Naming Your Files

Improper filenames can cause pages on your Web site to display incorrectly, or even not to display at all! Here are four items you should keep in mind when naming the files on your Web site:

1. The most important thing to remember when managing filenames is consistency. For instance, your HTML files can end in either .htm or .html. Pick the ending you like better and use it for all your HTML files. That way, you won't accidentally link to photos.htm when the file is really photos.html.
2. Case matters! If you name a file PHOTOS.HTM or Photos.htm, you cannot access it under the name photos.htm. As a general rule, it is easiest to use all lowercase letters in naming your files. Not only does it mean you don't have to waste the energy needed to press the Shift key, but it also gives your filenames consistency.
3. In naming your files, you should only use letters (A-Z, a-z), numbers (0-9), periods (.) and underscores (_). NEVER use a space in a filename--even though Windows allows you to use spaces in file names, our Web servers do not. So the filename photo album.html will not work! Instead of the space, use an underscore: photo_album.html.
4. Your home page must be named one of the following: index.html, index.htm, main.html or main.htm. Some Web hosts use default.html or home.html, so if you are transferring your site from another host, you may need to change the filename for your home page.