creating web sites for dummies

[Noir_Dark]

and that dummy is me.
Ok, I've got a domain name, i made a simple little html file, now how do i make my address look like my html file?

[PatrickG]

Do you have hosting for the site?

Who did you register the domain with?

[Noir_Dark]

Do you have hosting for the site?

Who did you register the domain with?

I registered with yahoo.
I do not have a hosting site. who do you recommend?

[Sarah Beach]

Get yourself a copy of Creating Web Pages for Dummies.

I got a copy of it. And used it. A lot. In conjunction with the version of Dreamweaver that I got (and its manual).

It took me some time to learn the program, so I could build my site. But I did it last August/September. All by myself. "From scratch" as it were.

ScribblerWorks (http://www.scribblerworks.us)

Eventually you can get it figured out. It is like learning a language.

Easier way? Find some place that offers page templates, and plug them into your host server. But yeah, in addition to registering your domain, you need to get a hosting service. Metaphorically speaking: your domain is your house, the host server is the real estate you plant the house on.

Added: I have my hosting with PowWeb.com - I find them worth the price. But that's just me. You need to do some research and consider what you want your site to be, how big you expect it to get, etc.

[PatrickG]

Depends on what you want. Is this big, small, public, private?

Five big concerns:

How much traffic do you need to be able to support? (Is this just for friends and a small audience or for bajillions of users?)

How fast do you need the site to be? (Important for multimedia and such.)

How much storage will you need? (The size of the site.)

How much are you willing to pay?

How do you feel about ads?

The answers to those five questions should enable one of us to steer you in a good direction.

[Noir_Dark]

its just a silly little art experiment. so i do not expect a large amount of traffic, but i don't want any adds.

[PatrickG]

I'd say something in the $7 a month range would be reasonable although there may be a free service without ads -- as those tend to come and go.

I've just googled services and comparison sites whenever I've done a site although the level of built-in support may be important for you. (And there are cheap or free sites with more built in support/templates than some paid sites.)

I actually own a domain right now that I discontinued hosting for because I couldn't see myself devoting time to it.

[Noir_Dark]

thank you much. The more I look into this the more stupid I feel.

Time to research!

[PatrickG]

thank you much. The more I look into this the more stupid I feel.

Time to research!

No worries.

As many a science or computer savvy person has told me, the difference between a layperson and an expert is being willing to ask questions and investigating the answers.

That takes time and it's a hurdle that's high enough to keep most people from becoming scientists or IT experts though.

Tech support lines are in business IN PART because some people are stupid (ie. idiots who dump their computer in a fish tank to clean it) but LARGELY because most people are scared to ask questions or don't know where to start.

One great thing about the internet is that anything you want to learn about computers or do with computers is something that people will help you get started researching. But like any research, it takes time.

I no longer run Windows on my computer. It took me two days to figure out how to use my wireless card in Linux... and another two days when I wound up reinstalling. But it was really about learning the right questions to ask.

[sk716]

Dreamweaver is too complex for people just learning html.

I taught myself using Nvu, which is free and the program is just dumb enough that you end up learning HTML as you go.

http://www.nvu.com/index.php

I still use it pretty regularly for complex page designs. Mostly I use Dreamweaver for PHP. I have yet to use it to construct anything in HTML.

Also, http://www.w3schools.com/ is a great place to learn tags.

As for hosting, there are a lot of inexpensive hosting services out there. And most of them are more customer/user friendly than the big boys.

http://www.cheaphostingdirectory.com/budget.php

And there are a lot of places that are free if you're willing to have an ad on your page:
http://www.absolutely-free-hosting.com/search.php?START=1&SA=php

[sk716]

If you aren't interested in learning HTML and just want a drag and drop interface with lots of bells and whistles, you can get Web Dwarf (http://www.w3schools.com/), it's also free. It outputs as javascript though, so you do run the risk of people with outdated Java consoles being unable to view the pages.

[Sarah Beach]

Dreamweaver is too complex for people just learning html.

NOW SHE TELLS ME!!!!

*sniff*

Actually I had a very weak nodding acquaintence with HTML before I started. And mostly I don't have to bother fiddling with the code itself when making pages. However, I do have to go into the code to insert the link coding for my Amazon links. Bleh. But now that I've figured it out, it's only a drag, not a pain. :)

Still, the reality is that there was a lot of trial and error. I think I deleted and restarted from scratch about three times, before I FINALLY figured out what I was doing.

But I'm glad I did. Because now I can do all my updating myself, instead of having to wait for the webmaster-wizard to work his or her magic. :)

[sk716]

NOW SHE TELLS ME!!!!

*sniff*

Actually I had a very weak nodding acquaintence with HTML before I started. And mostly I don't have to bother fiddling with the code itself when making pages. However, I do have to go into the code to insert the link coding for my Amazon links. Bleh. But now that I've figured it out, it's only a drag, not a pain. :)

Still, the reality is that there was a lot of trial and error. I think I deleted and restarted from scratch about three times, before I FINALLY figured out what I was doing.

