lost in FTP world!

I am creating a website for my mother;s shop. I'm totally new at this and don't know much. I have managed to stumble through and build my website, I ahve registered with a web hosting company, and found and now installed SmartFTP. I figured out how to upload my site to the SmartFTP "Public_html" folder. But now what? How do I get my site from the FTP program to now show up when I type in my web address? Again, I really don't know much, and I'm sorry for my ignorance, but I've done as much web searching as I can handle!
Thanx in advance for your help!
Molly

Once you've uploaded the files, it would normally appear on the web. Have you got page called index.htm or index.html?

I don't see a file called index anything. Maybe that's the problem??

Could well be. The base (home page) of your web site is normally called index.htm or index.html. When a web address (eg www.foo.com) is entered into a browser, it "knows" to look for a page with that name and that's the starting point for the trip round your site. Rename your homepage (either on the server or upload it from your development area) and check that you can see it. Assuming you can, don't forget to look for links on other pages that will need renaming as well. HTH

I can get to the site using my IP #. (That;s the 12 digit number they gave me when I signed up right?) But if I just type in the site, it says that the site wasn't found?

type in your site number followed by a filename that you put there -

eg: http://121.024.786.024/homepage.htm.

(The http:// and the dotted notation are important...make sure the slashes are in the right direction) HTH

Molly, if you're still stuck, it sounds like you need to change your "nameservers" to point to your site's IP address.

You do this at your Registrar, the place where you bought your domain name. Search the menu or help there.