hyper linking unpublished pages

[billathome1965]

Hi I just downloaded the website building software and am creating a site which I have not yet published to the net.

I have checked out the tutorial about hyper linking as I wish to link page to page for items I am selling. However when checking out the tutorial it does not tell you how to link your pages if your site isn't live.

For example I want to link a picture on the index page to the page created with all the information on the item but if I go to hyperlink I am only given an option to link to http:// whereas as I have not yet published my site my page would be in say C:/mydocuments/bla/bla.index If you get my meaning how do I link the pages so I can ensure the links work in preview before publishing the site.

Regards Bill

PS when I do publish the site the url will be www.guitarbuddies.net
I already have that domain name set up for when I publish the site.

[larazovich]

Re: hyper linking unpublished pages

Your links cannot work in preview unless the page to which you are linking is live already; that is, already published. Essentially, you are asking the link to find something that does not yet exist.
You cannot link within your own computer; you are building website links, to website pages.
NIce domain name..

[billathome1965]

Re: hyper linking unpublished pages

I thought that was the case but hoped I could do all the work before going live.

If I was to publish the site could I then create pages and link to them then? ie I could link index page picture www.guitarbuddies/Picture(A).html to www.Picture(A)pagewithalinfo.html

As I have the domain name ( which I'm glad you like ) if I go live with it would I have to have it hosted straight away before I can "Check out the site to make changes"? Or can I get the site looking right and check it out befor having it hosted....

Basically what i'm after is getting everything working before fully comiting to the hosting of a site that does'nt have the right information.

I think I know the answer but guidance is appreciated.

[larazovich]

Re: hyper linking unpublished pages

Couple of things.
First, be sure and keep your links all lowercase to avoid potential problems, and you don't want to use things like parentheses..

In any case, the way I did it was to get each page just the way I wanted it and then when I felt pretty confident I published at will, and then honed the links.
The thing is, there really isn't any danger in getting it all out there too early. You can always use a construction page message on you home page, and just not link anything to it until you have the all the way you want them to look.

[billathome1965]

Re: hyper linking unpublished pages

Fair point

Cheers Bill

[Vasili]

Re: hyper linking unpublished pages

"Testing" links is not the same as making them actually "work," right? Since you have not actually Published anything, why would you expect a page to appear when there is none?
>> Your pop-up page, although it may have already been created by you, has not been published to the server, so it can not yet be "found" to present when called by the pop-up link you engaged .... understand?

Testing your site in Preview allows you to see how it looks in a real browser, with all the actions of hyperlinks (rollover effects, color changes, etc.) and the dynamic flow of your elements (marquees, slideshows, etc.).

You will not get to see other pages or navigate off the page you are Previewing until those other pages are Published! The same goes for any Lightbox or Gallery element: you need to Publish those images separately.

It is advised to construct all your pages and resolve any issues using Preview rather than Publish a few pages at a time, as the Search Engines deduct value for this paractice. When you are ready (and if you have not do so previously), this would be the time to purchase an individual hosting account from VodaHost. Once your account is established, simply publish all your pages sequentially in a single session, and you can go back to make small corrections to pages if necessary without your site being unfairly undervalued overall by the Search Engines for any "missing" pages, broken links, or uncharacterized/"orphaned" onjects.