might also be worth me mentioning that in the 'magento/' root folder, my index.php contains:
/* Run store or run website */
$mageRunType = isset($_SERVER['MAGE_RUN_TYPE']) ? $_SERVER['MAGE_RUN_TYPE'] : 'store';
switch($_SERVER['HTTP_HOST']) {
case 'http://localhost':
case 'localhost':
Mage::run('sitename', 'website');
break;
default:
Mage::run();
break;
}