Separate directory for wp files

Hi, I’d like to ask about installing wordpress into a separate directory (/Folder/blog/), but directing the blog URL to be my main website URL (https://www.ashmenon.com).

(Just to confirm, when they say ‘blog URL’ it means the URL that the blog will appear in right?)

I followed the instructions in the codex, including the index.php and .htaccess copies in the root folder, but when I go to ashmenon.com, it still shows my old site (index.html).

Is there something I’m doing wrong? Am I supposed to not have an index.html or something?

On a separate note: what is a soft link and how do I make one? I found another tutorial that suggested a way using clean subversion repositories, but I can only follow it up to making softlinks, as I have no idea how to do it.