Webhosting and Directories
Many new website owners pay far too little attention to the details of managing a website. One of the most pressing needs is for the file structure of the site to be kept intuitive, clean and space-efficient. Before one even begins uploading their site, one should pay attention to some basic concepts.
Your file structure will be a mirror of the site file structure on your hard drive. A frequent problem is that designers and other users tend to store several different versions of graphics, pages and other files in the folders in the site directory. This isn't an issue where one's personal computer is concerned as all of the disc space is, essentially, free. With hosting, you're paying, in part, for disc space. Clean out the web site's directories before you upload any files. There should only be the final versions of every file in the directories and, most importantly, the non-compressed working versions of graphics should never be on a server. They take up a great deal of space and if they're just there for storage that space is entirely wasted.
Designers with poor organization skills will sometimes store design notes and other files in their site directory. These need to be removed not only for space but for security. Anything on a web server can potentially be accessed by a visitor. Keep this in mind when checking directories and be especially careful of accidentally uploading sensitive files to your web server. Confidential information has no place on the web.
