 |
|
| Welcome to {mpk}online |
23 June 2002
|
Note: This page was originally written a few years ago but I have updated it (July 2002) to bring it up to date. How to get a site up a site OK, we need two things, web space and of course your web site. Odds are, you've thought about the content and how you want your site to look a fair bit by now so let's look at web space. You have probably already got some from your ISP (Internet service provider) e.g. AOL but if you haven't there are several company's that offer free space some specifically to one market, e.g. comedy sites. There is a nice list of free hosts at Freeindex. Just like when choosing a commercial web host, there are many things to consider. For example, some provide you with free tools such as cgi scripts which allow interaction at your website. One of the most traditional things to use this for is a feedback; you simply chose what information you want to collect from the users and the information is then emailed to you. However, though this is useful it is still a long way from a database driven website which is becoming more and more common nowadays even on hobbyist sites combined with low cost of professional hosting (£6 or $9 a month), means that the demand for free hosting is significantly reduced, which is probably why they offer you these tools. OK you have got your web space now you need some content; many offer an online page generator. You have built your first page which told your visitors to "come back soon" and now you have to make something for them to see. You have one of your first decisions as a webmaster. Do you learn HTML straight away to save time later or crack straight on with? a display level program, meaning one where you make your page in a similar way you make your Word Documents. In fact you could even use word to produce your website, but honestly. I really don't advise it, it would make you a very inefficient site. Anyway, back to your decision on HTML, what are the advantages and disadvantages? The thing is for many websites you will never have to touch a piece of code if you don't want to. But on the other hand, if you would like to get lots of visitors to your site (i.e. you are competing for traffic) then you will be at a very substantial competitive disadvantage even if you are developing an only quasi-professional (semi professional) website i.e. a Fan site for your favorite celeb. Ok, on with the next acronym. WYSIWYG, what you see is what you get. This is the "proper" name for the display level selection of web page creation programs. Pretty much all of these will let you get down to the code when you need to, so you might think "ah well then, there is no contest". Thing is, they obviously cost, some of them rather substantially. Another advantage of HTML. You can even make a webpage using notepad! I think this is a good program to start on. However, the ability to only have one page open at a time, and its default save method of text do get in the way as your skills develop. Therefore I would recommend a program like EditPad which is very similar but it's clearly made for developers, it has many features but not nearly as many as other programs. Personally, I think this is great benefit as you learn to use all the features rather than just a few. Once you have become accustomed to it, I'm sure you won't want to leave! But for the benefit of progress I would recommend graduating to HTML-KIT which has a huge array of features. Though I would normally say this is overwhelming, there is a very high level of customisation available, and therefore in the long run it can be an incredibly efficient tool, especially if you make the effort to get the most out of it. One big disadvantage with the WYSIWYG editors is that they are not very efficient in coding HTML so the pages they generate take longer to load as they do not have common sense which is the main thing you need to pick up HTML Another factor you should consider when deciding between pure HTML and WYSIWYG is that with the WYSIWUG program your site is limited to the functionality of the program; however with HTML you are only limited by your imagination and technical skills. You may think that the technical skills will hold you back, which is possible at first, but please not there are three main types of computing language.
So how can you demonstrate the ease of HTML? Well, in honestly it is often quicker and easier to learn HTML then learn how to use the software! Think about it, when you get a new job, it doesn't matter if the job is nothing new to you it still normally takes you a while to learn what is accepted and what isn't. With HTML you just get the plain code, "no nags". Ok, so you have the vital components now, your website and your webhost. Now, we must combine them! The way we do this is with an "FTP" (File transfer protocol or Frequency transfer protocol depending on how technical you want to be!) program to upload your website to your host. Many ISP's (internet service providers) give you an FTP program when you signup. If they don't, not to worry, again there are fee alternatives such as Leach FTP or WS_FTP light. You just uploaded your first website. Nicely done!
|
