Community Web Hosting (community.wvu.edu) FAQ

Thinking about setting up a Community Web Hosting web space? Review the FAQ to get started.

Who can get web space on community.wvu.edu? 

WVU (Morgantown, PSC and WVU Tech) students, staff and faculty are eligible for web space on Community Web Hosting.

Are student organizations allowed space? 

Yes, but not on this web server. Digital Services offers space (50MB) on www.wvu.edu for student organizations and special University-recognized events and projects who need web space. You will need to fill out the site registration form to request a website in Slate. A website will be created after the form is approved.

What do I need to get started? 

If you have an active Login account, you can use SFTP software to connect to http://sftp.community.wvu.edu and upload your web conen. For additional inructions, view the Get Started with Community Web Hosting article.

What can I use my site for? 

The web space provided to you is for the purpose of enhancing your academic development. You can not use any WVU resource for personal profit. 

What are the rules? 

All pages must follow the IT Policies and Procedures. Any violation may be subject to access termination or legal preceding.

What is my URL/Webpage address? 

Your URL (webpage address) will be in the form of http://community.wvu.edu/~USERNAME/. For example, if your username was jmd000 your URL would be http://community.wvu.edu/~jmd000/.

Can I change my URL/Webpage address? 

No.

What's the default page for my website? 

The default file for your website must be named either index.html or index.htm. It must also be in all lowercase letters. If you do not have either of those files, then when you go to the website without specifying a file name, you will receive a 404 error that the site can not be found or a 403 error that you are forbidden to look at the website.

How do I transfer files to my Web Space? 

View the Get Started with Community Web Hosting article.

Will my website show up in browser searches? 

The WVU search engine will not index any pages on the server. However other search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc.) on the Internet will be able to "crawl" your site and index it. 

Are there scripting languages that aren't supported on the community.wvu.edu server? 

Active Server Pages (ASP), CGI Scripts, PHP and Server Side Includes (SSI) are not supported. There is no plan to support them in the future.

How long will my page be active after I leave WVU? 

For faculty and staff, your web space will be active for about a day or two after you leave WVU. For students, your web space will be around for about 10 days after the end of the last semester you were active.

What if I need assistance? 

If you need additional assistance, submit a ticket to the ITS Service Desk. ITS will provide support to ensure your account works, your SFTP client is configured correctly, and the server is working correctly. ITS will not, however, help create websites or complete assignments.