Sites.SMU

The Sites.SMU server is designed to host departmental web content that is not compatible with the Sitecore environment. Whenever possible, all public web content for a department should reside on Sitecore and utilize the approved templates and branding. Any exceptions must be requested and will be reviewed based on need.

Getting Started

To edit and publish your website on sites.smu.edu, you must first build your site using any web page authoring tool. Adobe Dreamweaver is the most popular WYSIWYG application at SMU for web publishing. Whichever application you choose, you will need to connect to the appropriate server to upload your content. See the guidelines below:

  • Connect to sites.smu.edu (notice no www!)
  • When prompted, enter SMU\SMUID as your username and enter your SMU password
  • Depending on your application, changes may synchronize automatically upon saving the file or you may need to choose to upload the files when you are done.

Requirements:

In order to upload files to the server, you must have a FTPS client (An FTP client that transmits over an Explicit SSL/TLS protocol). We recommend installing CyberDuck as it is compatible with both the Mac and Windows Platform.

To download Cyberduck, go to http://cyberduck.ch

For Linux computers, we recommend using FileZilla.

Connect to Sites.SMU

Configuring Cyberduck to connect to your website:

  1. Launch Cyberduck.
  2. Click File.
  3. Click Open Connection.
  4. Enter the following:
    1. Set the drop down menu to FTP-SSL (Explicit Auth TLS). 
    2. For Servername enter sites.smu.edu.
    3. For Username use your SMU ID number.
    4. For Password enter your SMU password.
    5. Click the arrow to display "More Options."
    6. Enter the folder or sub-folder to which you are connecting in the Path field (i.e. dea/news).
    7. Select Passive (PASV) as the connect mode.
  5. Click Connect.

Configuring FileZilla to connect to your website:

  1. Launch FileZilla.
  2. Click the File Menu.
  3. Select Site Manager.
  4. Click the New Site button.
  5. Set the Host to sites.smu.edu.
  6. The port number can be left blank.
  7. Set the Protocol field to "FTP-file transfer protocol."
  8. Choose Exclicit FTP over TLS as the encryption type.
  9. For Logon Type, select "ask for password."
  10. Set User as SMUID number.
  11. Click the Advanced tab.
  12. In the Default Remote Directory field, enter the folder or sub-folder to which you are connecting (i.e. dea/news).
  13. Then choose Connect.
  14. Enter your password when prompted.
  15. If you get an Unknown certificate error, click OK.

Editing Content on Sites.SMU

There are three basic steps to editing and publishing your website.

  1. Download a local copy of the file you wish to edit onto your computer using the FTPS utility. 
  2. Edit the webpage using your preferred web authoring tool (Dreamweaver, Sharepoint Designer, etc). Save your changes to the file stored on your computer
  3. Upload the revised page to the server using an FTPS utility

Step 1

  1. Launch Cyberduck or FileZilla.  
  2. Locate the file you wish to edit
  3. Double click on the file to download it to your computer.  If you wish to specify the download location, click the arrow next to the action icon and select Download To.

Step 2

  1. Open the file from your computer using your preferred web authoring tool.
  2. Make all changes as needed and Save

Step 3

  1. Launch Cyberduck or FileZilla and connect to your site
  2. Drag and Drop the file you wish to upload or
    1. Click the Upload icon
    2. Navigate to the page(s) you wish to publish
    3. Click Choose (**please note, if you use the Upload feature on the Windows client, the file extensions must be displayed)
    4. Verify that your content published successfully to the server

    Documentation and Training

    OIT Knowledge Base for Sites.SMU