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Some
tips for the "newbie".
Table
of Contents:
|Getting
Started| |What you Need
to Get Started| |HTML|
|Where Do I Put My Page?| |How
Do I Upload My Page?| |How Do I
Get My Own Pictures on My Page?| |Important
Links|
Updated! I have created a new site, all about getting started with making your own web site. Tutorials and tips—it's written with the newbie in mind. (Some of the information on the page you are on right now is getting old and stale. Visit WebCreation4Newbies.com for more up-to-date tips and tutorials.)
OK,
so I couldn't resist. I guess all web page authors (even relative
"newbies", like me) feel the urge to share some of the knowledge
and tips they have acquired since they have started creating web pages.
I am no different! I do not claim to be any expert, but I have
come a long way since I started trying to create web pages, a little
over half a year ago. So, I hope I can be a little bit of help,
with the tips and links I am about to give you!
First
off, I might as well start out by explaining how I created this web
page. It has gone through so many software programs...first it
was Claris Home Page, then I used Home
Site, I then switched to FrontPage 98 (then upgraded to FP 2000.).
Whew! I now am cross-platform, and use both BBEdit and Homesite
on occasion, but mostly I am using Dreamweaver.
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of Page
I
want to give any "newbie" out there some encouragement when
it comes to creating your first web page. It is not that scary.
Trust me. I am the biggest newbie out there! I had only
had my first computer for less than few months before I started created
web pages (and this was before most web hosts offered "wizards"
to walk you though the process!).
Most
of what I have done has been self-taught, with the help of my Web Page
Guru, Ryan,
and lots and lots of books. I was first with AOL, but
(for reasons I will not detail in too much length here) it did not work
for me. I know that many people do fine with AOL, but I also know
there are too many "hoops you have to jump through" sometimes
to get things to work properly with AOL. (For instance, some webmaster-related
programs, services, etc., don't always work with AOL, or they need to
be done a "special" way. Yikes. Forget it.
I
changed over to a "real" ISP, Mindspring
(which has been since bought out by EarthLink). And yes, I also have
an account with EarthLink,
and have put up a web
page there, by the way. Making web pages became much easier
then. Both ISPs offered online tutorials for web creation, had
web page creation software bundled in their startup CD, so that was
a big help. Another thing I had going for me was the great desire
to make web pages, and a bit of stupid "newbie bravado"!
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One
of the easiest (and least painful) ways to get started is with an easy
and fun Web creation software program. These programs look a lot
like a word processor, where you type in what you want your page to
say, and the software automatically transforms what you are writing
into an HTML file. These sort of programs as commonly known as
"WYSIWYG" (What You See Is What You Get") and to find
some of them, all you need to do is type in those letters in Download.com's
search function.
I
started out with Claris Home Page Lite, a program that
is now defunct, but can sometimes be found on eBay, or bundled in old
books like "How to Create a Home Page in 24 Hours", published
by Sam's Net. There are other programs out there, some come in
"Web Construction Kits" that you can buy at CompUSA or Best
Buy.
Other
software programs to try are the free programs (Netscape Composer, and
FrontPage Express) that come along with Netscape Communicator and Internet
Explorer 4x (and IE 5x.) There are many books covering these popular
browsers, and usually there is a chapter (or more) with instructions
on how to use the web authoring programs.
I
should mention FrontPage,
since I have used it a lot. A new version is out, FrontPage 2002,
which promises to be even more fun. It is a little more pricey
(at least $120, if you get it on sale) but it is a very enjoyable program,
and quite popular. You should also get one of the many FrontPage
books out there, to help you with it.
However,
recently I've fallen in love with Dreamweaver.
Version 3 or 4 or above are the best. It is available in both Mac and
PC versions, to be honest, I prefer it over FrontPage. (Far more stable
and cross-platform.)
Have
you gotten the impression that I am big on computer books? I am!
Most certainly! I guess if you are an "old timer" to
computers, you might be able to muster and bluster your way through
one of these web authoring programs, but for most of us, a book is a
big help. While some people may shy away from them, I especially
like the books with the titles that start with "For Dummies",
"Complete Idiots" or "Teach Yourself in 24 Hours".
I am not proud, I am a newbie, remember? I don't mind reading
a book that says "For Dummies" on the cover! They have
been informative, accurate, helpful, and are written in a friendly manner.
