Creating a UNIX Webpage
Last Update: 3/16/06
Anybody with an active user account with the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs has the ability
to create a webpage on the Unix server with the address www.uccs.edu/username; e.g. www.uccs.edu/jdoe.
Please keep in mind the policies regarding the content of webpages hosted by the University. These policies
can be found at http://www.uccs.edu/it/policiesweb/respcomp1.htm.
Please take time to read these policies before you begin.
The site that you create by following these instructions will be hosted on the Unix server. Unix is
case-sensitive. This means that you must be conscious of consistently using upper- and lowercase in your
filenames. The address of your webpage will be in the following format: www.uccs.edu/~username. If you
forget the tilde (~), the server will insert it for you.
Connecting to the Server
1. You will need to use a secure FTP client to connect to the Unix server. We suggest using SSH. Please
follow the instructions to setup and configure SSH to connect to UCCS Unix on the helpsheet found at http://www.uccs.edu/~helpdesk/ssh.htm.

- 2. Once you have configured and connected SSH to Brain, click the icon to open a new file transfer
window.
Modify Permissions to Allow Access

- 3. You will now see a window that has, in the right side, a folder called public_html. You will be
placing the webpage files inside this folder. But before you can begin uploading the webpage, you must
first set permissions so that everyone can see your new page. To do this, find the text box above the
right portion of the SSH window that contains your username. You need to delete your username, but not
the backslash or anything preceding it. Then press the Enter key. (This operation may take a little
while; please be patient.)

- 4. This will take you to a directory that will list all of the users with the same first letter as
your account. Click on any username and quickly type your first and last initials. This is a shortcut
that will take you close to username. Scroll down until you find your account name. Right click on your
username and select properties.

- 5. Once the properties window is open, you will want to modify the permissions so that they match
what is indicated in the image. Click the OK button.
6. Double-click on your username to get back to where you can see the public_html folder again. You will
need to modify the permissions on the public_html folder to allow people to view your new site. Right-click
on the public_html folder and select properties. Then change the permissions so that they match those in
the previous image.
Change File Upload Permissions

- 7. It is neccessary to change the default upload permissions so that each file does not need to be
manually configured to allow people to view it. To do this, click on the Settings button in the
toolbar.

- 8. Once in the Settings page, in the navigation box on the left, select Global Settings > File
Transfer > Advanced. In the Advanced page, change the Default File Permissions and Default Directory
Permissions to 755 as in the image. Click to REMOVE the checkmark from "Preserve original
destination permissions". Click the OK button.
Uploading your New Website

- 9. When you have applied the permissions to the public_html folder, you are ready to start building
your new website. Open the public_html folder on the right side of the SSH window by double-clicking
it. Then, on the left side (which displays files located on your personal computer), navigate to where
you have created your page. Select the file you wish to upload and drag it over to the right side of
the window and drop it. This will upload the file. Remember that the homepage of your new site should
be named index.html.