You have surfed the Internet, checked out some of your favorite
topics, and found more information than you ever dreamed possible right in front of you on
the computer screen.
Now you want more. You have seen how other people put their information out on the web on
something called a web page. And, in the back of your mind, you know that Cousin Sadie,
Aunt Elma and Grandma would like to see pictures of the baby, but sending photos through
the mail to all the relatives is costly.
Or, you invented a shoe that is comfortable, wears well, and holds up in the rain, but
costs way less to manufacture than conventional shoes. You want customers to order shoes
directly from you to keep costs down
You made a 1999 Internet New Year’s resolution to start your own web site, but how do
you get started? The easiest and most expensive way would be to hire someone to do your
web pages for you. But, you just want to put your kids pictures on the web and are
looking for an alternative.
Many sites are out there that offer quick and easy web pages already set up that you can
purchase for a monthly fee. Sites like http://angelfire.lycos.com/ will get you a little
space and most are very easy to set up if you can type.
But, a new business is going to need more, though still something low budget, to get
out on the web. A domain name, such as www.microsoft.com,
or www.shoes.com, helps customers find them more
easily.
Once you have a web site, if you plan to do your own webmastering, you will need to learn
enough HTML programming language to know what is wrong if things don’t work out the
way you planned. HTML stands for hyper text markup language, and it is a very simple
computer programming language.
Simple or not, it takes time to write code, and a better way is to use one of the software
packages that writes html. Microsoft Word, for example, will translate into html by simply
choosing File/Save as HTML. For straight text, Netscape’s Composer, which is
built into the Netscape Communicator package, does a good job of holding paragraphs. For
more difficult items, such as frames and tables, Softquad’s HotMeTaL is a good choice
because you can still see the code. Softquad offers a download on the web if you want to
get started right away. Check www.softquad.com.
HTML looks like this:
<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Document Title: Example</TITLE></HEAD>
<BODY><P><B>This is a Bold
Headline</B></P></BODY></HTML>
Everything that is written in HTML is enclosed in a capsule, and the
capsule must have an a beginning (<>) and an end (</>). Notice that the
<HTML> at the beginning encloses everything in the whole document and ends
</HTML>.
There are many good books out there on HTML, including HTML for Dummies, and Teach
Yourself Web Publishing; with HTML in 14 Days, if you want to teach yourself. If you
don’t, try the community colleges, because many of them offer a one semester course
in HTML.
Once you get your home page developed, the next step is to load it on whatever web site
you have purchased. FTP, or File Transfer Protocol, is a simple program that will transfer
your files to your web site.
Computer savvy people and those with a great desire can learn how to do their own web
sites. And others can still get on the web by hiring a professional. Whatever you decide,
you can make your Internet dreams come true.
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