View Full Version : Web Page Creation for Tech Challenged
Sundance
02-17-2009, 07:34 PM
Rather than hijack another thread that is dealing
with web page development at a higher level I
thought I'd start a new one.
For someone like me that knows nothing about
web page development is there a software
package that one can buy reasonably to get
started.
A sort of "Rosetta Stone" for web page development.
I would love to have a go at it.
drobbins
02-17-2009, 07:42 PM
really, truly, honestly, all you need is notepad
whiz bang tools just make it easy, they don't teach you how to do anything
open notepad
type this
<html>
<body>
Hello, my name is Sundance!
</body>
</html>
save it as test.html
go to your web browser and click the "file open" option under file
find the file you saved and open it
you just wrote your first web page
those things inside the <> are called tags and are directions for how stuff gets displayed in the page
you can do a LOT by learning about 10 different tags
until you learn that, those other tools are just preventing you from learning the basics you really need to know
no need to spend money until you get the basics down and decide it's something you really want to invest time in
Dave
wmgysi
02-17-2009, 07:54 PM
Many free websites provide you with a starter kit to quickly set up your own home page with frames around, etc. However, if you do want to change anything then it gets more involved. You need to learn how to write HTML code. You can learn it on the net (as I did) and it is not that difficult to do something decent.
Then there are web sites that you upload the code you test at home on your computer beforehand. For that you download a freeware such as Maxs' HTML_beauty (sometimes crashes but I still use it) or buy Dreamweaver, the top of the line web designer for HTML ( and script another kind of language). Once you have your page designed and tested on your computer at home you upload the page(s) using an FTP protocol software such as the freeware ACEftp 3. Voila, that is it.
For a free provider where you load up your designed page you can for example sign up at freewebsite.com, chose a name, for example mine I called http://goolymooly.freewebsites.com and that will be your site. I have not spent one cent so far to have that web page just listed above on the web but a lot of time went into learning HTML and about computers in general. It is easy, entertaining and an enriching experience for me during the winter and computers don't sting, haha.
Note: I used the provider geocities.com (another free web site service) but they first of all limited you not to download any of your uploated codes and pictures and since about a year put so much 3rd party advertising on the same page that you can't read your own stuff anymore so I changed to freewebsite.com which has just the top bar for advertising. For no advertising at all you have to register for your own web address (about 20.00 per year) and pay the provider $10.00 or so every month for the site. Like this you also get your own URL like I have for the business of my wife under gysi.ca. If you call that one up you can see the difference about 3rd party advertising. Hope that helps to make a decision.
Rather than hijack another thread that is dealing
with web page development at a higher level I
thought I'd start a new one.
For someone like me that knows nothing about
web page development is there a software
package that one can buy reasonably to get
started.
A sort of "Rosetta Stone" for web page development.
I would love to have a go at it.
Sundance
02-17-2009, 07:58 PM
Long ago in the early days of ebay I did some
tag work to make ads to sell. Like 1997 or so.
Is this the same html tags?? It was a pain.....
but it worked.
drobbins
02-17-2009, 08:06 PM
I'd guess those were tags like you use here to put stuff in a quote block
same general principal, you don't see them in the page but they control how things are displayed
yes, they are a pain, but it's how stuff works
in html there are only about a dozen basic tags
you can mix em up a million ways
there are also things you can do on the backend server side that can get way more complicated
but you just want to start with the basics
if you want to chat about it here I bet others would be interested
you could also just find a tutorial on the web, there are many around
did you try the code I posted??
Dave
jeff123fish
02-18-2009, 07:58 AM
there are only about a dozen basic tags
where would we find other "tags" ?
thanks Jeff
Sundance
02-18-2009, 08:02 AM
Jeff,
If tyou go to the top of your browser and bring down
the "View" tab you'll see "Page Source". Click this on
and it will show that page's code. Pretty wild.
Barry
02-18-2009, 09:13 AM
other tags here:
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/02/20/basic-in-post-html/
drobbins
02-18-2009, 04:15 PM
Barry's link is good
here's one to the folks who are actually in charge of the spec
http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_getstarted.asp
they have all the scoop on stuff far beyond "basic" too
play with it on your PC like I suggested till you can control what you see on the screen
then, as others have suggested, there are places you can get some free space on the web to put your stuff so others can see
but figure out what you're doing first:)
you can also ask questions here, it's nice to ask a real person rather than figure stuff out from a website
Dave
Sundance
02-18-2009, 04:25 PM
I tried the example you gave Dave on Notepad
and did the browser thing. Nothing......
