If you are just starting out on the HTML trail, there are several steps you can take to create your first Web page. Keep in mind that this is not a tutorial, but it will help you get started with your Web page.
- Discover the theme or content of your site.
The Web has so many different things you can expound upon. You name it, it's probably already there, from underwater basket weaving to Mutual Funds. Finding what you are interested in will make a page that is more fun for others to look at and read. - Determine what type of tools you will use to create your pages.
You will need some type of HTML editor or text editor to write your Web pages in. You will also need graphics, photos, or clip-art, and a graphics program. Finally, you will probably need an FTP client to get your pages and images from your computer to your Web server.
Don't be intimidated by these software needs. I know people who design their banners in Word using the paint program and the text art feature. You can write your Web pages in any text editor. And, clip-art can be used to create wonderful Web pages.
- Learn HTML or your editing software.
Many people create great Web pages without ever knowing HTML. HTML is so easy to learn that it's almost silly not to, however. If you learn HTML then you will be able to quickly solve problems that your editor might cause. Learn the following HTML codes and you'll be well on your way to creating interesting pages.Basic HTML Codes
<p> — The paragraph marker
This tag separates groups of text with an extra space. The </p> closing tag is required for valid XHTML.<h#> — The heading marker
This tag creates headings of various sizes. Replace the #-sign with a number, 1-6. The </h#> closing tag is always required.<hr /> — The horizontal rule tag
This draws a line across the screen. You can change the length by adding the width attribute. e.g. <hr width="50%" /> There is no closing tag.<br /> — The break tag
If you want a line to end and the text to start again on the next line, use this tag. There is no closing tag.<strong> — The bold tag
Use this tag to make text bold. The </strong> closing tag is required.<em> — The italics tag
Use this tag to italicize text. The </em> closing tag is required.<html> — The HTML tag
This should be the first tag on your page. The closing </html> tag should be the last. These tell the browser they are working with an HTML document.<head> — The head tag
The head tag goes right after the HTML tag. The only thing that you need in it is the title tag. After you've included your title, use the </head> closing tag.<title> — The title tag
This tag gives your page a title. The </title> closing tag is required.<body> — The body tag
This tag comes after the </head> tag. It defines the body of your page. The </body> closing tag is required and goes right before the </html> tag at the end of your document. - Find a place to put your page.
There are many different places that you can host your pages, some are even free. - Let people know about your site.
Once you have your site up, you want to have people look at it. There are many ways to promote your pages.- Word of mouth — tell all your friends and tell them to tell their friends.
- Email — Add your URL to your signature so that every email you send is an advertisement of your Web site. Don't SPAM people, however. Sending out mass emails to announce your site is annoying and some ISPs will cancel your account for that type of action.
- Banner ads — you can create banners promoting your site and ask other people to link to you.
- Link exchanges — if you see a site that is related to yours, write to the author and ask to exchange links.
- Search engines — submit your page to every search engine you can find.
