Web Hosting | Web Hosting Support Guide. | Version 1.0

Web Hosting

Web Hosting Support Guide. Version 1.0

1 - Web Hosting - Web Hosting Support Guide. - Version 1.0

Contents

1 Where to upload your website files ................................................................................................................... 2

2 Transferring CentralNic domains to Claranet .uk.com, .gb.net, eu.com, etc ................................................. 2

3 Transferring a .uk domain to Claranet SOHO ................................................................................................... 2

4 Transferring a .com, .net, .org, .biz and .info domain to Claranet SOHO ....................................................... 2

5 Pointing another domain name to my Claranet website .................................................................................. 3

6 Defining name servers ........................................................................................................................................ 4

7 Defining a MySQL Database and adding one to my hosting package ............................................................ 4

Adding a MySQL Database within your Webspace .................................................................................................. 4

8 Adding a subdomain to your Hosting Package ................................................................................................ 5

Adding a subdomain within your webspace .............................................................................................................. 5

9 Why is my webspace not displaying? ............................................................................................................... 7

10 What is an SRV record and how do I add one? .............................................................................................. 7

11 What is an SPF record and how do I add one? ............................................................................................... 7

12 What is an MX record and how do I add one? ................................................................................................ 8

13 What is an A record and how do I add one? ................................................................................................... 8

14 What is a TXT record and how do I add one? ................................................................................................. 9

15 What is a CNAME record and how do I add one? ........................................................................................... 9

16 How do I measure website traffic? ................................................................................................................. 10

17 How do I make a DNS change? ...................................................................................................................... 10

Clarahost accounts ................................................................................................................................................. 10

All other customers ................................................................................................................................................. 11

18 How do I access my Claranet domain control panel? .................................................................................. 11

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Setup 1 Where to upload your website files

When you upload files to your website, upload them into the directory /public/www/. You will see the public

directory when you first connect via FTP into your web space.

Please ensure that your home page is named index.html/index.htm/index.php (all letters are in lowercase) as our

webserver will look with a file with this name by default.

2 Transferring CentralNic domains to Claranet .uk.com, .gb.net, eu.com, etc

There are two ways we can transfer these types of domains to our control. The current hosts can push the

domain to us by assigning the domain to our CentralNic billing handle which is I1312.

Alternatively, we can request the transfer to our CentralNic account. In which case, CentralNic will email the

current billing contact, asking them to approve the transfer to our account. If done correctly, this should take 2-3

working days.

If you require any further information regarding domain transfers, please contact our support team.

3 Transferring a .uk domain to Claranet SOHO

All .uk domains are managed using a tagging system. Each ISP is allocated a unique 'tag' by Nominet UK, the

governing body which controls all such domains.

Control of a domain can be given to another internet provider simply by changing the tag attached to the domain.

Our tag is CLARANET (all letters are uppercase).

To transfer your .uk domain to Claranet, ask your current provider to release the domain to our tag. When they

have released the tag to us, we can then complete the transfer by updating the name servers. If done correctly,

the whole process should only take a couple of days to fully move from one provider to another.

If you experience any problems transferring your .uk domain to us, click here to visit Nominet website where they

will transfer the domain for you.

However, if you wish to transfer a .uk domain away from us, our dedicated hostmaster team can do this for you.

To request this, you must email the change of Tag request to hostmaster@uk.clara.net specifying the new Tag.

4 Transferring a .com, .net, .org, .biz and .info domain to Claranet SOHO

Once registered, these domains are known to be "locked", which means that the domain cannot be moved to

another provider. Ask the current hosts to unlock the domain and retrieve the authorisation code, but only if the

domain has been assigned one. We will need this code in order to initiate a transfer request with our registrar,

MelbourneIT.

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Once we have initiated a transfer request, MelbourneIT will email the admin contact of the domain asking for

approval of the transfer. Please make sure that the admin contact on your domain is a current, valid email

address.

When the transfer has been approved, the current registrar will then email the admin contact giving them the

option to reject the transfer. This whole process usually takes around 3-5 days to complete, but can take up to 10

days in some cases.

If the domain is already registered via MelbourneIT, you will need to get the domain unlocked and supply us with

the MelbourneIT Registry Key so that it can be transferred to our control. The current hosts will be able to supply

you with the registry key.

If you wish to transfer the domain registration away from us, you will need to send an email request

to hostmaster@uk.clara.net. In the email, request the authorisation (EPP) code for the domain name. They will

then respond with the EPP code for you to pass onto your new registration company.

