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Web Hosting Frequently Asked Questions

If you have questions that are not asked and answered here, please submit a support ticket in your Client Area.

I signed up for an account, how do I get my domain name to point to my account?

Be sure you own your domain name, that you know where you registered the name and how to log in to your account at your domain name registrar. Once you are logged in you will need to find the place where you can change the Domain Name Service for your domain. Once there, you will need to enter:

  1. Primary Nameserver: ns1.morsemedia.net
  2. Secondary Nameserver: ns2.morsemedia.net
  3. Once you submit, updates take 24 to 72 hours to spread throughout the Internet.

If you haven't registered a domain name you should do that and put in the above DNS information.

How do I upload files to my account until my domain name works?

If you are using a web design tool such as Dreamweaver or GoLive with File Transfer Protocol (FTP) built in you will need to define your site. Otherwise you will need an FTP client (ws_ftp, cute ftp, Fetch, etc.). In defining your site in your design program or FTP client enter in the following information:

  1. Server: example.com (If your domain has not been transferred to our server you will need to use the IP address assigned to your domain until the transfer is complete).
  2. Username: Your hosting account's username
  3. Password: Your hosting account's password

If you are uploading files to be viewed by a web browser you must upload those files to the www directory or the public_html directory (these are the same directories with different names).

How do I check my site while I am waiting for my domain name to transfer?

Point your browser to the IP address assigned to you when you account was activated, followed by /~youraccountname.

I have uploaded my files. Why don't I see my site?

First, be sure you have uploaded them to the correct directory (see question 2). If they are in the correct directory, then the filename on your homepage is probably not index.html. When your account was created, the server inserted a default home page named index.html. Simply delete that file from the server. Your home page file needs to have a filename of index.html, index.htm, index.php, etc. or the server will not recognize it as the default home page and you will have to use an address like www.mydomain.com/hompage.html.

How do I access my Control Panel?

Each account comes with a Control Panel that allows you to manage most aspects of the account through a web interface. To gain access go to http://yourdomain.com/cpanel. Enter your account username and password. If you want to access the Control Panel in a secure environment use the following URL model: http://yourdomain.com/cpanel. Enter your username and password for your hosting account.

There are many tools in the Control Panel most of which we cannot address in this FAQ. However, the latest version of the Control Panel includes some basic Flash tutorials for most of the features.

How do I create an email account?

  1. Log in to your Control Panel.
  2. Find the 'Mail' section near the top of the page.
  3. Click on 'Email Accounts'.
  4. In the first field type the username for the new email account you want to create.
  5. In the the next, password field, type the password you want. Make a note of the password.
  6. Type the password again.
  7. Set the Quota for that particular account (We suggest starting at 10 or 15 MBs).
  8. Click 'Create'. That's it!

Be sure to set up your email client (Outlook, Outlook Express, Mail, Thunderbird, Entourage, etc.) to be able to check and receive mail for that account.

How do I set up my email client to receive email from the mail account I just created?

Each mail client is a little different in the way they create new accounts. Explaining all of the variations is beyond the scope of this FAQ. However, all email clients will require the same information. Be sure to put the following information in the correct fields and you will be fine. The first step is to decide if you want to create a POP or IMAP account. Our mail servers support both. Most people will use POP (Post Office Protocol), but IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is also very popular if you are accessing the same mail from multiple machines. This is a good explanation of the two mail protocols. Note that server port numbers will be different for POP and IMAP. However, email clients will generally fill in the proper port numbers when you choose which protocol you wish to use.

  • Username: accountname@example.com (In other words, don't just put the mail account name in this field. Use the full email address for the username.
  • Password: Enter the password you entered when creating the account in your Control Panel (see #6).
  • POP Server: examplet.com
    SMTP Server: example.com

Some ISPs will not allow you to send email through another server. They do this by blocking Port 25 which is the default port. Our servers are set up to receive outgoing mail through Port 26. You can use your email client's advanced settings to change the SMTP port to Port 26. Alternately, you can use you ISP's SMTP server for outgoing mail. You must also check the setting (also usually under Advanced Settings) that indicates the Outgoing server (or SMTP server) requires authentication using the same logon as the POP settings.

