Posted March 17, 2006 i dont know if i this is the right place for this thread. i want to make a web site. problem: i haven't got a clue where to start i am a bit of a novice when it comes to the net. i have been on this forumn for a while now and there are alot of you who seem to know about this sort of thing. please can you help me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 17, 2006 Ok, first off, what do you want to do? A basic website with some text and pictures is easy. Frames are a bit harder, and sites with database servers at the back end are usually too complicated for us little people. If you have got Frontpage in your office suite, I would recommend it for a novice, it is excellent, especially the latest version. You can just make it all in a Word type fashion and away you go. I would personally recommend HTML. The easiest way to learn is to teach yourself, but I'll give you a helping hand to get you started. First off, create a new .txt file on your desktop. (make sure you have your machine set to show file extensions) Open up the new file, and copy this code into it: <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>dis is da pwornzorzz11!!</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <BODY BGCOLOR="black"> <FONT FACE="Tahoma" COLOR="white"> <H2> HELLO THIS IS MY WEBSITE! </H2> </FONT> </BODY> </HTML> I'll explain the code in a minute. Now, save and close, rename the file and change the extension to .html and open the page with your browser, and huzzah, you have a website! If you look at the text, there are some things to notice. HTML uses 'tags' the tag to indicate to a browser that it is a html page opens with <HTML> and closes with </HTML>. That tells your browser that anything inside those two tags should be interpreted as HTML. Everything in html is done with plain text wrapped in html tags. You always have the basic setup of: <HTML> <HEAD> </HEAD> <BODY> </BODY> </HTML> I should probably note at this point that it isn't case sensitive, but it is good practice to try and keep your code tidy. Here are some sites to give you some more help: This site is perfect to explain what I just said in a much better fashion: http://www.htmlgoodies.com/primers/html/article.php/3478131 Here is a site that has all the tag's you'll need: http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp If you need anything else, write back here, or PM me! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 17, 2006 If you're serious about web development then learning HTML, XHTML and CSS is something I would recommend - as oli suggested, w3schools has all that sort of data covered well and in a fairly uncomplex way - but if you're just looking to express yourself I would recommend setting up a blog. Wordpress.com has a very easy to use backend and has a range of themes for you to choose from. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 17, 2006 I second what Oli, that HTMLgoodies site is excellent, tis what i used to learn. You will also need a domian name and some dedicated hosting, i got mine from dataflame, pretty good and cheap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 17, 2006 I use frontpage because i can't be bothered with HTMl at the moment, if you don't have it, try googling "nvu" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 17, 2006 http://www.webmonkey.com/webmonkey/frontdoor/beginners.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 17, 2006 I use frontpage because i can't be bothered with HTMl at the moment, if you don't have it, try googling "nvu" The problem with WYSIWYG editors is that they churn out severely unhealthy code. HTML is pretty simple and logical to learn. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 17, 2006 If you want to make a dynamic webpage learn ASP or Php also at w3schools. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 17, 2006 i used pphotoshop to make my IT coursework website, it looks ok, and you can create the headers and such. i only got it going when i just found tutorial for the header with home etc on it. then i made the rest based off it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 17, 2006 Frames are a bit harder Ewww.... Shorty's tip of the day, no frames anywhere, ever. My way of learning html was rather odd... I started a free website at 50megs.com - using a template. I then started editing the code from their online file manager - using a few tutorials to get a grip on what the tags meant. As I edited things, I saw what changed - and by trial and error I figured out how various things like table cells, images, links and colours worked. Because I started this way, I completely skipped out programs like Frontpage/Dreamweaver and became a rather stubbornly notepad-only coder. My real tips for starting a website though have to be: Start small Don't try to achieve too much at an early stage. If you can't code - don't try to make a huge gaming website and aim to have a full staff and hundreds of reviews and constant updates. Keep it fun, something for yourself - it can be small and still useful if it gives people something they don't get elsewhere. As your skills improve, branch out and try bigger ventures. Learn HTML first, then CSS, then you'll suddenly discover the huge advantages of PHP and databases some time in the future Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 18, 2006 Made a website today actually. Well I made it a while ago but gave it a new slap of paint for a different subject. Anyway, as the others have said, Webmonkey and such is your best bet. If theres a site and you're wondering "how do they do that?" you could view the source, as long as you don't steal it of course. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 19, 2006 I made this using that nvu program. Very easy to use and the result, although simple and not particularly pretty, serves its purpose for me. I need to add more content and make a decent navbar or header thingy to change between pages but so far I'm quite pleased with the result. EDIT: Added some simple little buttons instead. EDIT: Framegrabs for every episode. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 19, 2006 I made my site with Frontpage, i personally like it and does it's job so i don't really need to learn HTML, if you8 really can't be bothered learning, get FP, nvu, or some other editor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 21, 2006 thanks guys there is some really great information there. i will give it a go. and let you know the results. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 22, 2006 This is what I came up with as a quick mockup template Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 22, 2006 what did you do that on??? that is exactly the type of thing i am looking for. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 22, 2006 what did you do that on??? that is exactly the type of thing i am looking for. I did it on Photoshop Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 22, 2006 cool. would i be able to have links and stuff? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
