Before You Get Started with HTML Programming
|
|
Before you get started with HTML programming, you need to have a few elements on your side. You can learn HTML just by reading, but the truth really is that reading about HTML cannot do much for you. In order to really learn what to do, you need to put it into practice. Therefore, you will need a few different things before you get started. So I'm going to teach you how to set up your own web page to use as a sandbox. (In Internet terminology, a sandbox is a virtual testing site.)
Hosting
Your computer is not where your web page will live. Instead, it needs to be uploaded to a web host, a computer somewhere else that has a direct link to the rest of the Internet that can be accessed by other computers.
The first thing you will need is hosting space. Hosting space is where your website will be placed to be seen on the internet. You can get hosting in several different places. For those just beginning and looking to practice, you could always go with free hosting. Again, there are many of these available at your fingertips, a search on Google will turn up with many different results.
However, if you are looking for a business website, you want to avoid free hosting, it can look unprofessional to your clients. Some free website hosts include:
- Geocities.com
- FreeWebs.com
- Bravenet.com
These websites offer hosting free and for a fee. It really depends on what kinds of features you are looking for and need. They offer a certain amount of space for free, for example, Geocities offers 15 MB (Megabytes) of space free of charge. You are also allotted 4.2 Megabyes of Data Transfer usage per day. However, they do offer the ability to lift the limits, add more space, remove ads from the site, and so much more for an additional fee.
With most free web hosting providers, you will receive a domain that is an extension of that provider. For Geocities, you will choose a user name and your domain will become www.geocities.com/YourUserName. This is fine if you are just creating a personal website or just using one for practice, but for businesses this is not something you want to use.
But, if you are looking at a business model involving web publishing and internet marketing, then you should consider going in for a high value, low cost web hosting service provider. It would be ideal if someone can spoon-feed you with all the steps for a successful web publishing career. Site Build It is such a web hosting service which takes care of everything from keyword brainstorming to website building, marketing and monetization, etc.
Domain Names and IP Addresses
A web address (also called a URL, Universal Resource Locator) is divided into at least four parts.
http://www.yourdomain.com/yourfile.htm
The http:// part of your domain name is the protocol type your browser is supposed to use to decode the page; in this case, it's a Hypertext Transfer Protocol page, or HTML page. (There are several other options, like ftp and gopher.)
The www portion is a subgroup name used by your web server more to sort your page than anything. WWW in this name typically means the page is designed to be used on the World Wide Web, but almost anything can take its place. You can set this part at your server.
The "yourdomain" part is the core of your web page, and is one half of what you'd purchase if you bought a domain name. This piece cannot change.
The ".com" piece is called the extension (or by real geeks, the top-level domain - so you can see the importance of domain name pieces rises from left to right up to the slash), and is the other half of what you'd purchase in a domain name. This can be one of a list of extensions, usually .com, .net, and .org. You can also purchase a country-coded extension, like .co.uk, and the .edu, .gov, and .mil extensions are reserved for educational, government, and military purposes only. In most cases, you want to do whatever you can to pick up the .com address, as that's what most people assume is at the end of any given web address.
Most web hosts will also sell you your domain name. The going rate is around $10/year, but you can find them today as cheaply as $8 for a .com name, and some hosts give away domain name registration free if you sign a year or more contract for hosting.
You can choose to have a customized domain name as well. Many websites sell these fairly cheap and are great for businesses or someone who wants to be identified by their own domain, instead of an extension of another. Your domain name can be anything you would like. For example, you can use your own name, if it is available. You can use your business name or anything you would like.
Generally, you would go to a website that offers domains for sale. They will have a search tool available in most cases that will allow you to type your domain name in the search box and find out if it is available for use. You can usually choose which type of URL extension you would like such as .net, .com, .info, and so on. GoDaddy is a pioneer as a Domain Registrar and the best on the block.
HTML Editors
Before you get started with HTML programming, you have to choose among the many different HTML editors that are available in the market. Some people choose to use software programs such as Dreamweaver or Front Page to help them in creating websites. These programs contain several different functions such as a section that allows you to write code yourself or a WYSIWYG editor. WYSIWYG is the shortened version of What You See Is What You Get. These types of editors allow you to drag and drop elements into your editor and the program will write the code for you. I am a fan of CoffeeCup HTML Editor as it has both WYSIWYG as well as manual editing. After trying several editors, I have finally settled for CoffeeCup HTML Editor as it satisfies my HTML scripting needs more than adequately.
Some hosting providers also offer these types of editors to help you build websites. However, this is not always the best option simply because it does not offer you a great deal of control over your website elements and you will not learn HTML in this manner.
On the other hand, some people choose to use nothing but notepad that comes standard with most computers. With notepad, you can type the code in yourself, once you learn how, and save it as an .html or .htm file and upload it to your hosting provider.
No matter which method you choose to use, you will absolutely need all of these elements in order to implement a website onto the internet and before you get started with HTML programming.
Try This:
Go out and download one of the WYSIWYG editors, and install it. Play around in it for a while. You'll notice, if you're used to using a word processor, then it's not really too hard to use. You can get a text editor, or you can use the HTML Source tab at the bottom of the page if you have NVU, to manipulate hard code. Just make sure, before you go any further, that you have the ability to manipulate your HTML code by hand. What I mean is that even if you have a Wysiwyg editor, please ensure that it has the built-in text editor also.
| HTML PROGRAMMING TUTORIAL LESSONS | |||
| |||
|
|
| Goto HTML Programming Tutorial Home Page | Goto Computer Training Home Page |
