Personal Web Space

As a First Step Member you are entitled to 10 Mb of personal web space. You might choose to use this space for your own web site or to host pictures for ebay. To set up your free web space, contact us at 1.800.385.9000 and we will get you on your way.

In order to use your free web space you will need to install an FTP client. We recommend using WS_FTP LE, which can be downloaded from our download page.

Please Note:
  You can not follow this procedure until we have set up an FTP account for you here. Please contact us to get started.

This tutorial will guide you step by step through configuring WS_FTP to exchange files between your computer and your First Step web site. In order to follow along with us, you'll need to have WS_FTPLE or the Pro version of WS_FTP downloaded and installed, and you'll need to be connected to the Internet. (Note: You do not have to use this FTP program to access your site. Feel free to use any program you feel comfortable with...)

Step 1 - Download/Install WS_FTP

  1. Click here to download WS_FTP
  2. select "Save this program to disk" and press OK
  3. when it asks where to save the program select your desktop and press the "Save" button
  4. Run the program after installation
  5. follow the on screen prompts
  6. the Installation Program will ask you three questions
    - "Are you a student, faculty member or staff member of an educational institution?
    - Are you a United States (federal, state, or local) government employee?
    - Will you use WS_FTP exclusively at home for non-business purposes?
    (NOTE: you must select yes to one of the three questions to continue with the installation. If you will be using WS_FTP for business purposes please purchase WS_FTP PRO)

Step 2 - Open WS_FTPLE and create a Session Profile

  1. On opening WS_FTPLE, the first screen you will see is the Session Profile screen, which will look similar to this

  2. You'll need to enter the following settings in your Session Profile:
    Profile Name:
    		 My Web Site (Put whatever you want here - it's just a description)
    Host Name/Address:
    		 ftp.firststep.net
    User ID:
    		 Insert your First Step username here.
    Password:
    		 Insert your First Step password here.
  3. If you wish, you may choose to save your password so that you don't have to enter it each time you log in with WS_FTPLE. If you wish to enable this time saving feature, check the box marked "Save Pwd"
  4. Be sure the Anonymous box is unchecked. Do NOT enter any other information beyond this. There is no need to enter a directory name; the above settings will automatically place you in your home directory.

When you are finished entering these settings, click on the OK button, and you will be connected to your First Step directory.

Step 3 - Transferring Files Back and Forth

  • Now that you are logged into your First Step web site, the WS_FTPLE screen should look similar to this:
  • As shown above, the left hand window displays the directories and files on your local hard drive and the right hand window displays the directories and files on your First Step web site. To transfer files from one window to the other, simply click once on the file you wish to transfer, then click once on the arrow between the two windows, which points in the direction that you wish to transfer the file to.

Tips & Suggestions

  1. Directly below the local and remote windows, you'll notice three buttons labeled ASCII, Binary, and Auto. For best results we recommend checking the "Auto" box
  2. HTML Filenames are case sensitive.
    - We recommend you upload your files in lowercase only.
    - When you write your html files, be sure and refer to any image or other html files in lowercase also. Your HTML and actual filenames must match exactly in order for your page to display correctly.
  3. username and password are case sensitive
    If you signed up with First Step, and chose a log-in name of joe, typing Joe into the MemberName when you publish would not work. The same holds true for passwords. We always use lowercase when assigning your username and password.
  4. Be sure your main page is named default.htm

Additional Features

WS_FTPLE also allows you to create new directories, delete directories, as well as delete and rename files. These features are available by choosing the buttons to the right of the Remote System window.

Step 4 - Ending Your FTP Session

To disconnect from your First Step web site, click on the Close or Exit buttons at the bottom of the screen. The next time you connect with WS_FTP, your session profile will be saved for you. Simply make sure you have the right profile, and choose connect.

Step 5 - Viewing your web page

To view the page you just uploaded, use the following URL in your web browser: http://members.firststep.net/username/filename

  • Substitute username with your First Step username
  • Substitute filename with the name that you gave your file.
    (Example: http://members.firststep.net/First Step-username/default.htm)
  • Note: If you have a file in the directory named default.htm, you do not need add the filename to the URL. This makes it easier to give out your address to your friends.