Help: Restructuring website/subweb issues

[Lina]

Hello everybody.

I have a "tricky" task at hand and I would appreciate your
knowledgable input.

Here's what I want to do:

I have 4 websites on one IP address. I am going to have them all on
unique IPs.
At the moment, in FP (2000), I have it organized so:
I have a root web which is website1.
Under it there are 3 subwebs which correspond to the other 3 sites.
The subwebs are published to website1/subwebA, website1/subwebB...
and there are re-directs setup so that when someone goes to
www.website2.com they then see www.website2.com/subwebA/index.htm
(which is really www.website1.com/subwebA/index.htm, where the site
actually "sits").

As the 3 subwebs will now be published to their own IP address (and
server location), I have the following questions about how to go about
this restructuring:

1. If I want to maintain the URL format (so that links and listings
don't break - disaster!):
Can I publish from subwebA directly to "newIPaddress/subwebA" and then
FP will create the subweb on the server? And there will be presumably
something like an "empty shell" of a root web (with the index.htm
appropriately re-directed).
Any problems with that??
(Forget about any problems with form scripts and inter-linking between
the sites - scripts are easy to setup/change and we link from one site
to another only with absolute URLs and they don't share any files)

2. Is it better to create a new "shell root web" for each subweb and
"import" the subweb there, rather than publish from where they are
(under the current root web)?
I have actually tried this and I noticed some small problems like the
top border did not transfer (the bottom did) and the "don't publish"
flag on some pages did not transfer. I hope there are not more I have
not seen!
Is there any better way to "copy subwebs" between webs?
Does it make more sense to create a new root web for each subweb so
that I have perhaps more flexibility in the future??

3. Another option would be perhaps to CHANGE the current structure.
(sounds a bit scary)
So everything is a root web and the "subwebA" and so on is eliminated
from the URLs.
Can I then put re-directs on the server like from
www.website2.com/subwebA/*.* --> www.website2.com/*.* ?

In that case, I could publish each subweb straight to its new IP
address.

This is quite a big step and I am apprehensive about it so please, any
help/insights would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Lina

 

[Stefan B Rusynko]

Each subweb is a unique web and can be published to the root of the new server for each web
(recommended)
- but if your links between subwebs/root are relative, they will be broken,
so convert all interweb links to absolute URLs for the new servers

If the components (like shared borders) are applied correctly,
they are unique and will also publish correctly
- but if your nav view is using relative links to/from subweb they will break
Redo your nav view to add all cross web links as external (absolute) URLs
- you will have to do using the URLs of the new live servers

Use File Publish All and then adjust your "do not publish pages" after the 1st publish
- the 1st publish must publish even the do not publish files if they are linked in your site

You will also have to set the permissions (if they are unique) on the new live servers
--




| Hello everybody.
|
| I have a "tricky" task at hand and I would appreciate your
| knowledgable input.
|
| Here's what I want to do:
|
| I have 4 websites on one IP address. I am going to have them all on
| unique IPs.
| At the moment, in FP (2000), I have it organized so:
| I have a root web which is website1.
| Under it there are 3 subwebs which correspond to the other 3 sites.
| The subwebs are published to website1/subwebA, website1/subwebB...
| and there are re-directs setup so that when someone goes to
| www.website2.com they then see www.website2.com/subwebA/index.htm
| (which is really www.website1.com/subwebA/index.htm, where the site
| actually "sits").
|
| As the 3 subwebs will now be published to their own IP address (and
| server location), I have the following questions about how to go about
| this restructuring:
|
| 1. If I want to maintain the URL format (so that links and listings
| don't break - disaster!):
| Can I publish from subwebA directly to "newIPaddress/subwebA" and then
| FP will create the subweb on the server? And there will be presumably
| something like an "empty shell" of a root web (with the index.htm
| appropriately re-directed).
| Any problems with that??
| (Forget about any problems with form scripts and inter-linking between
| the sites - scripts are easy to setup/change and we link from one site
| to another only with absolute URLs and they don't share any files)
|
| 2. Is it better to create a new "shell root web" for each subweb and
| "import" the subweb there, rather than publish from where they are
| (under the current root web)?
| I have actually tried this and I noticed some small problems like the
| top border did not transfer (the bottom did) and the "don't publish"
| flag on some pages did not transfer. I hope there are not more I have
| not seen!
| Is there any better way to "copy subwebs" between webs?
| Does it make more sense to create a new root web for each subweb so
| that I have perhaps more flexibility in the future??
|
| 3. Another option would be perhaps to CHANGE the current structure.
| (sounds a bit scary)
| So everything is a root web and the "subwebA" and so on is eliminated
| from the URLs.
| Can I then put re-directs on the server like from
| www.website2.com/subwebA/*.* --> www.website2.com/*.* ?
|
| In that case, I could publish each subweb straight to its new IP
| address.
|
| This is quite a big step and I am apprehensive about it so please, any
| help/insights would be greatly appreciated.
|
| Thanks
| Lina

 

[Lina]

Thank you very much for the input Stefan.

I managed to get another IP and domain to "play with" before I upload
the real subwebs so I can now see what works in practice.

Regards
Lina