Department Technology Support

How to Create a Personal Home Page

 

Guidelines for Personal Home Pages

Individuals on the department’s computer network may create personal web pages. A formal summary of university and legal policies is available on the university’s Computer Use Policies page. A brief summary of key guidelines is listed below.

• Do not include illegal content or material obtained in violation of the law (for example, copyright violations).
• Do not include destructive or harmful content (for example, instructions for malware, break-ins, or related material).
• Content should be in the best interests of the Department and the University.
• Do not include offensive material.

If there is any indication that these guidelines have been violated, the department’s web administrator will review the page. Access may be suspended until the issue is resolved.

Request a Link to Your Home Page

To have your personal home page linked from the department website, follow the steps below.

1. Create your home page as an HTML file. We recommend using one of the following file names:
   • index.html
   • home.html
2. Use one or more of the following resources to learn basic HTML:
   • W3C HTML Recommendations (official HTML standard)
   • W3C Math (MathML and related standards)
   • W3Schools HTML Tutorial
3. A practical approach is to start from a simple page layout you like and adapt it. Avoid copying overly complex templates unless you are comfortable editing HTML and CSS.
4. Preview your page locally by opening it in a web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari). Make corrections as needed.
5. Email the department’s web administrator to request the link: math.itsupport@ttu.edu

Access and Security

For your pages to be publicly visible, your directories and files must have the correct permissions so that others can read them.

Whenever you add new files, make sure the permissions are still correct. If you have questions, contact a system administrator.

Technical permission details (advanced)

At a minimum:

• Your home directory must have execute permission for everyone.
• Your Sites directory and all subdirectories must have read and execute permission for everyone.
• All files under Sites must have read permission for everyone.

For advanced access control, review the manual page for the chmod command.