But I'm glad I did. Because now I can do all my updating myself, instead of having to wait for the webmaster-wizard to work his or her magic. :)

I just tend to think of Dreamweaver as over-priced and over-powered for basic HTML. I've grudgingly started using it over the last year because it's less likely to alter PHP code than anything else I've tried. And using Notepad was starting to get old. . .

Honestly, the best program I have ever used for HTML is Nvu. I like that it's kind of dumb because it forces me to learn new ways around it's lack of add ons.

[Dwight R. Vlahos]

I just tend to think of Dreamweaver as over-priced and over-powered for basic HTML. I've grudgingly started using it over the last year because it's less likely to alter PHP code than anything else I've tried. And using Notepad was starting to get old. . .

Honestly, the best program I have ever used for HTML is Nvu. I like that it's kind of dumb because it forces me to learn new ways around it's lack of add ons.

I have been told by inerdnet peoples that editplus2 and/or textwrangler are good for basic htmling of code because they use colors and line numbers and things like that. My friend Tyler has told me these are good to use for these kinds of uses and things.

just fyi sk7747!

Zoombaboom Babies!

Dwight R. Vlahos

[Sarah Beach]

Overpriced, probably.

Actually, I'm working on Dreamweaver 4 - because my computer is 7 years old, still using an upgraded Windows 98. I had to hunt down a vendor that still had legal copies of the older version, to make sure it would run on my computer.

I did try FrontPage, but just looking at it when the program opened made me crazy. At least Dreamweaver sort of made sense. I haven't opened FrontPage since.

Next on my agenda in mastering webbuilding: learning more about jpgs, graphics, and how to make things really look slick. (I still think my site as a bit of that "hand crafted" look. But since it's basically a text place anyway, it doesn't matter too much.)

Heh. I don't usually get to babble about my ignorant web-building ways.

[Dwight R. Vlahos]

I have been told by inerdnet peoples that editplus2 and/or textwrangler are good for basic htmling of code because they use colors and line numbers and things like that. My friend Tyler has told me these are good to use for these kinds of uses and things.

just fyi sk7747!

Zoombaboom Babies!

Dwight R. Vlahos

Also, Tyler asked me to type this--

WAMP - http://www.wampserver.com/en/ - is a way to easily run an apache/mysql/php environment on your local system for doing local development--that way you could use a standard text editor to write code, then use the WAMP server to test what you've done. You set up the environment, upload the php pages you're creating to the WAMP server on your machine, then just write the code in your text editor and see the results in any browser looking at the local server.

Tyler told me to type al of that above and me correct it in English 4 times. I have no idea what any of that gibberishtalk means up there.

Zoombaboom Babies!

Dwight R. Vlahos

[sk716]

Overpriced, probably.

Actually, I'm working on Dreamweaver 4 - because my computer is 7 years old, still using an upgraded Windows 98. I had to hunt down a vendor that still had legal copies of the older version, to make sure it would run on my computer.

I did try FrontPage, but just looking at it when the program opened made me crazy. At least Dreamweaver sort of made sense. I haven't opened FrontPage since.

Next on my agenda in mastering webbuilding: learning more about jpgs, graphics, and how to make things really look slick. (I still think my site as a bit of that "hand crafted" look. But since it's basically a text place anyway, it doesn't matter too much.)

Heh. I don't usually get to babble about my ignorant web-building ways.

http://www.w3schools.com/

It covers most of the tags. There is also a lot about CSS. Another thing, is exploring other peoples HTML sites, you can view the source code in most browsers and see how they did something.

As for graphics, I've used a lot of programs, most of them pretty expensive and since Mac taught me how to use Photoshop, it's turned into my favorite. Expensive beyond reason, you bet, but there isn't much it won't do.

[sk716]

Also, Tyler asked me to type this--

WAMP - http://www.wampserver.com/en/ - is a way to easily run an apache/mysql/php environment on your local system for doing local development--that way you could use a standard text editor to write code, then use the WAMP server to test what you've done. You set up the environment, upload the php pages you're creating to the WAMP server on your machine, then just write the code in your text editor and see the results in any browser looking at the local server.

Tyler told me to type al of that above and me correct it in English 4 times. I have no idea what any of that gibberishtalk means up there.

Zoombaboom Babies!

Dwight R. Vlahos

Thanks, uh, Tyler, but I have a server to test my code on.

[jrrl]

I second the recommendations for w3schools (http://www.w3schools.com/). An indispensable resources.

For graphics, you might want to check out the Gimp (http://www.gimp.org/). A great FREE tool.

-John.

[PatrickG]

Might want to try CinePaint instead of Gimp as it has some improvements. I need to check it out myself before I give it a glowing endorsement.

It's a gimp offshoot designed to handle more colors and high end image work.

[Expletive Deleted]

There are plenty of good text editors out there. For Mac, TextMate is excellent. For Linux, Screem is pretty good. With Windows, I've never really found one I've liked, but Notepad++ isn't bad.

Dreamweaver . . . ewwwwwww.

[Cream Filled Taco]

I've found Taco HTML Edit (http://tacosw.com/htmledit/) for Mac to be extremely useful for html/php stuff. It's got live preview, error checking, and lots of other cool features. And it's free!