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HTML is a simple scripting language that adds some special tags to a normal text file.
HTML tags basically allow you to add graphics images and hyperlinks to your document.
Hyperlinks connect your document to other documents on the Web.
Some of the most common html elements are:
- background colors
- images
- animations
- fonts
- hyperlinks
- lists
- email links
- sound
- tables
When you need to get serious about learning HTML, use the web as your first source of information about HTML.
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If you want to get an HTML editor, you have several options.
In addition, a good graphics package is needed to handle bitmapped graphics (a paint or photo-editing program).
It needs to be able to read in many graphics file formats, and write out GIF and JPEG, which are the most widely used graphic formats in the internet.
The professionals all use Adobe PhotoShop, which runs on Macintosh and PC's and costs several hundred dollars.
If you don't want to pay the big bucks for PhotoShop, a good shareware option is PaintShop Pro, for PC's.
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Having one browser isn't enough! The reason is that different browsers display HTML differently. As an HTML author, you need to know how your pages are going to look on the different browsers.
Why do different browsers display HTML differently? Because HTML is translated and interpreted by the user browsers at the time it is downloaded. This is a drag, and you'll just have to get used to it.
The most practical solution is to get a copy of the two most popular browsers, Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.
This should cover about 85% of your viewing audience. Whenever you create a page, view it in both browsers and make sure it looks the way you want before you put it up on the Web.
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If you are creating a Web site on a remote machine, you will need telnet to login to your account.
Telnet typically runs on top of a PPP or SLIP connection.
You have to specify your server's telnet IP address, and telnet will connect you to the server.
The server will ask you for your user name and password, and then you will be logged into your account.
From there you can create directories for your web site files, and that's usually enough to get you started.
Eventually, you will want to monitor accesses to your Web site, and you usually need to login to do that as well.
Again if you are creating a Web site on a remote machine, you will need ftp to transfer your files to the server.
There are many ftp programs available in the internet, such ws_ftp and Cute FTP
Like telnet, ftp programs run on top of a PPP or SLIP connection. You have to specify your server's ftp IP address, your user name, and your password (usually a different IP address, but the same user name and password as you used with telnet).
Once ftp is connected, you can transfer files from your personal computer to your web server. At that point, your pages are accessible to the whole world!
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There are several reasons why you should create simple web pages.
Simple pages download faster, and make an immediate impression on the reader. This is extremely important on the Web, where people will leave your site if your page doesn't come up fast enough.
Simple pages give a "clean" look, which often makes a nice visual presentation.
For individuals, simple pages are easier to create, and for business, simple pages are more cost-effective.
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