If You Want a Web Site, First Comes HTML

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by Bob McElwain

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the language in which web site pages are written, and the language used by browsers to read pages visited. So unless you have scads of bucks, enough to hire someone to create and manage your web site, you will need to learn the basics of writing HTML code.

Some may disagree, for there are some good web page editors available that handle the HTML code for you. I use one. And likely you will too. But it is unwise to do so until you have a good understanding of the fundamental code structures. At some point, the best editor will fail in some way. When that happens, your option is to toss the page you are working on, else dig into the code itself, find where it broke, and fix it.

Besides it's not all that hard to do. It takes a little time, is all. And patience. It isn't obvious at first. But you will come to discover it is really quite simple. Almost primitive, in fact. When you come to this realization, you can turn to a web page editor with confidence.

So how should you start? You need nothing more than a text editor such as Notepad or Wordpad, a browser, and some notes about HTML. You write the code in your text editor and use your browser to load the page to see what it will look like on the Web.

You might like to begin with the Web Page Starter Kit which I have just released for beta testing. It takes you step by step though the basics of HTML and helps you build a practical web page template. About a hundred public domain graphics are included. Lots of links to additional resources are provided. The price is right; it's FREE! You can download the file by pointing your browser at:

http://www.sitetipsandtricks.com/files/pagekit.exe

PageKit.Exe is a self-installing execute file, about 390K bytes in size. Just run it, then load the ReadMe file into your browser from the directory in which you installed. If you take the default, the directory will be WebSiteStart.

Alternatively, try "html tutorial" in your favorite search engine. There is lots of good material out there. I personally prefer a book. I can fold down pages for easy reference, make notes, etc. I can't recommend the book I've got, for it is not very good. I suggest Amazon Books at amazon.com, and search on HTML.

Once you get a good start, you will find it very helpful to look at the code behind pages you find on the Web that you like. Once a page has fully loaded, click on the option in your browser to view the source code. Copy any part of it that interests you, load it into your editor, and experiment to find out how it works.

Note you can not actually use what someone else has written, for that is a violation of the copyright laws. Worse, it's dishonest. However, there is nothing wrong with copying a piece of code so you can try it yourself to see how it works. It's no different than writing down some problems from a math book to see if you can figure how to do them. If in doubt about something in particular, drop a note to webmaster@whateversite.com and ask for permission to use the code. 99% will say yes, and a surprising number will offer to help.

At some point you will become quite bored with all of this, and want to see your pages on the Web. For real! Now what?

First you need a host for the pages you create. Check with your ISP (Internet Service Provider) through which you have access to the Web. Most offer free personal home pages to their customers. If that doesn't work, look around for free hosting services. Geocities.Com, recently bought by Yahoo, will do geocities.yahoo.com. (A Caution: A freebie hosting service is great while getting started; it won't do at all for a serious business site.)

Next you need a way to load the pages you create to your new site. If your ISP has provided a free site, check with them first. They may have a program that will do the job. And some free site hosting services also provide adequate software; just now no name comes to mind. But even if you have to buy a program, it's a good investment for you will need it later when you build a site for real.

Probably the two most popular programs for handling FTP (File Transfer Protocol) are WS_FTP ($37.50) at wsftp.com and Cute FTP ($39) at cuteftp.com. Either of these programs will provide efficient transfer of your files to and from your site. I happen to use WS_FTP, but Cute FTP is also an excellent program.

Only when you feel comfortable with your HTML coding skills is it appropriate to consider building a business site for real. And this would be the time to consider a web page editor. However, you may find you do not need one at all.

A client of mine operates a very successful business centered at his web site which he created and maintains by writing his own code with Notepad, and checking his work with his browser. Check it out. The URL is http://www.homeplansoftware.com This site works very, very well, and so can yours!

I will wrap with an offer tough to beat. When you get a page loaded and you get stuck real good (and I guarantee this *will* happen), send me the URL. I'll take a look and see if I can fix it. Have you had a better offer today?

Here's to happy site building!