Introduction to Site Management in Dreamweaver

Each web site you work on is a set of files on your computer. Hopefully, each web site is in its own dedicated folder. For Adobe Dreamweaver to keep track of your links and upload to the correct place on the server, you must provide the application with details about each site and the target server. This process is called Edit a Site or Manage Sites, depending on your version of Dreamweaver. You can manage your sites directly within the Files panel group.

To manage your sites, click the dropdown menu and choose Manage Sites or Edit Sites. This action brings up the Manage Sites dialog box. The first time you work with a new site, choose New. For each site you work on, you will see a listing in this box. Later, if you need to modify configurations, select the site and click Edit.

Configuring Local and Remote Info

Clicking "Edit" brings up a larger dialog box offering numerous configuration choices for your site. For small web sites, there are two primary configurations to set up:

• Local Info: Dreamweaver's connection to your local web files.
• Remote Info: Dreamweaver's connection to your remote server space.

Choose the desired configuration in the Category box. If your window does not resemble this structure, you might be in the Basic tab instead of the Advanced tab. This tutorial focuses on using the Advanced tab.

Step-by-Step Guide to Website Setup

1. Configure Local Info: Let's start with Local Info. The dialog usually opens here unless the Basic tab is active. Ensure you are in the Advanced tab.
2. Name Your Site: Provide a descriptive name for your site. A best practice is to use the name of the local folder containing your web files. If you have not created a folder for your web files yet, do so now.
3. Select Local Folder: Click the small folder icon and select the directory you established to hold your web files. This step tells Dreamweaver the exact path on your computer and the folder's name.
4. Navigate to Remote Info: Next, we will instruct Dreamweaver on how to connect to your remote server. Click Remote Info within the Categories menu.
5. Select FTP Access: The required configuration boxes will not appear until you select FTP under the Access dropdown. If you are developing a site for an organization with internal web servers, your network administrator might provide alternative Remote Info instructions. Otherwise, stick with FTP.
6. Enter FTP Host: The computer or network hosting your website has a specific address. Some systems use your domain name (e.g., ftp.lasmallnetworks.com). You must obtain this address from your web hosting service provider.
7. Enter Login ID: Your web host has provided a specific login username (user ID) for FTP access. Enter it here.
8. Enter Password: Input the FTP password provided by your host.
9. Test Connection: After entering all required credentials, click the Test button to verify that Dreamweaver can successfully establish a connection to the server.
10. Troubleshoot Connection: If the connection fails, your host might require a secure FTP connection (SFTP or FTP over SSL/TLS). Verify this requirement with your provider.

If you continue to experience connection issues after following these steps, contact your web host's technical support for further assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)