Q. I'm a relative newcomer to the Internet. How do I create my own website?

A. A Plus Web Hosting can get you up and running quickly and easily. We offer a wide range of Web editing software products to create and manage dynamic websites that utilize cutting-edge Web technology. Depending on how familiar you are with Web development, we have a product to fit your needs.

If you don't want to build and maintain a website yourself, A Plus Web Hosting offers services that includes Web Site Design. 

To find out more about how to put your site on the Web, contact an A Plus Web Hosting Account Manager by calling 913-681-6299 (U.S. and Canada), or e-mail us at sales@apluswebhosting.net.

Q. How to set up my business on the Web?

A. Because A Plus Web Hosting is a complete Web hosting solution provider, we help make your Web business successful. We have accounted for every facet of creating, managing, and promoting your Web store (where visitors come to purchase your products/services).

Whether you are just starting out or already have an Internet presence, our comprehensive suite of E-Commerce products and services lets you build online catalogs, create shopping carts, perform real-time credit card processing, make secure transactions, and much more. All of our electronic commerce products provide ready-made templates to make designing your website easy. You can manage product databases, designate special promotions to cross-sell and up-sell items, and keep on top of your inventory. We can also create a custom-tailor a web site for your unique needs. 

To find out more about how to expand your business and make money with your own Web store, contact an A Plus Web Hosting Account Manager by calling 913-681-6299 (U.S. and Canada), or e-mail us at sales@apluswebhosting.net.

Q. I have a limited budget. Can I still do business on the Internet?

A. Of course! We offer very affordable E-Commerce solutions to fit any budget. You may be surprised just how little it costs. To find out more about our affordable electronic commerce solutions, contact an A Plus Web Hosting Account Manager by calling 913-681-6299 (U.S. and Canada), or e-mail at sales@apluswebhosting.net.

Q. What is SSL?

A. It stands for Secure Sockets Layer and refers to a type of encryption that permits secure communications on the Internet. One of the primary reasons for the explosive growth of Web commerce recently has been the evolution of secure methods to transmit vital customer data like credit card numbers and billing information. SSL encryption promotes buyer confidence in your E-Commerce solution.

Q. How do I add e-mail accounts and e-mail forwarding for my website?

A. Full service E-mail (POP) is available for your domain on A Plus Web Hosting's mail servers. Currently, the first five (5) full service e-mail accounts are provided at no cost to Starter Solution Packages customers. Additional accounts are provided at a cost of $10.00 (set-up fee) and $15.00 monthly per block of five.

E-mail aliases are available free-of-charge to all of our Virtual Web hosting  clients. There is currently no limit on the number of forwarding accounts you may maintain. This service allows you to personalize e-mail addresses for your domain, such as webmaster@yourdomain.com. Any e-mail sent to the personalized e-mail address will be forwarded to any e-mail address that you designate as the destination address (such as your e-mail address at your local ISP).

Q. What is a CGI script?

A. A Common Gateway Interface (CGI) script is a program, generally written in the PERL language, that performs special functions that HTML is not capable of performing. These functions can range from a simple page counter to complex interactive services. There are a wide variety of functions that CGI scripts can perform for your Web pages.

Q. How do I submit a CGI script?

A. CGI scripts prepared by sources outside A Plus Web Hosting must be reviewed before activation. Repetitive nonproductive functions (e.g., endless loops) and shell commands may disrupt the servers. If any script is deemed to be a likely source of server disruption, A Plus Web Hosting will disable the script and contact the owner to discuss alternative solutions. We support scripts written in Perl 4.0 and 5.003. For security purposes, most system calls and shell commands are not supported. 

To submit your CGI script for implementation, email your script to tech@apluswebhosting.net  your email should include the following information:

Any documents(s) that call the script (Query String).
Any documents(s) that are written to by the script (Data File).

Q. I made a simple modification to my CGI file and now it does not work. What happened?

A. Most likely, there is a error in the CGI code. It can be as simple as an incorrectly typed character or something more serious (where the actual code is involved). In either case, contact us at tech@apluswebhosting.net and we will review the problem. We will discuss the issue with you, and if re-coding is involved and you require our assistance, there is an hourly fee of $150.00.

