TECHNICAL SUPPORT | Proper File naming For The Web
Web browsers are very particular about spelling and syntax!
All of your HTML pages should have the suffix: .html
or .htm
HTML file names are case sensitive and must match to be readable.
For instance, if your page is called mypage.html, you must
refer to it in other html documents as mypage.html and NOT
my-page.html.
Avoid using long file names. Files names should be 8 letters
or less before the suffix. You cannot use signs, symbols (other
than underscores or dashes) or spaces, because servers will
read signs or symbols as commands and your files will not
be displayed. Letters, numbers, dashes and underscores are
ok. Try to use simple (short), one-word names without symbols
or punctuation for all of your files and folder names.
There should be NONE of the following in your file names:
$ % & # @ * ! ?+><,
The following are examples of the different file names and suffixes understood by a browser.
- index.html
- nav_home.gif
- logo.jpeg
Decide on a naming convention before you start your web site and stick with it to avoid confusion. The folders you create to organize your files should also follow the above rules and naming conventions.
Sample naming conventions:
Navigation buttons use:
- nav_samples.gif
Page Titles use:
- ti_samples.gif
HTML pages use:
- samples.html