Then I figured maybe they need to be like this:
<html><body>Hello, my name is Sundance!</body></html>
And still nothing.........
I'm dumber than a bag of hammers when it comes
to this stuff.
drobbins
02-18-2009, 04:41 PM
make sure the file is named test.html
notepad may try to change it to test.html.txt
this will mess things up, the browser expect the ending to be html
that's how it identifies the type of file
let me know if that works
Dave
Sundance
02-18-2009, 04:46 PM
You are correct Dave.......... it did indeed switch it
to a .txt doc.
Works......... There is a crack of light in the great
beyond.......:applause:
drobbins
02-18-2009, 04:54 PM
kool, now you can play with toys
<html> and </html> mark the beginning and end of the html
<body> and </body> are the beginning and end of what is seen on the page
change <body> to <body bgcolor=red> and see what you get
Dave
Sundance
02-18-2009, 05:06 PM
Too cool............ red it is........... I will continue to
play.
Sundance
02-18-2009, 05:34 PM
Went to download dot com and got the HTML-KIT
program. A freebe and pretty darn nice as a learning
tool I think.......
HTML-KIT (http://www.htmlkit.com/)
drobbins
02-18-2009, 05:43 PM
you'll do yourself a favor if you resist the lure of tools that do things for you
I'm not familiar with html-kit and it may be just fine, just make sure you learn what's going on under the hood. there are many tools out there that make things simple by hiding the code from you, that is NOT what you want to use in the beginning
have fun:)
ask questions if ya got em
many here can give you a hand
Dave
BWrangler
02-18-2009, 07:17 PM
Hi Guys,
Here's a great place to learn basic html.
http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp
Start with the introduction in the left hand column.
Regards
Dennis
Allen Dick
02-18-2009, 07:39 PM
Actually, if you gave an example of what type of web page you want to make, answering would be much easier.
Some say you need to write HTML tags. It can't hurt, but web design has moved far past that. Most of us quit that in the early zeros.
Some like to tinker with their vehicles. Others would rather not ever look under the hood and yet everyone seems to get to the destination.
Writing code is pretty much passe, much like patching your own tires or rebuilding a carburetor. Basic HTML still works, but just as carburetors have been superseded by injection, basic HTML has been superceded by advanced code and is not the main driver of most sites these days. You don't need to know that though, any more than you need to understand thermodynamics to drive a car.
People still do write code by hand, but for the fun, not because it is the cheapest, easiest way to get from here to there. Most developers use graphical software that generates the code. Some software is free, some comes with registering a domain and signing up for hosting.
If you want your site to be seen by the world, you need a web presence provider (WPP) to host to serve your site to the world. You could serve the site from your home computer, but your machine would have to be on all the time, and your ISP might balk, so most pay a few $$ to a WPP and they handle all that invisibly for a ferw dollars a month.
There are quite a few ways to get fantastic web sites running in moments and for free or almost free, but it all starts with having a clear idea of the goal.
If you can say what you want to accomplish, assuming it is more than just a 'hello' to yourself, I am sure that there will be suggestions that can get you set up and running within days without knowing anything more than how to write the text and upload the pictures. (Did you know that you can write a websie with Microsoft Word? If you can make a page in M$ Word, and save to HTM, you have just made a website. Next you have to find a WPP, register a domain, and publish your page(s)there.
Sundance
02-18-2009, 07:54 PM
Allen........ You have some good points. I am usually
a look under the hood, fix my own stuff kinda guy.
Except with computers, there I'd prefer it to appear
by magic....;),
I am looking for a nice looking web site with multiple
pages to market bee products and services. And also
market apple orchard goods.
With the ability to do sales and check out.
Allen Dick
02-18-2009, 08:01 PM
OK. Not too hard, except for the checkout. That tends to cost money and take some time, although there are some workarounds, like offering a 800 number or going through an established vendor. Paypal may be easy, but credit cards can be a bit harder.
Seems to me that Quickbooks used to offer websites and money & credit card handling. Maybe it still does? http://www.google.ca/search?q=intuit+websites&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a (That is not a recommendation, just an idea)
My mind is elsewhere tonight, but hopefully some others will step forward with an easy solution, now that we know what you want.