Q. Do I have to call my home page "index.html"?
A. Best practices say you should name the starting page for any directory "index.html." You do not have to name your homepage "index.html," but you should.
If your homepage in your folder on the main campus server is called index.html, then your URL will be http://www.sonoma.edu/yourfolder/. If your homepage is called my_homepage.html, then your URL becomes http://www.sonoma.edu/yourfolder/my_homepage.html. By using index.html you shorten the length of your URL.
People often navigate a website by deleting parts off the end of URLs. This is especially useul when there is an error in the URL or a person is trying to simply move up one directory.
Also, If your page is not named index.html, visitors will get an error messageif they use http://www.sonoma.edu/yourfolder/. If your visitors do not have the patience to search for your page by following links, they may get frustrated and leave your site. Your site is easier to find and link to if the homepage has a predictable name: index.html
Note: There are only two exceptions to the index.html rule.
- default.html works the same as index.html. These two names are interchangeable. In the odd case that a directory has both an index and default file, the file named index.html is considered the homepage.
- index.shtml must be used when Server Side Includes are written into the document. To learn more about SSI's, take a look at the related FAQ below:
Related FAQ