Main Navigation

  • Knowledgebase
  • Service Alerts
  • Forum

Getting Started: HELM Shared Windows Hosting

0845 058 9009

This guide provides an overview of the Shared Windows hosting products which may be purchased as a stand-alone product, or in addition to other Zen services.  The shared Windows hosting products provides management of your hosted domain through the 'HELM' control panel.

What do I need to do to get it?

Order the package which suits you best from: http://www.zen.co.uk/hosting/.


What does HELM support?

  • Full ASP scripting access for programming in VBScript and Jscript
  • Microsoft® .NET Framework 1.1 and 2.0
  • Enterprise class libraries for .NET 1.1 and 2.0
  • Microsoft® ASP.NET 2.0 AJAX Extensions
  • MS Access database
  • Microsoft® SQL Server 2005
  • Soft Artisans version 5.0 ASP File Upload Component
  • Very detailed Web hit statistics graphs accessible via a password protected area.  With optional daily, weekly and monthly stats e-mails included
  • FrontPage Extensions 2002

How do I log into my site?

You can login to your Helm control panel at http://helm.hosting.zen.co.uk/.

Username: Your HELM username as provided in the Helm Login Details e-mail.
Password: Your HELM password as provided in the Helm Login Details e-mail.

If you have forgotten your password you can have a reminder sent to your registered e-mail address by clicking on the forgotten password link.

What will my Web site's address be?

You will get an address in the form of http://www.mysite.shared.hosting.zen.co.uk where your site can be viewed on the Internet (the username: mysite, can be specified when ordering).  You can create domain aliases that point to your hosted domain e.g. example.com -> mysite.shared.hosting.zen.co.uk, through the HELM control panel. Depending on the package you purchase, an additional domain name can also be pointed to your space if required. 

Please note: You must point the A record of your chosen domain to your HELM server.  Your IP address details can be found within Site Settings in the Domain Menu.

How do I install FrontPage server extensions on the root of my site?

Enter the Domain menu and click on your hosted domain.  In the domain menu click on the FrontPage Extensions option.  To install FrontPage Extensions click install, then note down the username and change the password to something familiar. Please note that the username created by Helm will only allow you to publish to the web site and not administer the site in anyway.

How do I connect to HELM using FTP?

You can use any FTP client or a web browser with an inbuilt FTP client, to connect to HELM using FTP.  Connection details required are as follows:

Hostname: ftp.hosting.zen.co.uk
Username: <mysite>.shared.hosting.zen.co.uk (this is the default ftp account)
Password: Your HELM password

These details are available through the HELM control panel.  In the domain menu click on FTP Accounts, your hosted domain will be the default FTP account listed.  Here, you can create new FTP user accounts or modify your current accounts.  Clicking on a username will display the FTP account details.  Clicking on Add New will enable you to add a new FTP user account.

What can I use the space for?

Depending on your purchased package you may have a Microsoft SQL or Access database for your scripts to interact with, making the space suitable for interactive sites including elements such as forums, guestbooks, form e-mailers, shopping carts, searchable databases and much more.

However, you should note that you cannot execute programs on the server – you only have script access for asp and asp.net. This means that cgi, php and perl cannot be used.  To identify the most suitable package for your needs, please use the comparison chart available at http://www.zen.co.uk/Hosting/Hosting.aspx?page=10215.

What additional features are there?

A comprehensive Webstats package is included in the form of Deepmatrix Livestats.  To use this feature you must first enable it through the HELM control panel.  To enable LiveStats click on Domains > Hosted Domain > Statistics > Enable.

To access this go to: http://livestats.hosting.zen.co.uk and enter the following details.

Server Domain: Your domain as configured in HELM
Username: siteadmin
Password: Your HELM password

An additional component in the form of Soft Artisens File-up 5.0 is installed, allowing your scripts to upload files to the server.