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OK,
so you are a purist and you don't want to fiddle with one of these WYSIWYG
(What You See Is What You Get) programs? I can understand that,
and I think it's probably a good idea. I have learned the rudamentaries
to HTML, and I think I would be far more frustrated and limited if I
had not. You can scour the Internet for web pages teaching
HTML, and then save and print out web pages that you find valuable.
Or...you can get books! (I will
always recommend books!) Any HTML book by Laura Lemay
would be a good place to start. It is also never difficult these
days to find some slightly out-of-date books on HTML in the bargain
bins at computer stores. (Check what year they were published---I
would not get any book that is more than a year old, as a rule of thumb.)
Many of these books come with a shareware and freeware CD that
will be of great help too!
One
of the leading HTML editing programs (it calls itself a "What You
See is What You Need" program) is HomeSite,
which is what I am using now. It is a premier program, a bit sophisticated
for a simple home page, but definitely an excellent program! You
can also find the excellent freeware HTML editing programs Arachnophilia
and SiteAid available for download on Download.com.
(Just use the keyword "HTML" in Download.com's search
function to find them.) For Macs, go with BBEdit,
or BBEdit Lite.
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Well,
most ISPs (Internet Service Providers) will offer you some web page
space with your Internet access account. Hopefully you will get
several MBs of storage space, (the minimum amount is about 4-6 MBs.)
Your ISP should give info on their home page on how much space you get,
and how you publish your page up to them. They often will give
you helpful links, and sometimes the CD they send out to new members
has a web authoring program included.
There
are also almost countless places on the web who will be glad to give
you a free web space. GeoCities
is the most famous, but there are many, many others. Their home
page will also give you the specifics you need to know about creating
and uploading your page to them. You can even create or
edit your page online with GeoCities, which is really easy and helpful.
(I might add, EarthLink has an online web creation feature also.)
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Ooh---I
found uploading scary at first, but it is not! There is an uploading
program built-in to GeoCities, that is easy to do, and all you need
is IE4 or above, or Netscape 3 or above. There are many ftp
("File Transfer Protocol"---for uploading and downloading
files) programs out there, but I have a favorite program called FTP
Explorer. Fetch is great on the Mac, (available through Download.com).
Also,
many of your web authoring programs come with the capability to upload,
but be mindful that there are different ways to upload, and it is possible
that your web authoring software's uploading function may not "go
through" to some web page services (especially the free services).
So it is never a bad idea to know how to use something like FTP Explorer,
since it is quite likely that it can be used to upload to any
web page service. (Don't ask me why this is, but it is true!
I just don't quite know how to explain it...)
Giving
instructions on how to FTP would take too long here, but it is not really
that scary. And, when you use a super-easy program like FTP Explorer,
it is not difficult to catch on at all! The big thing you need
to remember is to upload every single file that you used for
your web page---the HTML files, and every itty bitty little graphics
file (.jpg and .gif pictures, a background graphic---if you used one,
buttons, bars...you get the idea!)
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It
is true, you can get away quite easily with not using any of your own
pictures on your page, (there are many places on the Web to grab royalty
free pictures of almost anything.) But if you want your own personal
pictures on your page, you will either have to have someone else scan
them for you, or get your own scanner and do it yourself. You
can go to a place like Kinko's, and, for a fee, you can get your pictures
scanned. Also, most places that will develop your film will also
put your pictures in digital format for you and present you with a CD.
But, really, it will probably be less hassle to just get one of those
inexpensive ($100+) scanners available everywhere and do it yourself.
I got a scanner by Epson, and it worked right away, with no hassle,
the first time I plugged it in, thanks to the easy software that came
bundled with the scanner. Scanners are not scary, really!
Just make sure you follow the instructions and advice that the scanner
software gives you, regarding preparing your picture for a web page.
(Use only a .jpg or .gif file, reduce resolution to 72 ppi, etc.) The
vintage Adobe Photo editing program Photoshop LE (or now, Photoshop
Elements) would be two excellent programs to use with a scanner.
These
days, digital cameras are getting more and more inexpensive, and user
friendly. I've got a digital camera and I love it, but I still can't
pull myself away from my old-fashioned film camera. I think that the
quality of the picture is very good, and I'd have to pay quite a lot
to get similar quality in a digital camera.
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Content
of this page © J.R. Dunster, 2001-2005
This
page last updated:
5/1/05
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