How do I set up a personal website on userpages.umbc.edu?

New userpages sites are no longer able to be created. If you are creating a website for a class or instructional purposes, please use the Student Web Environment.

The following information is retained only for legacy purposes and is out of date.

Tell Me

Note: Even though this legacy service is still available, most users in need of a personal website might be better served by using Blogger and logging in with your UMBC Account (username@umbc.edu)

UMBC provides hosting for personal webpages on userpages.umbc.edu. This environment provides basic PHP support for those that choose to use it.

Note: DoIT provides no direct support for individuals who need help with website development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, etc.), instead we refer you to the many free, online documentation and tutorial sites.

You will need an SFTP software client to connect to UMBC's servers to upload your web files. DoIT recommends WinSCP for Windows and FileZilla for OS X.
Once installed, set up your SFTP software with the following UMBC-specific configuration information:
- Select SFTP (SSH Secure File Transfer) connection
- Server/Remote Host: gl.umbc.edu
- Username: Your UMBC username
- Password: Your UMBC password
After connecting to UMBC's server, go into the www folder. This is where you will place all of your files.
To make your website viewable, you'll need to run the following command on any GL server:
Enable Web Space
```
/afs/umbc.edu/common/bin/enable_my_web_space.sh
```
You can find instructions on how to run the command by following the steps here. Just replace the command in step 5 with the one listed above.

You can view your website in a browser here: http://userpages.umbc.edu/~[your username]

By default, this web address will show a directory listing of files. If you would prefer to show the contents of one of your uploaded HTML or PHP files by default, simply rename that file to index.html or index.php

To remove permissions to this space, in order to remove the ability for people to view your webpage, please run the following command on any GL server:

Disable web space

/afs/umbc.edu/common/bin/disable_my_web_space.sh