You may also continue to use your ISP's SMTP (outgoing) mail server for sending mail. Of course, if you use a laptop and travel, this solution won't work for you once you connect to the Internet from some point outside your normal ISP connection.

Do you have spam filtering for email?

Yes, we are now running MailScanner on our servers. Mailscanner checks for spam and viruses. You can initiate Mailscanner in your control panel. For more detailed information on this service please refer to the MailScanner FAQ.

How do I access web mail?

You can get to web mail in a couple ways. The most direct way is to simply go to http://example.com/webmail. Enter in the email account's username (remember to use the full email address as the username like accountname@example.com. Enter the password for that email account (not the password for the hosting account).

The other way to reach web mail is to log in to your Control Panel, click on the 'Mail' link, then click on the 'Webmail'. Find the account you wish to access web mail for and and click the 'Read Webmail' link. Enter the username and password for that email account.

We currently offer 3 different web mail programs, 'Horde' 'Round Cube' and 'SquirrelMail'. They all do basic web mail quite well. Their interfaces are different and they have other differing features. SquirrelMail is simpler and more straightforward while Horde has more features such as calendaring. Try them each and use the one you like the best. You can even switch back and forth.

One of my mail accounts is no longer able to receive email. What is going on?

Probably that email account has exceeded its disk quota. When accounts are created in the Control Panel a quota should be set for the amount of disk space allowed for each mail account. If that account user is not deleting email from the server, data will accumulate in the account. You can either delete messages from the server, or increase the mail account's disk quota. The disk quota is established in order to protect you from exceeding your hosting account's disk quota. This cannot be changed without purchasing extra disk space ($2/mo for 1000 MBs) or upgrading to a different hosting package.

How do I learn who is visiting my site?

Log in to your Control Panel. Look for the 'Logs' section. There are several log analysis tools. We recommend starting with 'Awstats'. To learn more about the terms used such as Unique Visitor, see the Awstats Glossary. You can also download your raw log files, read through them or run them through a third party log analysis program such as Web Trends.

A file/script I uploaded can't be seen or won't work. What do I do?

This is a very difficult question to answer without a good deal more information. Please contact us and provide as much detail as possible (name and type of file, what it's supposed to do, location in your hosting account, etc.)

I want to offer a mailing list on my site. How do I do that?

We provide an open source mailing list application called Mailman that you can access through your Control Panel. Find the 'Mail' section. Click on 'Mailing Lists.'

It's a very robust system, but you should be able to figure out the basics by just reading through the explanations within th application's web interface. Because it's not an application we have developed we can't provide much support. However, there are a number of resources where you can find help:

Mailman is most often used for discussion type mailing lists, though it can be configured for one-way, newsletter type mailing lists as well. If Mailman does not suit your needs, our web development team can provide other options. Contact us for more information.

How often do you backup the server?

All account files and databases are backed up on a regular basis (several times per week). However, we highly recommend you regularly back up your own accounts and store them offline. This can easily be accomplished by downloading backups through your Control Panel.

Testimonials and recent blog posts

A client testimonial

I have been so very satisfied with the professionalism and customer service of Morse Media. Since my shift to Morse Media, my website has been maintenance free. My clients love the design, always commenting on the ease of user access.

Robin Ronay

You guys are great, so prompt with every little thing I need done on my website!

Paula Bigley

Morse Media has provided design and hosting services for my website for many years. They are very reliable and provide prompt, efficient support at all hours. I really appreciate Bob and his crew. They are the epitome of professionals outstanding in their field.

Eric Bergel

Morse Media runs the web hosting, email, and Drupal maintenance for my agency's site. We appreciate what they do. Includes an optional monthly fee to keep all patches installed. Would cost us several times as much to do it all internally.

Greg Gehr

Bob has been so helpful over the years. He's always there to answer my questions. He's come to my rescue with issues on numerous occasions. I can't express how awesome it is to know your hosting is not only local, but, a real personal report is established, that you can trust! Thank you Bob!

Patty Nisky
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