WEB PAGE BASICS METHODS USED TO CREATE WEB PAGES SIMPLE STEPS USED TO CREATE WEB PAGES ACTIVITY - MINI-LECTURE 1

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WEB PAGE/WEB SITE

A web page is a single document on the World Wide Web that is specified by a unique address or URL and that can contain text, hyperlinks, and graphics.

A web site is a group of similar Web pages linked by hyperlinks and managed by a single company, organization, or individual.  A web site may include text, graphics, video, audio, and hyperlinks to other web pages.  (See Netscape's Glossary for more details).

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BROWSER AND AN EDITOR

An editor is used to create a Web page.
For example: Netscape Composer

A browser is used to view a Web page.
Example: Netscape Navigator commonly called "Netscape"

(Review Computer Basics if you need more information).

COMPONENTS OF A WEB PAGE

A web page can include one or more of the following items:
text (with different styles and colors), graphics (still and animated)
charts, audio, video, tables, horizontal lines/bars, and frames.

HOW A WEB PAGE GETS ON THE INTERNET

1. First, you must create a web page/web site using HTML or a web page editor, such as Netscape Composer, Microsoft Frontpage,Claris Homepage, or Adobe Pagemill. These are some of the more common web page editors. You put in all the text, links (text and graphic), tables, lists, etc. in your Web page. Save the Web page as an .htm or .html file, usually index.htm or index.html. Check with your ISP (Internet Service Provider) to find out which extension (.htm or .html their system requires).

2. Then you have to store (publish) your file on your ISP's server under your email name. Most ISP's provide a limited amount of storage space for your files (e.g., graphics, audio, video) and/or your Web page/site. For example, you muight be given between 5 mb and 20 mb of storage space to store your files. Some ISP require that you manually set permissions for your Web page, e.g., make it "public" for the world to see. Others, such as MCI, AT&T, and Ameritech set the permissions for you. The ISP will provide the information that you will need to publish your Web page/site.

3. Once your Web page/site and associated files (e.g., graphics, video, audio) are published, it can be seen via the Internet. To access the Web page/site, you will have to use a browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer. You would open the homepage (index.htm), which is your first page in the Web page/site and you will see the page displayed on your computer.

NON-PUBLISHED WEB PAGES/WEB SITES

It is not necessary for you to publish your Web page/site over the Internet. You can simply save it on your floppy disk or hard drive and view it whenever you want to (e.g., use it in a class presentation).

• Basic Requirements
• HTML Document Requirements
• Text Commands

METHODS USED TO CREATE WEB PAGES

Creating Web Pages | What is Netscape Composer | Three Ways of Creating Web Pages Using Composer |Return to Top

A Web page can be created in several different ways:

1. Type your document using HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language),

the language that Web documents are written in.
2. Use software that will convert a document into HTML
3. Use a Web page editor like Netscape Composer
4. Use a template
5. Use a wizard to guide you through the steps

**Note:  We will use the third option:  Web page editor - Netscape Composer.   In addition, we will incorporate basic HTML.

A. What is Netscape Composer?

Netscape Composer is a web page editor created by Netscape. Netscape Composer is a component of Netscape Communicator. It is one of many Web page editors that allows you to create Web pages without having to learn HTML first. Like other Web page editors, such as Microsoft Frontpage and Adobe Pagemill, Composer provides icons to imbed the HTML codes in the background behind the visual screen. You actually see the components of your Web page as they are created.

B. Three ways of creating web pages using Netscape Composer are:

*using Netscape template
*using Netscape wizard
*using Blank Page

BLANK PAGE
This option allows you to create a Web page from scratch. You should be familiar with the structure of a Web page, if you chose this option.

TEMPLATE
By connecting to Netscape's Template Web site, you can create Web pages by choosing from several formats.

WIZARD
By connecting to Netscape's Template Wizard Web site, you can create Web pages by following a series of menus that lead you through the entire process.

**Note: This module will use the <<Blank Page>> option to create Web pages.

• Opening Composer
• Some Toolbar Buttons
• Formatting Text

SIMPLE STEPS USED TO CREATE WEB PAGES

Writing a Simple Web Page | Publishing a Web Page | Activities-Lecture 1 |Return to Top

WRITING A SIMPLE WEB PAGE

We will follow these major steps for creating a simple Web page:

1. Access Netscape Composer web page editor
2. Select the Blank Page option from the File menu
3. Put in the contents of the web page, including text, links, and graphics, etc.
4. Save the Web page to a local directory (hard drive or floppy)
5. Check the operation of the Web page using Netscape Navigator (i.e., make sure links work, edit page layout, proofread the page)
6. Make all corrections and save your Web page again.
7. Repeat steps 3-6 as needed.

PUBLISHING A WEB PAGE

*Note: This module will not cover publishing the Web page. For more information, please check the following sources:

• ISPs
• Publishing a Web page from Netscape Composer
• Publishing a Web page using Fetch

• Preliminaries
• HTML Document Requirements

ACTIVITY: Do Activity 1-1