WEB PROCESS

Want to learn how to get your Web site online? Before creating or updating your Web pages, it is important to understand the Web policies and guidelines implemented at Sacramento State.

The detailed steps listed below will guide you through the process.

1. Request a Sacramento State Web account. There are five general types of Web accounts available:

   1. Departmental Web account — Contact your departmental sponsor for detailed information. [faculty, staff]
   2. Faculty Web account — Use the Request an Account form to get a new faculty Web account. Use this account to store academically-related information about you and your courses. [faculty]
   3. SacLink Web account — Your SacLink account includes space for personal Web pages. Activate your personal Web account via the SacLink Web site. This site also contains helpful information on creating and maintaining your personal Web pages. [faculty, staff, student
   4. Student organization account — Use the online form to request an organization Web account. [students]
   5. SacCT course — Faculty can request a SacCT course using the online SacCT course request form. [faculty]
    
   Note: For faculty Web accounts and SacCT courses, you will be notified via e-mail when your account is ready. SacLink Web accounts are active as soon as you activate your account using the link above.

2. Gather materials. After requesting a Web account, gather your materials you wish to place online. Materials may include:

   • Articles from magazines, newspapers and journals
   • Calendar of events
   • Course assignments, examples, handouts, syllabi
   • Current Web pages
   • Graphics, images and photographs
   • Meeting agendas, notes
   • Presentation materials
   • Program requirements and forms

3. Create/edit HTML files. When your account is ready you may begin creating or editing your Web (HTML) documents. In addition, some documents such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint, may need to be modified for the Web — they can be electronically "printed" as Adobe PDF files and uploaded to your Web page.
   
   You may choose to create/edit your documents using a text editor, such as Notepad (Windows) or SimpleText (Macintosh), or a Web editor, like Adobe Dreamweaver or Microsoft FrontPage. Web editors allow you to edit Web pages without knowing HTML, while text editors require you to know and use HTML tags.
   
   Remember to identify and separate your content into subject pages or categories. Where possible, try to limit the length of each Web page to prevent excessive scrolling.
   
   Faculty/Staff resources:

   • Center for Teaching and Learning
   • Educational and Instructional Tools
   • FSRC Instructional Technology Resources
   • Quick Reference site (QuikRefs)
   • Training resources at Sacramento State
   • Web site or SacCT banners
   
   Student resources:
   • Personal Web pages resource page
   • Quick Reference site (QuikRefs)
   • SacCT-specific Web page resources

4. Preview HTML files. After creating or editing your Web pages you need to preview them in a Web browser. Remember to test all of your hyperlinks and check your spelling!
   
   Test the site in different Web browsers to make certain that text, images, and table alignments are correctly displayed. Some are more tolerant of errors than others. You may also have another user test your Web pages.

5. Upload to server. When you are satisfied with your Web pages you can copy (upload) them to the Web server. Use the site or publish feature within the Adobe Dreamweaver or Microsoft FrontPage software to connect to your Web account and upload the files. Or you can use a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program to upload your files to the Web server, such as WS-FTP (Windows) or Fetch (Macintosh).

   1. Departmental Web account — Please contact your departmental sponsor for detailed information. [faculty, staff]
   2. Faculty Web account — Follow the steps on the SacLink FTP page, but use www.csus.edu in the Host Name/Address box. [faculty]
   3. SacLink Web Account — Follow the steps on the SacLink FTP page. [faculty, staff, students]
   4. Student organization account — Follow the steps on the SacLink FTP page, but use www.csus.edu in the Host Name/Address box. [students]
   5. SacCT course — Upload files via SacCT's Manage Files utility. See the SacCT online documentation for detailed information. [faculty]
       

6. View pages on Web. After you copy (upload) your files to the Web server for your account, remember to view your completed pages in a browser using the actual Web server address where your files are located.
   
   Test the site in different Web browsers to make certain that text, images, and table alignments are correctly displayed. Some are more tolerant of errors than others. You may also have another user test your Web pages.