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Basic WWW for Individual Users

To increase security and reduce risk, Stanford is sunsetting its AFS service for web hosting and file storage. While you can still access AFS using your valid Stanford SUNetID, there are more secure web hosting platforms and document management solutions to which you should transition.

To reduce the use of AFS, UIT has taken these actions:

  • UIT no longer automatically provisions new faculty and staff members with AFS user volumes. New faculty or staff who need a personal user volume must submit a Help request.
    • This change does not impact existing AFS directories or the process for adding permissions for new individuals to those existing directories. Your existing space and everything in it remains intact.
    • This change does not impact auto-provisioning of new AFS user volumes for students and postdocs.

    See New Process for Provisioning AFS User Volumes for more information.

  • All user, dept, and group AFS volumes must be renewed annually or they will be locked, archived, and permanently deleted as detailed in the AFS Volume Expiration Policy.

Any Stanford person with a full-service SUNet ID can put his or her pages on the Web by following the steps below. The URL for your personal web page will be https://web.stanford.edu/~yoursunetid/. Your personal web page will also be reachable at yoursunetid.web.stanford.edu. For instance, if your SUNet ID is jdoe, you will automatically have a redirect at jdoe.web.stanford.edu. These are also available for any SUNet aliases you establish in StanfordYou (e.g. jane.doe.web.stanford.edu).

Your AFS home directory includes a WWW directory, which holds your web pages. This WWW directory has been pre-configured to work with the web.stanford.edu web server.

  1. Create your HTML and styles (and content)
    The Stanford Self-help Web Design Resources page provides tools (including a template intended for unofficial use) to make a web page or site that is standards-based and accessible.
  2. Place your files on the server
    After you've finished creating your HTML file you can transfer the files to your WWW directory using a variety of "web-friendly" Stanford programs. The File Transfer site provides step by step instructions.
  3. Confirm that your page/site is being served
    After putting your file into your WWW directory you'll want to check to make sure everything worked out okay. Go to your browser and open the following URL:
    http://web.stanford.edu/~yoursunetid/
    If, for example, your group's name was "Rocket Science", you could see your home page at http://web.stanford.edu/~jdoe. If your home page does not show up, review these instructions closely. If you're still stuck, submit a HelpSU request.
  4. Protect your pages?
    Most people create web pages knowing they can be seen by anyone anywhere on the world wide web. This is a good thing, usually. On the other hand, it's not uncommon to want only certain people to see certain pages, depending on the content. There are several ways to restrict access to your Web pages:
    • WebAuth
      To allow only Stanford people (all Stanford people, or just particular Stanford people, etc.) to see your web pages, you'll need to use WebAuth. This is the easiest and most often used method for protecting your pages at Stanford.
    • User Authentication
      If you want to allow only non-Stanford people (or some combination of Stanford and non-Stanford people) to see your pages, this is the method you'll employ.
  5. Enhance your pages
    The Stanford Web Service makes a variety of features available to people who want to make their web pages more useful or just plain fun. You can learn more about the CGI service for making forms, how to add a Google-based search function to your web pages, and other web options on the Web Service Features page.

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Last modified April 12, 2023