What if my webmaster is away, how do I update my site?
First, I’d advise you not to update your site.
Next, think back to when you were talking with your webmaster. Did they ever send you any usernames and passwords? Hopefully they did. Track these and find out what they are used for. Chances are, they may be for an administrative back end or your ftp information.
It’s best if you have access to an administrative back end. What is this? Well, many sites are out there running on software that allows you to change the pages on a website. All you have to do is log into this Administrative back end and make the changes. As a precaution, if you are going to make changes, copy the content to notepad before you make any changes. I’ve seen it many times where someone makes a change and hits save only to remove an entire page.
If you have ftp information, that’s good too. But, you’re about to enter the world of coding. Before you make any changes, download a copy of your entire site. You don’t want to break something and not have the ability to fix it. Also, not all programmers keep a local copy. You’ll find that sometimes changes are made directly to the site without a backup copy made.
I strongly advise against making any changes through ftp. The slightest change to any file could render your entire site useless. This of course is the worst feeling in the world.
