Creating a Spot for your Web Site

So far, we've looked at some of the tools that you'll need to create your web site. We've looked at programs that are readily available, and where you can find them on your computer. And for cases in which the free tools that came with your computer are not up to the job, we've suggested other programs that you can download and use. The next task we must tick off our to-do list before we go any further is creating a space for your web site on the hard drive.

Windows

The easiest and most logical place to keep your web site files is in a dedicated folder within the My Documents folder. There should be a My Documents folder on your desktop, but don't worry if it's not there: it's easy to get it to appear there (see the tip below for details). Double-click on My Documents, then create a new folder called Web by selecting File > New > Folder.

Note: Displaying the 'My Documents' Folder

Lost your "My Documents" folder? It's easily done: in an effort to clean up your desktop, you may have removed the icon by accident. You can return the folder to your desktop as follows:

• From the Start Menu, select Control Panel.
• Select Appearance and Themes, then select Display (if you don't see Appearance and Themes, but do see Display, double click on that). A Display Properties window will appear.
• Select the Desktop tab along the top, then click the 'Customize Desktop' button at the bottom.
• You'll be presented with the Desktop Items dialog, which will include a set of Desktop icons checkboxes that allow you to select the icons you'd like to see on your desktop. Check the My Documents checkbox, then click OK on both open dialogs.
• Your My Documents folder should now be back on the desktop, as shown in Figure 1.12, 'The My Documents folder displaying on the desktop in XP'.

Figure 1.12. The My Documents folder displaying on the desktop in XP

Mac OS X

In Mac OS X, there's already a handy place for you to store your web site files: the Sites folder shown in Figure 1.13, 'The Sites folder displaying in the Mac OS X home directory'. Open your home directory (from Finder, select Go > Home), and there it is!

Figure 1.13. The Sites folder displaying in the Mac OS X home directory

It's easy to add the Sites folder to your sidebar (which you can see in Figure 1.14) for quick access: just drag the folder to the sidebar in the same way you add items to the dock.

Figure 1.14. The Sites folder appearing in the sidebar

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