If you have a web site, and you wish to make minor updates to it without subcontracting the work out, here is an easy guide to help you accomplish that.

What you need:

• Your web site's FTP login info. You can get this from your web host, or anyone who works on your web site.
  
  
• An FTP program. There are numerous free ones on the net, FileZilla is a popular free one.  Dreamweaver and Frontpage have one built in.
  
  
• Web site editing software. Dreamweaver and Frontpage (which is discontinued and now Microsoft is pushing Expression as their new web design software) are the popular choices, if you are looking for a free alternative NVU is the best one I have found for free.

Step 1

Log into your web site using your FTP program. If you are unsure how to do this, consult the program's help file. Download the entire web site to your computer.

Step 2

Make any changes you wish using your web site editing software, and save them.

Tip: Always test your web sites by opening them in a web browser to make sure they look ok. I recommend  looking at them in both Internet Explorer and Firefox. (If you don't have Firefox you can download it for free)

Step 3

When you are happy with your web site updates, upload them back to your web server using your FTP program. They will save over the current files, and you can now view your updated live web site!

YOU'RE DONE! SO EASY!

For extreme beginners I recommend only attempting minor text updates.

Adding images:
If you're feeling bold and want to try adding images to your web site, save the image you wish to add into your web site's images folder. Do not resize the image in your web editing software, (unless you are trying to determine what size you want the image to be). You must resize the image to the final size it will be in the web site using image editing software. The preferred choice for image editing software is Photoshop, but the free alternative is GIMP. When working on the web always set the DPI to 72, and the color mode to RGB on your images. Most digital photos are set to this by default but you should double check. If you are unsure how to check these, consult your image editing software's help file. Make sure to upload both the image file(s) you added, and the web page file using your FTP program.

If it will save you money, it's worth a shot. The worst that could happen is you have to call your webmaster and pay him/her to update the site for you as usual. :-P

Good luck!