One of the most common problems with new websites is that links and images which worked fine on the webmaster's computer no longer function once the files are uploaded. This is often caused by the webmaster's own HTML-generating program because the hard drive "workspace" has not been set up properly. The first step is to create a folder on your hard drive which will contain all the files you need for your website. I like to name this folder with my web account username, since I have more than one website.

C:\
   - dearheart
      - images
         · background.gif
         · title.gif
      · index.html
      · subdirectories.html
      · aol_primer.html
      · workspace.html

Before you set out to create your web site, think about how you want to organize your files. If you are a photographer who wants to display many photos, you will want to organize your many image files into subdirectories within your website account. Make sure you set up your hard drive space to mimic this same structure. We'll use the Photographer as an example:

Let's say you want to group your image files into categories such as people, places, and things. On your hard drive, within the folder you set aside for your account, create subfolders named: people, places, and things. Then move your images into the folders according to their categories.

C:\
   - photographer
      - people
         · image1.jpg
         · image2.jpg
         · image3.jpg
         [-- etc. --]
      - places
         · image101.jpg
         · image102.jpg
         · image103.jpg
         [-- etc. --]
      - things
         · image201.jpg
         · image202.jpg
         · image203.jpg
         [-- etc. --]

When you have all the media files you need for your site placed into the website folder, either in the main web folder or within subfolders, then you are ready to begin creating your pages. As you work with your HTML-generating program, you choose the images or other media files which are located within your web folder, and then save your page within this web folder. A typical setup is to save HTML pages to the main folder, but you can also create pages within subfolders. Generally, I would recommend that you begin by opening a new page, then saving the new, blank page to the folder then begin building it with links and images. Doing it this way will ensure that the program will generate valid links to your pages and files which will work online as well as on your computer.

C:\             -or-  C:\
 - photographer         - photographer
    + people               - people
    + places                  · image1.jpg
    + things                  · image2.jpg
    · index.html             [-- etc. --]
    · people.html             · people.html
    · places.html          + places
    · things.html          + things
                           · index.html

Finally, remember to create subdirectories in your web account with the exact same names as the folders on your hard drive. And by "exact" I mean exactly the same, CaSe CoUnTs! Upload all your files into them according to their corresponding locations on your hard drive. If you have FTP access to your web account, you can upload whole folders, simultaneously creating and filling the subdirectories.