What is Sites at Gettysburg?
Gettysburg College provides web hosting services to students and faculty via Sites at Gettysburg. Using Sites, users can establish their own web domain where they can install and manage a variety of web-based applications, including WordPress, Scalar, Omeka, and more. Upon graduation, students have the option to purchase their own domain and migrate their web content.
Logging into Sites at Gettysburg
- Go to https://sites.gettysburg.edu/
- Click the Get Started button.
- Enter your Gettysburg Username and Password.
- If prompted by an information provided window, click the Accept button.
- If this is your first time logging into Sites at Gettysburg, you will be asked to choose a Domain name, which will become part of your Sites web address. Most users enter their Gettysburg Username into this field. For example, if your username were “jsmith,” then the web addresses of all applications installed under your Sites domain would begin with jsmith.sites.gettysburg.edu.
- Click the Click to Continue button.
- Click the Register Now button.
- Upon creating the domain, Sites will redirect you to your cPanel, which allows you to control various aspects of your domain, including security, file uploads, and application installation.
Securing Your Domain With SSL
An SSL certificate encrypts data transferred on the internet. Web sites that use SSL display an https:// rather than http:// in web browsers. You should ensure that all applications installed on your domain use SSL so that your viewers do not receive security alerts when trying to visit your web applications.
- In your cPanel, scroll down to the Security section and click the Lets Encrypt SSL icon.
- Click the Issue button.
- You will get a message saying that the SSL certificate is installed. Click the Go Back link to return to the cPanel.
- In your cPanel, scroll down to the Domains section and click the Domains icon.
- Slide the Force HTTPS Redirect slider to the On position.
- You will get a Success message.
- All applications installed under your Sites at Gettysburg domain should now use SSL.
Accessing Previously Installed Applications
- Scroll down to the Applications section of the cPanel.
- If you have already installed applications during a previous login, click the My Apps button to access them.
Further Resources for using Sites
- Digital Humanities Toolkit – Musselman Library has created a detailed site that includes information about designing websites using Sites at Gettysburg. It includes both design and technical information.
- More about SSL Certificates
- What happens to my Sites domain after I graduate or leave the college?
- Installing and Accessing WordPress
