Reading: Establish updating and
loading procedures
Contents
Website storage
2
Website style
4
File transfer protocol
5
Authoring support tools
6
ICAD4198B: Develop guidelines for uploading information to a website
© NSW DET 2009
1
Website storage
Websites are made up of a vast array of different types of files, such
as htm files, css files, documents, graphics, audio, video etc. All of
this data needs a designated storage location. How this storage is
controlled and allocated depends largely on the type of website.
Websites are generally either custom-built or part of a content
management system (CMS). In a custom-built website, files are
stored and organised in folders on a web server in a fashion similar
to normal network share folders, or drives where you might store
shared documents.
In a CMS the organisation and storage is handled by the system and
becomes largely invisible to the CMS user. In most CMS data is
organised and stored in database systems rather than traditional
folders and files.
When setting up directory space for any website system there are
three key aspects to consider:

structure

security

capacity.
Structure
Structure refers to the standards used when determining how and
where website data is stored. In a file-based website this refers to:

file naming conventions

folder naming conventions

folder structures

file linking, etc.
In a CMS this refers to:

what templates are used where

how resource files, such as graphics, are named and uploaded

what standard blocks or section are used and where, etc.
No matter what style or system of website is in use, it is important for
maintaining consistency and usability that guidelines for website
structure should be thoroughly documented.
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ICAD4198B: Develop guidelines for uploading information to a website
© NSW DET 2009
Security
Creating a storage structure for a website is only the first step in
allowing content to be uploaded, modified etc. All website storage
systems require some basic security setup steps:
1. Create groups—to manage user permissions more easily, groups
should be created. For a website you might create groups on the
basis of level of access or in order to control access to various
sections of the website.
2. Create users—everyone who adds, removes or modifies website
content should have a discrete security user identity. This might
be created as a user on a server/directory/domain or within a
CMS system. As users are created, assign them to their correct
groups.
3. Apply permissions—once adequate user accounts and groups
are created, these need to be applied to the data storage areas.
This might mean adding a group or users to a folder on the web
server or assigning a user to a section of a CMS.
One final stage in website security is maintenance. Users come and
go or change roles within an organisation. The website security
settings must be made part of the change-management process for
staff.
Capacity
No web server has unlimited storage capacity. Although storage
costs continue to decrease it is wise to keep a close check on
website storage capacity for several reasons:

If the web server storage becomes full, the website may not
function as intended; for example, users may not be able to
upload content.

The cost of hosting a website is often based on the amount of
storage required and the volume of data traffic.

A spike in the size of the website might indicate that incorrectly
sized data files are being used.

If content is inappropriately sized, visitors to the website may
experience sluggish performance.
Careful monitoring is the most effective way of managing website
storage capacity. Most web server systems have automatic
notifications that can be set up to warn when storage is nearing
capacity.
In some cases you may need to implement a storage quota system.
This allows resources such as folders to be allocated a fixed amount
of storage. When this is nearly full a waring can be given.
ICAD4198B: Develop guidelines for uploading information to a website
© NSW DET 2009
3
Website style
When developing a website, as with all publications, an organisation
usually wishes to convey a particular style, feel and message to
those viewing the content. The best way to maintain a consistent and
clear message is to develop a style guide. This guide can then be
used by all website contributors to maintain the style. A website style
guide may include:

colour schemes

heading types

text types

media formats and sizes

punctuation

measurements

symbols

abbreviations

acronyms

bullet and number lists

table layouts

citation methods

writing styles, etc
The style guide must cover all foreseeable website/page elements to
avoid any confusion or argument over what style is appropriate.
The existence of a style guide may not be enough to enforce its use.
It may also be necessary to develop templates that automatically
apply website styles. In standard websites this can be accomplished
through using html template pages (see
http://www.freewebtemplates.com/index.php for some examples) and
cascading style sheets (CSS). In CMS systems there are usually
standard design blocks or sections that can be inserted into pages.
Cascading style sheets
In the past, many web pages contained content and styles to control
their appearance in the same html document and even within the
same tag; for example:
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+4"><p>sample content</p></font>
Embedding content and style together meant that updating the
overall style of a web page or website was very tedious and time
consuming.
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ICAD4198B: Develop guidelines for uploading information to a website
© NSW DET 2009
Using cascading style sheets separates content from its appearance.
The styles can be stored in separate files that can be easily linked to
new pages and a single modification to the style sheet can
automatically update across the entire website.
To see the power of separating content from style using CSS, visit
http://www.csszengarden.com/. Select a style from the menu to see
how the content page can be transformed by using a different CSS.
To gain a deeper understanding of CSS work your way through the
CSS tutorial at http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp.
File transfer protocol
Use the links below to learn more about FTP and its role in website
maintenance:

FTP new user guide—http://www.filetransferplanet.com/ftpguides-resources/ftp-new-user-guide/

A more detailed overview—
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_Transfer_Protocol

FTP server beginners guide—
http://www.filetransferplanet.com/ftp-guides-resources/ftp-serverbeginners-guide/

List of FTP server software—
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FTP_server_software

Comparison of FTP client software—
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_FTP_client_software
A significant problem with FTP is that password and data are sent
over the network without any encryption security. This can be solved
by using SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol), or FTPS (FTP over
SSL). For more information take a look at the following links:

SSH file transfer protocol—
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSH_file_transfer_protocol

FTPS—http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTPS
Possibly the best way to familiarise yourself with using FTP is to
setup a test FTP server and transfer file to and from it. For help in
selecting an appropriate FTP server and client take a look at the
following links:

List of FTP server software—
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FTP_server_software

Comparison of FTP client software—
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_FTP_client_software
ICAD4198B: Develop guidelines for uploading information to a website
© NSW DET 2009
5

Windows—FileZilla (http://filezilla-project.org/)

Mac—Fetch (http://fetchsoftworks.com/)
Authoring support tools
For those who will be updating, modifying and developing an
organisation’s website there is much that can be done to streamline
the process and provide support. Some examples of support tools
include:
6

Style guides

HTML and CSS template files

Documentation of workflow

Help files and logs of known issues, bugs and standard fixes

HTML validators (http://validator.w3.org/ or Dreamweaver)

CSS validators (http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/ or
Dreamweaver)

Link checkers (http://validator.w3.org/checklink or Dreamweaver)

Orphan file checkers (Dreamweaver)

Web browser compatibility check (Dreamweaver or
http://browsershots.org/)

Accessibility tools (
http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=1985)

Web developer toolbars
o
Internet Explorer –
http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/details.aspx?familyid
=E59C3964-672D-4511-BB3E2D5E1DB91038&displaylang=en
o
FireFox – http://chrispederick.com/work/web-developer/
ICAD4198B: Develop guidelines for uploading information to a website
© NSW DET 2009