So you want to make your mark on the World Wide Web? Excellent! Building a homepage is easier than you might think, and you don't need any fancy software -- just a text editor and a browser. In this guide, I'll walk you through everything you need to know to create your very own homepage from scratch.
What You'll Need
Before we start, let's gather our tools:
- A text editor -- Notepad on Windows or SimpleText on Mac. Do NOT use Microsoft Word -- it adds hidden formatting that will break your page.
- A web browser -- Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer will work fine. You'll use this to preview your page as you build it.
- Web space -- You'll need somewhere to put your page. GeoCities, Angelfire, and Tripod all offer free hosting.
- An FTP program -- To upload your files. WS_FTP is a good free option.
Step 1: Understanding HTML
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It's not a programming language -- it's a way of describing the structure of a document using special codes called tags. Tags are enclosed in angle brackets, like this: <B> for bold, <I> for italic.
Most tags come in pairs -- an opening tag and a closing tag. The closing tag has a slash: <B>This text is bold</B>. Everything between the opening and closing tags is affected by that tag.
Step 2: The Basic Structure
Every HTML page has the same basic structure:
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>My Homepage</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
Your content goes here!
</BODY>
</HTML>
The <HEAD> section contains information about your page (like the title that appears in the browser's title bar), and the <BODY> section contains everything that actually appears on the page.
Step 3: Adding Content
Now for the fun part -- putting stuff on your page! Here are the essential tags you'll use most:
| Tag | What It Does | Example |
|---|---|---|
<H1> through <H6> |
Headings (H1 is largest) | <H1>Welcome!</H1> |
<P> |
Paragraph | <P>Some text</P> |
<A HREF=""> |
Hyperlink | <A HREF="page2.html">Link</A> |
<IMG SRC=""> |
Image | <IMG SRC="photo.jpg"> |
<HR> |
Horizontal rule (line) | <HR> |
<BR> |
Line break | Text<BR>More text |
<B>, <I>, <U> |
Bold, Italic, Underline | <B>Bold</B> |
Step 4: Making It Yours
The best homepages reflect their creator's personality. Here are some ideas to make your page stand out:
- Tell the world about yourself -- Who are you? What do you like? What are your hobbies?
- Add a links page -- Share your favorite websites with visitors. It's how we discover new things on the web!
- Include a guestbook -- Let visitors leave messages. It's like a digital guestbook at a museum.
- Use color wisely -- The
<BODY>tag can set background colors and link colors. Try BGCOLOR="#E8E8F0" for a nice light blue. - Keep it organized -- Nobody likes a page that's one giant wall of text. Use headings, paragraphs, and horizontal rules to break things up.
Step 5: Going Live
Once you're happy with your page, it's time to share it with the world! Sign up for free web space at GeoCities or Angelfire, use your FTP program to upload your HTML file (name it "index.html" so it loads automatically), and tell all your friends your new web address.
Congratulations -- you're now a webmaster! Welcome to the community. Don't forget to add your page to a few web rings and sign some guestbooks along the way. The web is what we make of it, and every homepage makes it a little bit richer.
Questions? Comments? Sign the guestbook or drop me an email. Happy building!