Web Hosting options

At the UW there are a lot of web hosting options. The Information School recommends a subset of these options; here is a list with their pros and cons and requirements.

Hosting Options

1) sites.uw.edu

This is the preferred first choice. Any time someone can fit into this environment it’s the best option. Maintenance and support is handled by UW-IT. It’s very secure, reliable, and used by many people on campus. It offers SSL out of the box, and for a $50/year you can point any domain to it (*.ischool.uw.edu).

More info here: https://itconnect.uw.edu/connect/web-publishing/shared-hosting/url-forwarding-and-masking/sites.uw.edu has a low barrier of entry and requires very minimal technical skills. It’s essentially a blogging platform that has the flexibility to create a site with multiple pages, graphics, menus, etc. You just need to know/learn how to use WordPress, not be knowledgeable about the installation and maintenance of it.

2) A2 Hosting

When sites.uw.edu isn’t a viable option due to the limitations imposed by the platform then folks can get a dedicated hosting account. A2 Hosting is a hosting reseller that uses cPanel and gives you the flexibility to install a wide array of web stuff. Hardware and infrastructure is supported by A2, but any software you install (including your CMS of choice) needs to be configured, updated, and maintained by you. This requires a higher level of technical skill than sites.uw.edu.

3) Linux VM

This is the most technically complex but most flexible option. You get a dedicated VM and can do almost anything with this option if you have the necessary technical skills, but maintenance, installation, updates, configuration, etc are all on you. We provide the VM with a very base-level of software installed, grant you sudo access, and let you configure your VM as you need it. We don’t have the resources to work with individuals to customize the server for them.

X) Find a service they like and use it

Outside of these iSchool/UW provided/supported solutions you can use things like GitHub pages, Wix, Squarespace, etc. All of these offer different features and you’re welcome to use whatever you want. iSchool IT cannot provide any support in these environments as we don’t have the expertise or resources available to do so.Add-ons*.ischool.uw.edu domains:Anyone who wants a *.ischool.uw.edu domain can request them from us. We can provision that for free and add any DNS records you want. We’ll help you understand this process, but for complex configurations with various third parties we might not be experts and that process might be clumsy/slow.*.uw.edu domains:If you want a *.uw.edu domain you need to consult this page and fill out the proper request forms:

https://itconnect.uw.edu/connect/uw-networks/network-addresses/requesting-a-new-subdomain/For all *.uw.edu domains supported by the iSchool they must delegate “uw_ischool_employees_it_admins_network” as an admin contact group in the networks.uw.edu interface once your request is complete. If you do not do this, we cannot support you.non-uw domains:If you want a non-UW domain for UW business purposes we only support acquiring these through UW-IT. You need to provide a budget # and follow the instructions here:

https://itconnect.uw.edu/connect/uw-networks/network-addresses/requesting-a-new-subdomain/If you need/want iSchool IT to support your domain, you must delegate “uw_ischool_employees_it_admins_network” as an admin contact group in the networks.uw.edu interface once your request is complete.ConsultationThe web and infrastructure team is happy to consult with any iSchool faculty, researchers, or staff who have a web need. We don’t have the resources to provide hands-on assistance, but consultation time is usually available and we’re happy to help explain things and help you pick the best option to suit their needs.

Cyberduck

Cyberduck is the iSchool IT recommended application for Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). It works on both Windows and macOS and can be downloaded from this website:

https://cyberduck.io

Typical reasons to use an SFTP application include connecting to UW Shared Webhosting servers to update website content or connecting to the UW U: Drive.

Once you install Cyberduck, bookmarks can be set up by using the following settings:

Homer/Ovid web hosting server (for employees (Faculty and Staff) and Shared NetIDs)
Hostname/Server: homer.u.washington.edu
Port: 22
Protocol: SFTP/SSH
Username: UW NetID
Password: UW NetID Password
Directory: Leave blank; if required, try public_html

Dante/Vergil web hosting server (for students and RSOs)
Hostname/Server: dante.u.washington.edu
Port: 22
Protocol: SFTP/SSH
Username: UW NetID
Password: UW NetID Password
Directory: Leave blank; if required, try public_html

UW U: Drive
Hostname/Server: sftp.udrive.uw.edu
Port: 22
Protocol: SFTP/SSH
Username: UW NetID
Password: UW NetID Password
Directory: udrive