.Building Homepages: Links and Tips
If you click on a link on this page and doesn't work, or if you have a suggestion, correction etc. please do email me
A brief Intro
Everybody you know has a webpage. Your friend has one about his favorite TV show, your boss has one with pictures of his kids, and the company you work for has a really slick business website. What do you need to do to get one? Were can you find all the things you need to make one? On this particular page I've tried to point you to places where you can get info or tools which I think are important or useful, with special emphasis on things you can get for FREE.
Where can I get webspace?
The answer is : everywhere. There are countless companies that provide webspace -- and most of them charge you for it. However, absolutely FREE webspace is available. Case in point: this page. It is provided FREE by GeoCities. GeoCities is one of the most well-known free webspace providers. It has many advantages (lots of space, subdirectories, superlative assistance from Community Leaders) and a few disadvantages (slow to load, sometimes hard to list on search engines, those horrid popup advertisements). If you want to get the lowdown on virtually ALL of the numerous providers of free webspace, then the place to go is FreeWebspace.Net
How do I build a webpage? How can I learn HTML?
Everyone and his uncle Bob has a website which claims to teach HTML. It would easy to list scores of them. However, learning HTML really isn't all that hard. There's no magic, and it doesn't require months of studying computer programming. In fact, with some Web authoring tools explicit knowledge of HTML (currently the principal language used in construction of webpages) isn't really even necessary, although it generally expands what you can do and gives you more direct control over the construction of your page.
One of the best resource on the Internet for learning how to make web pages is to use the View Page Source or View Document Source option in your browser. This option shows you all the code that is being used in the pages you are looking at! If the page has only one small thing I like -- a font color, for example -- I just jot it down on a piece of paper. Sometimes I copy the whole page and email it to myself, then study it later. That's OK for learning tips and tricks.. BUT BE WARNED! Copying the content of people's pages and putting it on the Web as if it were your own is one of the dirtiest and most socially unacceptable -- not to mention illegal -- tricks on the Net. If you do this, then you are a thief (to be extremely blunt).
One well-known primer on HTML is a site on the Web called "HTML Goodies." HTML Goodies says:
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HTML stands for HyperText Mark-up Language. Hyper is the opposite of linear. It used to be that computer programs had to move in a linear fashion : "A" before "B" ... "B" before "C" ...and so on. HTML does not hold to that, and allows the person viewing the World Wide
Web page to go anywhere, [in any direction], anytime they want."
Well ok if you really must know where to get started:
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Multiple award-winning HTML tutorials, Javascripts, cheap scanning, lots of useful
info on colors, icons, copyrighting your home page..this
is a GREAT place to get started...
HTML Goodies
The grandaddy of all HTML tutorials is :
NCSA--A Beginner's Guide to HTML Home Page
An excellent, labyrinthine site cram-packed with useful info is BUILDER.COM. If you're looking to learn HTML, you can't find many spots better than their Web Authoring - Spotlight on HTML
What do those strange
Just two more:
How do they do that with HTML?
The Bare Bones Guide to HTML
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What is an HTML editor, and why do I need one?
An HTML editor is an authoring tool. It helps you prepare a webpage. Different editors give you varying levels of control over what you can do. True blue give-it-to-me-the-hard-way HTML authors use only
Microsoft Frontpage 98.
Code-based editors basically require you to type the HTML in yourself (with some exceptions, such as optional "wizards" to help with certain tasks such as table or frame construction). If you get a gleam in your eye and your pulse rate quickens when you think of manipulating all the details of your site (I know I do), then this is the way to go. If you want to lay out some cash, try Home Site from Allaire. I have no cash, but I still want excellent quality products. Therefore I very proudly use the dirt-cheap ($15) shareware download of
Lorenz Graf's HTMLtool 1.6. or Lorenz Graf's HTMLtool - home page I can't recommend this editor highly enough. PC magazine called it a sleek, expert-level editor in the January 20, 1998 issue. 'Nuff said. Another very popular, professional-quality choice in FREE HTML editors is Arachnophilia. It isn't quite freeware, but its author, Paul Lutus, says he'll feel adequately paid if you stop whining about life for a few days... An HTML editor known as "Composer" is part of the package that comes with downloading your FREE copy of Netcape Communicator, Standard Edition, at : Netscape Communicator Download. Another option is the CoffeCup HTML Editor++ 98 5.1 Finally, the WebWizard HTML Editor is a quirky, idiosyncratic HTML editor for beginners. It's an ok way to start, but Lorenz Graf's HTMLtool is far superior. Some others are listed here: html editors, but if memory serves, this page is huge and has info on several other topics too.
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Where can I get all those cool images that everyone has on their page?
