Making Your Own Web Pages

You don't need to pay to have your web pages done. If you are familiar enough with computers to be reading this, you can do your own web pages, and you will have the satisfaction of knowledge and control.

Almost any bookstore these days will have books on the Web, HTML, and the internet -- the best book, in my opinion is

        
        HTML: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition

        By Chuck Musciano & Bill Kennedy
        2nd Edition May 1997
        1-56592-235-2, Order Number: 2352
        552 pages, $32.95

But perhaps the best way to learn is to fiddle with pages you find on the net. Plus, the Web itself has all kinds of information available: See, for example, the Web Design Group's pages. A Google search will find all kinds of information.

To start, pick a simple text page and save it on your own machine with the "save as" or similar button on your browser. Then take a look at it with an editor or word processor. Make some changes, save them, and then use your browser to look at the file. Be sure to save them as simple text files -- the browser should do the formatting, not your word processor. It will take only a few minutes before it will be clear how you can make your own pages.

Simple text pages are perfect for many applications. However, most people like to have a few images on their pages.

There are two things to remember about images -- first, the browser treats them like big words: Notice how this picture just fits in the sentence, and how the browser spaces things around it to make it fit. That's the basic rule for how pictures are placed on a page, even big pictures that take eons to display.

The second thing to remember is that the pictures the browser displays are computer files -- that little picture above (and below) are both the same file: "llogo.gif". Most "draw" and "paint" programs will let you save a file as a "GIF" file, and for about $200 you can get a hand scanner with software that will let you convert photographs to GIF files. Some print shops now have scanners -- you take your photo and a floppy to the store, and come out with a GIF file on your floppy.

Still, there is no avoiding the fact that images add lots of complexity to producing web pages -- pictures that look good on paper may look lousy on the web. You have to become aware of different monitor and graphic hardware characteristics, file compression issues, and different graphics file formats. By the time you have mastered those issues, you will be on your way to being a webmaster...

© Copyright 1996 Songbird