http://brna.co.cc/

But there is still a file that the Web server needs to serve in order for that URL to display anything other than an error page. This file is the default page for that directory. On most Web servers, the default page in a directory is named "index.html".

What this means is that when you go to a URL without a file named at the end, the server looks for a default file and displays that automatically. Just as if you had typed in that file name in the URL:

http://brna.co.cc/index.html

There are Three Default Page Names

There are three commonly used default page names that you can use on most Web servers:

* index.html
* index.htm
* default.htm (on some Windows servers)

It's a good idea to stick with index.html or index.htm on most servers, as default.htm is most often used on Windows servers, and isn't as common as it used to be.

You Should Have an index.html Page in All Your Directories

Whenever you have a directory on your website you should have an index.html page. This allows your readers to see a page when they come to that directory without typing a file name in the URL. It also prevents them from seeing things you might not want them to see.

If you don't put in an index.html file in a directory, most Web servers will display a file listing of all the files in that directory. While in some situations, you might want that, most of the time this is ugly at best and a security hole at worst. Writing a default Web page and naming it index.html helps solve those problems.

Your Homepage Should be an index.html Page

When you start building your website, you should create your main page and name it index.html. This is true whether you're using a free hosting service or you have your own domain name. That way, when people come to your URL, they automatically get your main page. All other pages will have names like "about.html" or "contact.html", but your home page should file should be called "index.html".