Q. Where do I put my CGI script?

A. Your CGI-BIN directory.

Q. Where can I find out more information on Perl 4 and 5?

A. Visit www.perl.com. This site can answer many of your Perl questions.

Q. What is a POP account?

A. POP refers to point of presence, a term for local access to our network. The more POP accounts you have the easier it is for your customers to access your website through a local telephone call. A Plus Web Hosting offers five (5) free POP accounts with our Virtual Web Hosting service. If your site requires more POP accounts, we offer additional POP accounts at the cost of $15.00/month per block of five with a $10.00 set up fee.

Q. What is E-Mail Forwarding?

A. A Plus Web Hosting offers e-mail forwarding to Virtual Web Hosting  clients. For example, you can tell the public that your e-mail address is webmaster@yourdomain.com or info@yourdomain.com or (whateveryoulike)@yourdomain.com. A Plus Web Hosting will seamlessly pass the e-mail message along to your existing e-mail account - either to a single existing e-mail address or to a variety of existing e-mail addresses and POP accounts.

Q. How many e-mail forwarding accounts am I permitted?

A. You can have an unlimited number of e-mail forwarding accounts.

Q. How do I arrange for e-mail forwarding?

A. Visit our A Plus Web Hosting customer service page and submit your Forwarding information.   Forwarding request are processed by our evening staff and will be available the next business day.

Q. How long does it take for my domain name to be approved?

A. As a Network Solutions partner, A Plus Web Hosting can register or transfer your domain name within Three business days. Once the domain is approved, it is posted on Network Solutions' InterNIC Whois database of approved unique domain names.

Q. The InterNIC Whois database shows that my unique domain name is approved, but I still can't access my site using my domain name. Why?

A. Once you register your name with A Plus Web Hosting, it generally takes 24 to 72 hours for Network Solutions to post your approved domain name in its InterNIC Whois database and actually introduce your server to its main reference database. Also, sometimes a delay occurs between updating the various reference servers throughout the United States.

Q. How do I upload my Web pages?

A. First, you must have Internet access. Second, you must have a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program or be using Microsoft Front Page both require the same basic information:  

• The name and location of the files to be uploaded
• Your login/userid
• Your password
• The directory where you want to put documents on the server.
• The host name.

If you have a unique domain name listed with A Plus Web Hosting, you must use it as the host name. It must be entered as "yourdomain.com" and never as "www.yourdomain.com" or "ftp.yourdomain.com." If your domain name has not yet been approved, implemented, or transferred by Network Solutions, you must use the temporary Domain Name that was issued to you with your login information. It is extremely important that you use the password and login information as it is issued to you -- pay special attention to upper- and lower-case lettering.

If you cannot get through, check the file name for an extra or incorrect character (e.g., !home.htm). Make certain that you have an appropriate FTP program. Many FTP programs (e.g., the ones included with Netscape and Microsoft's Internet Explorer) are designed more specifically for "anonymous" downloads. Although these programs can access "login" style accounts, most of our clients have found that other FTP clients that are specifically designed for "login" style uploading provide easier access.

Q. Is there anything else I can check?

A. Some Web hosting providers limit the size of files that can be transferred over their networks. Check with your provider's customer service to see if there are limitations or special requirements regarding file transfers. Some services require specially provided FTP programs.

Q. Why are my graphics not showing up?

A. Make certain that all graphics files are uploaded in binary mode. Use the "auto" mode in your FTP program, if it has that option. Make certain that your graphics are properly saved in one of the following formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, TIFF, or BMX (for UNIX users). HTML does not support any other graphics types. Macintosh users need to upload all graphics files in Raw Data Format (not Mac Binary) with the appropriate extension and all text documents which are format sensitive in ASCII text.

By far the biggest culprit of missing graphics is improper path references in your HTML documents. Often Web designers will create their graphics with a graphics program such as Photoshop or CorelDraw, then save them into the default directory for that particular program. In order to preview the graphics on their own computers, they will reference the drive and directory where those graphics are located (e.g., C:/photoshop/images/sample.gif). This process works when they are on their computer with those drives and directories. However, our virtual Web hosting accounts do not provide service to a "C:" drive and do not maintain a copy of the Photoshop program or its directory. There are two quick ways to fix this problem:

A. Move all your graphics files into the same directory as your HTML document and re-reference the graphics.

B. Edit all path references from your HTML document and upload. (You will not be able to preview your complete HTML document in this method).