Creating Web Pages

1
Creating Web Pages

• Overview

2
Design Start with a Purpose

• Before you start any web page, you need to design
  the website.
• The first question that should be asked is why
  are you creating a website?
• To entertain or educate
• To sell products
• To create a useful reference
• More

3
Describe the website

• Determine
• Who is the audience?
• What content and pictures are available to be
  used?
• How should the site be organized?
• What colors or graphics should be used?
• What should the web site be able to do?
• Once you have answered these questions, the
  entire site should be sketched out, either on
  paper, or in a graphics program.

4
Create The Web Pages

• A web page is simply a text file, like you might
  write in Notepad, or simple text.
• Web pages contain tags that tell a web browser,
  like Internet Explorer (IE), how to display the
  page.
• You can view these tags before IE uses them by
  opening any web page in IE and selecting View on
  the drop down menu, then Source.

Try this on the Creating Web Pages page, or the
links page.
5
Creating Web Pages

• There are many ways to create web pages.
• Hand Coding Using Notepad or SimpleText, you
  type the tags yourself.
• Template You start with a basic design, already
  containing tags, and add content.
• A What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) Program
  This program creates the tags for you.

6
The spectrum of web page creation
Pay someone to make you a web page
Hand coded HTML
WYSIWYG program
Using a template
More work
Less work
Less money
More money
7
Hand Coding Web Pages

• Hand coding web pages involves using a simple
  text editor to manually insert tags into a
  document.
• There are several free text editors that help
  with coding HTML by using different colors for
  tags, indicating which open and close tags are
  related, and spellchecking the document.

8
Using a Template

• There are many sites on the web which offer
  pre-made web template. You take their design,
  and add your content.
• Some very basic knowledge of HTML is required in
  order to determine where to place your content.

9
WYSIWYG

• Most WYSIWYGs require no knowledge of HTML. You
  simply drag and drop your content where you would
  like it, and the program creates the tags for
  you.
• Both Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint can
  be used as a basic WYSIWYG. Simply save as html
  when you finish the document.

10
Hand Coding vs. WYSIWYG

• Hand Coding allows greater control over the
  result.
• WYSIWYG created web pages are often loaded with
  extra and inefficient code which increases the
  download time and makes the page hard to modify
  later.
• Using a WYSIWYG is significantly faster.

11
Testing

• During the web page creation process, you should
  test the page frequently.
• Testing usually involves an outsider viewing the
  site and attempting to determine the purpose of
  the site (Get It Testing) and trying to complete
  tasks on the site (Key Task Testing)
• What is the purpose of this site? (Get It)
• Can I find the contact information quickly? (Key
  Task)

12
Accessibility

• Web sites for companies that receive government
  funds are required by law to make them
  handicapped accessible. All other sites should
  be accessible. This may include
• Alternate versions for the blind
• For the deaf no key information should be in
  sound effects.
• Since the Internet is global, accessibility
  includes making your site friendly and usable for
  multiple cultures.

13
Compatibility

• Web sites will look different from computer to
  computer. How they look is affected by
• Operating System
• Browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape)
• Computer Hardware
• Your goal is to make them look good on ALL
  systems. (Good luck)
• out a simple webpage
• and drag the file in, or File, open

14
Hosting

• A completed web site needs to be on a server in
  order to be on the Internet.
• A server is a computer that is always on, has a
  program to distribute web pages, and has been
  given an address that doesnt change.
• You can purchase space on a server to put your
  web page, or find a free service.