5 Pointing another domain name to my Claranet website

This mainly depends on where your domain is currently hosted. If your domain is hosted with Claranet SOHO,

you have the ability to add a URL redirect within your control panel to redirect the web traffic to your domain

name.

To do this, login to your Control Panel and click on the domain name on the left hand side. Click the WEB section

and then the URL subsection to add the URL redirect as required.

However, if your domain is hosted away from Claranet SOHO, upload an index.html page to your webspace for

that domain which contains the required code to redirect the traffic to your Claranet webspace.

Please note, we are not liable for any URL redirects which you add.

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Alternatively, if you are on either the Basic, Enhanced, Business or E-tailor package you can add your domain

name to your existing hosting package and point your A record with the other hosting provider to point to our

server IP Address.

6 Defining name servers

Name servers are computer servers which implement the DNS service protocol.

For your domain name to function correctly, assign two or more name servers to it. Name servers are like sign

posts for your domain which point traffic to the required locations/servers when people try to contact your specific

domain name.

7 Defining a MySQL Database and adding one to my hosting package

MySQL is a popular choice of database for use in web applications and it is essential for popular CMS systems

such as Wordpress and Magento to function.

Adding a MySQL Database within your Webspace

Make sure that you are on a package which supports the PHP scripting language and that you have a Database

included with your service.

You can check your PHP compatibility and Database allocation by reviewing your package at

claranetsoho.co.uk/clarahost. If necessary, our support team can make changes to your service to enable both

PHP and MySQL databases.

To add a Database, go to the Databases section and provide a unique name and password:

Once you have added this, you will see all of the details you will need under ‘Existing Databases’:

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You can import, export and manage your database through the phpMyAdmin Facility by clicking the ‘Admin’

button:

8 Adding a subdomain to your Hosting Package

A subdomain is a sub section of your website which is used to display specific content you want to keep separate

from your main site content, whilst still being under the same domain name and on the same hosting package.

For example, if your main domain name was claranetsoho.co.uk, you may have a subdomain called

blog.claranetsoho.co.uk which could contain a blog site which is both separate to, and part of your website.

Adding a subdomain within your webspace

To add a sub-domain within your webspace, login to your hosting control panel located here and select the

package you would like to add the sub-domain onto from the list on the left.

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In the main technical control panel, select the WEB button and the URLs sub option which will take you to the

screen below.

On this screen, you will have a tab called "Add subdomain". Select this tab and enter the name which you require

for the new subdomain. This will create the subdomain in your webspace with the correct permissions.

Once the sub-domain has been added, it will be in the list of subdomains on your package. If you connect to your

webspace via FTP, there will be a new folder alongside the www folder within your webspace for the new

subdomain you have created.

Troubleshooting

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9 Why is my webspace not displaying?

Your homepage must be named either index.htm, index.html or index.php (lowercase letters) because this is the

file our servers will look for when someone visits your site.

If your web page is correctly named and you still cannot see your files, check that you have uploaded your data

with the correct file permissions set (755 for directories, 644 for files).

Make sure that everyone has read access to your files. If you are unsure how to do this, please refer to the help

file of your FTP client to find out how to change the permissions of a file. You will also need to ensure that your

homepage (index.html) is located in the public/www directory within your webspace.

If you are still having issues when you are loading the website, you can view the apache error logs for your site

within the FTP space. Simply navigate to the ‘logs’ directory and you should find both access and error logs which

will point you in the right direction.

10 What is an SRV record and how do I add one?

A SRV record (Service record) is a specification of data in the DNS defining the location. For example, the

hostname and port numbers of servers for specified services which you require on your domain name.

To add a SRV record, login to your control panel and select your domain name under “Hosting” on the left hand

side. Then select the “Domains” tab within the main control panel and click on the domain you wish to add the

SRV record to. Finally, select the “Add SRV record” tab to add the details of the required SRV record.

11 What is an SPF record and how do I add one?

An SPF record (Sender Policy Framework record) is a specific type of TXT record which is used to prevent

receiving forged email.

By adding an SPF record into your DNS configuration, any mail servers receiving email allegedly from you will

check it has come from a trusted source. The trusted sources are provided by the SPF record which you have set

up.

For help on how to create the SPF/TXT record and for any further information, visit the Open SPF website and

SPF wizard.