Again, the answer is "everywhere." Here are a few of my favorites to get you started on the right foot, though:Have you seen all those cute puppy images that run, radar screens that blip, etc. on peoples' pages? They're called animated GIFs and you can find a truckload of them at Roger's Animated Gif Collection.... An even cooler effect: ever seen an website image which seems to sit atop a rippling, reflective lake? With the right image, this looks very very impressive, and you can find it at The Lake Applet. It is a bit of a task to set this one up -- roughly equivalent to the difficulty of hooking up your VCR...
For backgrounds especially, but also for several other kinds of images, you owe it to yourself to see
MOYRA's WEB JEWELS: Cultural Metaphors.
This site is lavish - like a department store of website backgrounds. I sent you straight to the "Cultural Metaphors" section because it's my favorite, but there are several others. Some sections are dominated by femine-looking backgrounds, so if that's what you're looking for then head on over... Another great place for backgrounds is
Madcow's Graphics. These are bit more "psychedelic" and less feminine. Two more:
Welcome to Brandy's Web Design Emporium
Windy's Fashionable Page Designs
For clip art and icons, consider the following:
Tudogs: Free Clipart.
Barry's Clip Art Server
SINOPE'S ICON DEPOT
XOOM (which also provides webspace).
The Graphic Station
IconBAZAAR
Flags of the World
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What are fonts, and why are they cool?
Fonts are like typefaces (there may be a difference technically, but heck, I just use them, I don't make them). Do you see the decorative-looking letters in the title image at the top of this page ("The ELT Two Cents Cafe"). Your computer can only render letters like that if you download the appropriate font. You can make your own personal title image using the font of your choice and PaintShop Pro. The are millions of font styles -- strange, cool, funny, scary, futuristic, businesslike, etc. Some places to find them are:
The Font Pool
The Font Empire
Font Sources and Type Foundries for desktop Publishing on the Net
Dan Smith's Fantasy Fonts for Windows
Star Trek Fonts
Shareware Fonts
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What about Style Tips for webpage authoring?
Actually, in the next section (about info and tools) the pages listed are filled with many different kinds of very useful info. Since you asked, though, I'll give you two more specific sites:
...uh oh, the first pages I made (more than two years ago) broke about half
of the HTML Do's and Don'ts offered up at:
Art and the Zen of Web Sites
D. J. Quads Ultimate Table Tutorial
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Where are the best places to go for more info or tools?
Hmmmm. for info, I'd start out at BruceClay.com for free how-to web design advice, search engine advice, web architecture, design, marketing, promotion etc. Another site well-worth the time is WebReference.Com . Also take a look athttp://www.refdesk.com/free.html
http://castor.acs.oakland.edu/cgi-bin/vsl-front
Virtual Free WebMaster Tools
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How do I register with search engines?
If someone wants to find a website about a particualer topic, but they don't know where to look, they use search engines. Probably the most well-known of these is Yahoo!, but there are scores of others (my personal favorite is Infoseek). You generally have to register your site with a search engine so that your site will be on its list of possible answers to search queries. You can register with each engine, one-by-one, or for one-stop-shopping go to:!Register-It!
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What about site management?
How can I check my HTML to see if it's valid? How can I check to see if some of the links on my links page have moved to a new address? How can I find out how quickly my images load? There are some extremely useful resources on the web which are either totally free, or offer free demos. One good site management resource is also the one with the cutest graphics (and no kidding, it's very helpful too -- it offers all of the things mentioned above, although not in as much detail as in other sites). Just park your website in the Website Garage. For broken link checking, it's hard to beat Inspector Web . For more detailed output in all areas, it's time for a checkup at Doctor HTML v5.[Back to Table of Contents]
What about site tracking?
How many people have visited my site? Where did they come from? What is their domain name? What kind of browser are they using? Questions like these are best answered with site trackers. You have to put their image on you page, and the code they give you also includes arcane CGI scripts which can catch all of the above info and more when people visit your site. Two free ones:
SuperStats -- Free Web Page Statistics
eXTReMe Tracking
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Where can I get Javascripts and CGI scripts?
These little gems can do millions of things, such as making bulletin board message systems, link indexing, password protection, mailing list management etc etc etc. Be warned, though: they can slow down your page's loading time, and more importantly, a poorly written script (especially CGI) can crash your system. Still want one? OK. Again, an excellent place for Javascripts is HTML Goodies . Other resources can be found at:
The JavaScript Planet - Collection with 348 FREE examples!
CGI Resources.Com
Selena Sol's Public Domain CGI Script Archive and Resource Library
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What about Anti-Virus measures?
This isn't strictly related to having/making a webpage, but it's an important topic nonetheless. HouseCall! bills itself as "The Only On-line Virus Scanning Service". It's a one-shot deal that seems to require spending twenty or thirty minutes downloading some files... although it says it doesn't (?). Also note that this is On Demand Scanning. HouseCall does not protect your computer in real-time. It will detect only those viruses you may have on your system right now. For full-time protection you must install stand-alone anti-virus software such as PC-cillin.[Back to Table of Contents]
Copyright (c) 1998, 1999
Timothy M. Nall. All rights reserved.