Tips On How To Edit The Content Of An HTML File

It can be handy to know how to edit the content of your HTML files. If you do not have direct access to your server, you can access them through your control panel of your web hosting company’s website. Usually, the files are located in a section called File Manager.

Let’s suppose:

• You want to edit your About page.
• The URL to retrieve the About page is http://www.mySite.com/myFolder/about.html.
• You want to replace “I am an editor living in aCity, astate” with “I am a writer who lives in bCity, bState.”

In this case, you should try the steps below in order to edit your file:

1. Retrieve http://www.mySite.com/myFolder/about.html in your browser window. Later on, you will come back to this page to verify your updates.
2. Log into your Control Panel available at your web hosting company’s website.
3. Open File Manager. If you can’t find a section, a button, or a link called File Manager, call your web host and ask how to access your files via your control panel.
4. Open folder called “myFolder”.
5. Open file called “about.html”.
6. Press the cursor somewhere in the file. Then
   • Press Command+A (on Mac) or press Control+A (on IBM Compatible) to highlight the content.
   • Press Command+C (on Mac) or press Control+C (on IBM Compatible) to copy the content to the Clipbaord.
   • Open a text Editor, it could be Notepad, but never Word.
   • Paste the content on a new file and save it.

   This step is optional; it’s being done, so you have a clean copy of your content to be used in case something goes wrong.

7. Search for one of the words selected from the sentence you want to replace. For instance, you could search for “editor” if using sentence stated on third bullet point above. If you don’t find a search box, press Command+F (on Mac) or Control+F (on IBM compatible) to open one, type the word, press Search.
8. When you find the word, read the complete sentence to make sure you’re in the correct place.
9. Highlight the text you want to replace and delete it.
10. Enter the new text.
11. Click the Save button or link.
12. Switch to your About page you retrieved in your browser window on step 1 above.
13. Press the Refresh button on your browser window.
14. Read the sentence to confirm the revisions you have just made.

These steps should help you edit your file. If you would like to try it, but encounter some difficulties, please send me an email at maria@mclinteractive.com. I’ll be more than glad to help you.

Maria C. Lima

Maria is an esteemed and celebrated independent web developer based in New York City. Her design and development work shows tremendous passion and insight, which she brings to all of her clients and projects with love, professionalism, and an esteemed work ethic admired by all who partner with Maria.