Virtual Services

The Virtual Domain Hosting Web Service provides the end user with a self-service web site, which is a service designed for those who are already familiar with the World Wide Web and would like to create and maintain their own web content.

It's the best choice if you want to make frequent updates and additions to your web site, and is the most economical and practical solution if you don't want the added expense of setting up your own Web Server, Domain Name Server, E-Mail Server, and dedicated Internet connection.

Your web site will have all of the advantages of a dedicated Web Server under your own Domain Name (ie www.yourcompany.com).

Larger corporations with many employees may opt to combine this service with a dedicated mail server to increase their capacity for additional email addresses within their domain, and for the added flexibility of internal Mail administration, in which additional mailboxes may be added at any time by the company's assigned Mail administrator.

NOTE: If working with HTML files and ftp clients is not for you, or if you require a professional design and maintenance solution FOURnet offers optional service packages below.

Before you can work with your own web site, you will want to become familiar with using ftp *(file transfer protocol) and you will need to have an ftp client installed on your computer, or a browser which is ftp capable. This functionality in provided by current versions of Netscape and Internet Explorer 5.0 (not available in IE3 or IE4).

You should also learn about HTML files which are the type of ASCII text files that will be storing your web's content online. HTML is short for HyperText Markup Language, a simple text markup language which places markers before and after text in an ASCII file in order to mark the text for formatting by the browser. (Example: <TITLE>This is HTML for a Page Title</TITLE>)

There are many books available on HTML or you can obtain all the latest information via the Web. There are also many HTML editors available which can help take the drudgery out of producing HTML files.

One way to quickly learn HTML is by example. Simply select VIEW -> SOURCE or VIEW -> HTML from your browser's menu when you're looking at any page on the web. You'll see an example of just what HTML looks like for the page that you're viewing.

If you see specific techniques that you'd like to implement, just write them down and add them to your own pages (or use copy and paste!). You can then experiment with different formatting styles that suit your purposes until you've achieved the effect that you want to see on your own pages.

If you'll be adding forms for input to your Web Pages, you'll want to learn about Javascript, CGI programming, and the Perl programming language. This is the next step in working on your own website, and may require some programming experience.

When you signup for Virtual Domain Hosting Service, FOURnet will setup your Virtual Server with several example files which you can emulate and/or modify yourself, or build upon. Experienced programmers can write their own.

A useful hint: Don't expect that you'll be able to upload perl programs directly from a book on CGI programming or download CGI programs from the web and have them work immediately without modification. You'll have to check that your programs are using correct paths, libraries, and call external programs using proper syntax in order to function. Compare your own programs with examples provided to see what changes you may need to make.

You can then upload your own HTML files to the server using ftp following the examples given, as your Virtual Server will be ready to use. Once your files are uploaded, you can enter the URL of the pages you've uploaded to see your web pages right away. If you see any changes that you'd like to make, you can just edit the file offline (or online if you're using the Unix shell account) and upload a new version.

FOURnet's Virtual Domain Hosting includes the following when your web site is initially configured:

Setup and Configuration of a Virtual Domain Server for your use
Registration or Transfer of your Domain
Up to 50 Megabytes of Storage on the Server
Up to 5 Email Addresses within your domain
Mail Remapping Service for up to five mailboxes/responders
Automatic Responder (each responder equals one Mail Address)
anonymous ftp service and storage within your domain (ie ftp.yourdomain.com)
Webmaster ftp login for uploading files to the server
Access & Storage of Site Activity Logs (or choose to have logs mailed daily to your local mailbox)
Image Map Server Capability
CGI bin capability using Perl 5.0 or Statically Linked C

$30.00 One-Time Server Setup/Mail Mapping Fee
$20.00 Domain Name Registration/Transfer Fee

Additional Virtual Email Addresses	$4.00/month
Online Web Conferencing (100 userIDs)	$49.95/month
Special UUCP/Store & Forward Mail Services (offline mail servers)	$1.00/hour during modem connection/transfer
Additional Automatic Responder	$4.00/month
Additional Domain within your server space	$25.00/month
Unix/Menu Shell login (via telnet)	$60/6 months or $15/month
Listserv Mailing list management (up to 5000 emails/mo)	$25/month
Additional Mail Remapping (up to 5 included w/setup)	$19.95
FAX Contact Forwarding (MA Only) (available 1999)	$.50 cents/FAX
Scheduled Content Update Subscription Service	$49.95/month
Graphic Design Subscription Service	$79.95/month
Custom Web Page Design	$49.95/page
Custom Database Design/Programming	$65/hour
Web Site Telephone Consultation	$29.95/30 min
Frontpage Server Extension Setup (one time service fee)	$29.95
PPP Access (includes 1 email address/login)	$20/month
Leased Line Services	sales@four.net
Web Based Virtual Domain Mail Alias Administration	$5/month