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You can add the SPF record as a TXT record in your control panel. However, if you wish to add the record

specifically as an SPF record, you are unable to do this through your control panel and will need to contact to

our support team.

12 What is an MX record and how do I add one?

There are two types of DNS record of particular interest to the delivery of mail, MX and A records.

Failure to set your MX records correctly will result in no (or sporadic) delivery of email to your mail server, so it is

essential that you set them up correctly.

MX stands for Mail eXchange and is a particular type of DNS record which determines where any email destined

for your domain should be delivered. An MX record would typically point to the fully qualified name of your mail

server, which must have a corresponding A record in DNS to define the IP address of the mail server.

To add an MX record once you are logged into your control panel, select your domain name under “Hosting” on

the left hand side. Following this, select the “Domains” tab in the main control panel and the domain you wish to

add the MX record to. Then select the “Add MX record” tab to add the details of the required MX record.

13 What is an A record and how do I add one?

A records (address records) define the mapping between a fully qualified hostname and its IP address. This

mapping allows users to type in sensible names for your servers such as www.yourdomain.com, rather than

having to remember a more complex IP address assigned to that server.

For example, you may wish to add an A-record for the hostname ‘www’ and IP address 217.28.124.132, so

that www.yourdomain.com resolves to the IP address 217.28.124.132 where your website is hosted.

To add an A record, you must log into your control panel and select your domain name under “Hosting” on the left

hand side.

Following this, within the main control panel select the “Domains” tab and click on the domain you wish to add the

A record to. Then select the “Add A record” tab so that you can add the details of the A record.

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14 What is a TXT record and how do I add one?

A TXT (text) record is used to hold virtually any free text you want and has a hostname so that you can assign the

free text to a particular hostname/zone.

However, the most common use for TXT records is to store SPF (sender policy framework) records and to

prevent emails being faked to appear to have been sent from you.

To add a TXT record, log into your control panel and select your domain name under “Hosting” on the left hand

side. Then, within the main control panel select the “Domains” tab and click the domain you wish to add the TXT

record to.

Following this, you will need to select the “add TXT record” tab to add the details of the TXT record.

15 What is a CNAME record and how do I add one?

A CNAME (canonical name) record, maps a host name to another hostname or FQDN.

For example, to add a CNAME record for hostname ‘wwww’ to ‘www’ so that anyone mistyping an additional ‘w’ in

your website address will still get to the site at www.yourdomain.com.

You could also add a CNAME record for hostname ‘search’ and fully qualified domain name ‘www.google.com’

so that anyone visiting search.yourdomain.com would be presented with www.google.com.

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To add a CNAME record, log into your control panel and select your domain name under “Hosting” on the left

hand side. Then within the main control panel select the “Domains” tab and select the domain you wish to add the

CNAME record to.

Following this, select the “add CNAME record” tab so that you can add the details of the CNAME record.

16 How do I measure website traffic?

Claranet SOHO provide a facility called Web Statistics on the Enhanced, Business and E-tailer hosting packages

which provides in depth information relating to the visitors to your site. This information includes:

How many people visit the website

Times of day of visits to your website

How people reach your website

Which pages within your website that people view

To access these statistics if you’re on a package which provides this facility, click on the web stats link on the left

hand side of your Control Panel and login.

17 How do I make a DNS change?

DNS changes apply to zone files which Claranet SOHO hold. For example, your domain name.

Claranet SOHO must be the authoritative name servers for any changes to take effect. However, if the name

servers for your domain are not with us, you will need to contact whoever owns them.

Clarahost accounts

If you have a domain with a Clarahost hosting package, you can login to your control panel here and select the

domain name you wish to work on from the left hand side.

Select the ‘Domains’ button from the top row of icons, followed by ’Edit DNS records’. This reveals the DNS editing

tool which allows you to make any changes you require.

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All other customers

Claranet SOHO are responsible for making all DNS changes you may require. We have a procedure in place to

ensure that maximum security is maintained when you make alterations to your domain.

We must have your security information and details regarding your domain plan with us.

Please contact our support team if you have any queries regarding the changes which are required.

Once your request has been completed, a further propagation period of up to 48 hours is applicable.

18 How do I access my Claranet domain control panel?

Click here to access your control panel and use your username (your domain name without the www) and

password to login.

If you have forgotten your password, click the ‘forgotten password’ button on the login page which will send your

password to the contact email address on the account.