Webstats tool in your website settings.

10. Can I use Active Server Pages on my website?

Microsoft's Active Server Platform is not supported, so you cannot use .asp files on your webspace. Instead we support MySQL and PHP, which provide advanced web functionality that is similar to that provided through Active Server Pages.

11. Can I use Microsoft FrontPage?

If you're a customer with an older broadband account you can use Microsoft FrontPage with extensions, once you've activated your FrontPage service - Activate FrontPage here.

FrontPage isn't available with our current broadband accounts, however if you're an existing customer and move to Plusnet Value, Plusnet Pro or Plusnet Unlimited you can keep any FrontPage service you've got.

12. Can I stream live or real audio from my website?

Streaming media is not supported on your webspace.

13. Can I have MP3 files hosted on my website?

Yes. Please note that if the music is copyrighted and if you do not own the rights then displaying or distributing it from your website would be illegal, and would be a breach of our acceptable use policy.

Webspace tips

14. How do I add a 404 type error page to my website?

If a visitor to your site clicks a dead link or mistypes a page address, you can present them with your own error page that can provide helpful links back to your site. To create an error page you need to first create the page and upload it to your site. Next, you create or edit a file called .htaccess that should be placed in your root directory. It should contain the following line -

ErrorDocument 404 /notfound.html

notfound.html should be the name and relative path to the error page you created. You don't need any further information, although you could add other errors such as:

• ErrorDocument 400 /badrequest.html
• ErrorDocument 401 /authorization.html
• ErrorDocument 403 /forbidden.html
• ErrorDocument 404 /notfound.html
• ErrorDocument 500 /internalserver.html

Note that some FTP clients may not allow you to see the .htaccess file because it is normally hidden. You can still create and upload the file even though you may not be able to see it.

15. How do I password protect folders in my webspace?

You can password protect your directories within your webspace by making 2 small text files. It's not a good idea to password protect your main folder i.e. htdocs as people that get the login wrong will no doubt never return to your site.

Open a new text document and enter the following:

AuthUserFile /share/isp/plusnet/www/uu/username/htdocs/path/.htpasswd
AuthName "Please Log On"
AuthType Basic
require valid-user

• Replace 'plusnet' with force9 or freeonline as appropriate
• Replace uu with the first two characters of your username.
• Replace username with your actual username.

If your username was for instance 'hotdog' and you wanted to protect a folder called 'stuff' the line would look like this:

AuthUserFile /share/isp/plusnet/www/ho/hotdog/htdocs/stuff/.htpasswd

Save the text file as htaccess.txt

When someone enters a username and password to enter this folder our unix server breaks down the password they enter and checks against an encrypted version, follow the link below to get your encrypted version...

http://usertools.plus.net/htpasswd/index.php

Once at this site, type in the password you wish to use.

You will see that the end result looks like garbled text but this is the part you need.

As an example, opensesame converts to Txvt6NuI3YIws

Once you have the desired password(s) you then need to paste this next to the usernames you wish to use
james:Txvt6NuI3YIws

If you wish to add more people to the access list simply add the usernames and encrypted password.
james:Txvt6NuI3YIws
john:Txvt6NuI3YIws

James and John are both using the same password of opensesame but they can have different passwords if you wish. Save this text as htpasswd.txt

All we need to do now is upload the files and make some small changes to them.

FTP into your webspace and into the directory you wish to protect. Upload both files into the folder.

Change the file attributes (or chmods) of the htaccess.txt file. To do this, right click on it and select Change File Attributes. We need to make this file owner, read and execute, and group and public read only, or 744

Rename the two files as follows:
(TAKING NOTE OF THE LEADING FULL STOP - YOU MUST INCLUDE THIS!)

htaccess.txt change to .htaccess

htpasswd.txt change to .htpasswd

The files will now seem to disappear; this is fine, it is just hiding the files.

That is it! You should be able to test out the files by trying to access the folder through your browser. If you are having problems and it will not let you in, make sure you are entering the correct username and password in form that is not encrypted. If you still have problems try checking the username and password on the files still on your computer then re upload and follow the steps above.

16. How can I use my domain with my FrontPage site?

Check out our Frontpage guide for step by step instructions.

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This page last updated 17th February 2009