24. Lots of information on
Internet on how to construct a website
By Mark Alberstat
Dear Mousepad:
First and foremost I am not a computer whiz. That being said I have a
request. I have a Website and would like to take a crash course to learn
how to input into it. Do you know where I could get it?
All the best,
Daniel N. Paul
With the proliferation of computers, internet access, digital cameras and
scanners, anyone walking down the street or cruising the internet can
create a website for themselves, their business, their hobby collection or
their family.
Before images of creating the next CNN.com or Chapters.ca pop into your
head, the sites that the vast majority of people will create by using
simple HTML are relatively static sites that only change occasionally and
may not have more than a handful of hits a month or even a year.
On the other hand, the satisfaction of creating your very own home on the
world wide web can be rewarding, just as learning a language like HTML can
be fun and frustrating at the same time.
Many local community colleges offer internet courses, which can be a good
way to get yourself started. If you can't attend these or can't afford
them, there are several sites on the internet that attempt to teach users
the basics, and more advanced features, of HTML authoring. Some use a
series of exercises while others are simply reference points when you have
questions about how and when to use the H3 tag or how to embed a table
within another.
One of the most popular sites showing people how to become website writing
gurus is Webmonkey. Despite the name, there is no monkeying around here.
It is all serious, straightforward tutorials that often have a bit of a
pop-culture edge.
Webmonkey, an offshoot of Wired Magazine, has three different levels of
tutorials, and you can judge for yourself whether you fall into the
beginner category or that of builder or master. Be forewarned, however,
that to progress to the master webmonkey level, you should be well
conversant in the alphabet soup of PHP, XML, CSS, DHTML, CGI, and a long
list of other hard to remember and even harder to understand acronyms.
HTML Goodies is another great site to visit. This site features,
literally, dozens of articles and help pages for the budding webmaster.
Here you can find info on style sheets, java applets and javascript, as
well as more basic HTML topics. The site is easy to use and navigate, and
includes an excellent article called "The Non-Technical Intro," which
covers such basic topics as hosting, design, colour and content.
There are also some HTML tutorial programs or other software that allows
you to build sites from templates. These program can be downloaded from
such sites at Tucows.com or Download.com. Search for the keywords HTML
tutorial or HTML Editor.
If you are more the type to crack a book open for knowledge there are
several companies publishing excellent HTML guides. Both Sams and Wiley
are well thought of in the field of computer training books.
With these sites (and more listed below), programs or books at your
fingertips, you can create a website that may bring in thousands, of
visitors or just your Uncle Ted looking for a photo of himself sleeping
off last years Christmas dinner.
http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/
http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW/HTMLPrimerPrintable.html
http://www.htmlprimer.com/
http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/html-primer.html
http://werbach.com/barebones/
http://www.cwru.edu/help/introHTML/toc.html
The Mousepad runs every two weeks. It's a service of Chebucto Community
Net, a community-owned Internet provider. If you have a question about
computing, email mousepad@chebucto.ns.ca. If we use your question in
a column, we'll send you a free mousepad.
Originally published 21 December 2003
