Setting Up A CGI Script On Your Web Site

Before you set up any scripts you will need some information about your server. You can get this by e-mailing your web hosting provider. It's good to have these on hand before you try to set up a script. You may not need all of the information for each script, but some of the larger scripts demand more information to work. The information you may need is:

Path To Perl This is normally the first line at the top of a ".cgi" or ".pl" (Perl) script. A sample of a Path To Perl is /usr/bin/perl. Most scripts already have the proper Path To Perl included. If the script doesn't work it may be this variable.

Relative Path Which is the relative path to your server, not the HTML path. A sample is: /home/yourlogin/public_html/

HTML Path To Your Server Which is the URL path to your server, for example: http://yourdomain.com

Sendmail Path Which is the relative path to your mail server. A sample is: /usr/sbin/sendmail

SMTP Server Address Which is the path to sendmail on your server. A sample is: smtp.yourdomamin.com (This is rarely used)

Once you have those variables you can set up just about any script available.

Open the scripts that you are instructed to in the "readme" file or "installation" file. These instructions should tell you which scripts need to be set up with these variables. Open these files in a HTML editor, or a text editor. The instructions should also give you the exact location where each variable should be changed or inputed.

Once you have all of the variables set, upload your scripts. They must be uploaded in ASCII, not Binary, if your FTP program makes you choose. Once uploaded your scripts need to have the permissions set in order to work. The instructions should have those permissions for you. Normally a ".cgi" or ".pl" script has it's permissions set to 755.

Your FTP program should allow you to do that somewhere in the program. I use WS_FTP95 LE. To set permissions I simply right click in the right hand window when I am in the server directory where the script is. I click on "FTP Commands" then on "Site". I then type in the field "chmod 755 name of script". If the script is called "abc.cgi" then I will type in "chmod 755 abc.cgi".

It is now time to test the script. The instructions should tell you how to access the script, i.e. "yourdomain.com/abc.cgi". If you get a "Internal Server Error" then you need to go back and check the variables in the scripts and set the permissions, and try uploading the script again.

Read more articles by this author, about this and other subjects, here.

About The Author

Bob Power has been an Internet entrepreneur for longer than he would like to remember. He is currently on a voyage of learning, thanks to his readers, who have asked him to answer questions about topics they want more information on. You can see some of the surprising, and at times exciting results, and variety of topics and paths this has taken him on, or to contact Bob Power please click here.

These articles may be reproduced exactly as shown above. No revisions or changes are permitted.

---

How Worldly is Your World Wide Web?

The growth in Internet usage around the world is astounding... Read More

Free Websites & Why You Should Avoid Them

It amazes me how many people try to build serious... Read More

Why to Have a Website for Your Company

After having decided to start a business, the next thing... Read More

Frequent Business Question: How Do You Start a Web Business?

Today it seems everyone is jumping on the entrepreneur bandwagon,... Read More

Make Your Own Brand!

There are millions and millions of websites on the Internet.... Read More

Website Content & Usability

Writing for the web is totally different to writing for... Read More

Website Development: Become Your Own Expert

Starting and maintaining a business is challenging enough without the... Read More

Beyond Web Usability: Web Credibility

If you've been developing websites on Mars for the past... Read More

Web Designer? You Dont Need No Stinkin Web Designer!

RIVERSIDE, CA August 4, 2004 ?- "Historically, small business owners... Read More

Dreamweaver 8 Preview

August 8 2005, Macromedia announced a release of Studio 8.... Read More

12 Tips To Great Websites

Why do some sites succeed while the vast majority of... Read More

Improve Conversion Rates ? Load Times

Your site is getting traffic, but conversion rates are horrible.... Read More

Earn On Offshore Web Design and Development

If you have some experience in web site design and... Read More

From Search to Sale

The Internet car buyer is an elusive animal. Trying to... Read More

Optimal Website Design

Optimal website design is the art of logical navigation.It will... Read More

How One Word Or Even One Letter Can Boost Conversion Rates By Over 400%!

Recently I was reviewing the keyword specific conversion rate data... Read More

5 Tips To Supercharge Your Website Sales Copy

The art of turning website visitors into paying customers depends... Read More

Top 10 Webmaster Challenges

Webmasters deal with a myriad of complex design challenges every... Read More

The Cost Of A Web Site

Just starting out, you can start with a simple informational... Read More

Free Isnt Always Good - 5 Reasons Why You Need Your Own Website

Often time I've browsed sites and seen the same thing... Read More

Web Content: How Much Should I Pay?

When web content gets discussed on webmaster bulletin boards, the... Read More

Better Web Site ROI: Efficient Online Business with SEO, PPC, Split Testing, and Forums

If you're looking for better web site ROI, chances are,... Read More

What and How to choose the Right Keywords for Mega Traffic

Keywords in Search Engine Optimizing and Search Engine Marketing are... Read More

What is SQL?

What is SQL? SQL stands for Structured Query Language and... Read More

What Works and What not Works for Your Internet Business

"Build it and they will come."--Filed of Dreams (1989) If... Read More

5 Tips For A Better Website

Having an eye catching website is great, but are you... Read More

What Does An Ex-Basketball Coach Know About Pulling Web Metrics?

In my previous life.....Actually, my previous JOB life, I was... Read More

Content Management ? The New Standard in Web Design

The evolution of web development parallels the model of technology... Read More

10 Tips For Running A Profitable Web Site

1. Address your targeted audience on your business site. Example:... Read More

Creating a Sticky Web Site

When used to describe a web site, the term "sticky"... Read More

Sticking To Your Plan

So you have a good idea for a business and... Read More

Guidelines for Web Page Optimization

Below, I have listed 8 simple steps that you can... Read More

Your Website Should Be Selling

It may come as some surprise to a traditionally off-line... Read More