If you create or manage your own Web site, saving its files onto a CD is smart way to periodically back up your site. The CD could also serve as a hard copy of your work to be placed in a portfolio. Whatever your motive, putting a Web site onto a CD can be painstaking, but if you're careful, it's not terribly difficult. However, it can only work if you have access to that Web site's files and databases; there's no way to save a Web site unless you have access to the files on the Web server.
Instructions
1. Create a new folder and name it "website". You can change the name of the folder later, if necessary.
2. Download and install an FTP client. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, and allows for the rapid exchange of files across the Internet. Many free options exist: two of the most popular ones, FileZilla and Classic FTP (see Resources below), work on both Windows and Macintosh computers.
3. Open the FTP client. There will be a "Connect" or "Quick Connect" option at the top through which you can connect to a Web server, a section showing the file directories of your computer, and a section that will show the file directories of any server you connect to. Navigate to the empty "website" folder on your computer and double-click it.
4. Access your Web site's files with the connection form. Under "host", type "ftp://yoursitename.com" (in general, replace the "http://" command you would use with a Web browser with the "ftp://" command). In the "Username" and "Password" boxes, type the login information you use to log in to your web host's control panel. If there's a "Port" option, leave it blank and press Enter. The file directory of your Web site will soon show up in the right boxes.
5. Highlight everything in the large box on the right by clicking once anywhere inside it and pressing CTRL+A (or Command+A on a Mac), which will "Select All." Drag the selection to the box to the left, which should have your "website" folder open. Your files will queue up and begin to transfer one at a time; wait until everything finishes.
6. If your Web site uses a database, you also have to copy that information. Log in to your web host's control panel and access the "Databases" or "MySQL" option. Select any database that appears, or select an "edit database" option until a phpMyAdmin window pops up.
7. Select a database folder on the left, then click the "Export" tab on the top. Scroll to the bottom. Check off the "Save as File" box, then press "Go." The database will be downloaded to your computer. Repeat this step for every database you have on your site.
8. Insert a blank CD into your CD drive. Open a "Computer" or "My Computer" window on a PC, or a new Finder window on a Mac, and then select your CD drive. Drag your "website" folder and your database downloads into the window, then select the "Write" or "Burn" option.
Tags: your site, website folder, your computer, control panel, file directories, folder your