The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating an HTML Web Page

Table of Contents

Part 1: But First, a Few Choice World Wide Web and HTML Tidbits

1 The Top Ten Steps to a Perfect Web Page

• Step 1: Crank Up a New Text File
• Step 2: Understand HTML Tags
• Step 3: Set Up the Basic Structure of the Page
• Step 4: Add a Snappy Title
• Step 5: Add Text and Paragraphs
• Step 6: Adding Formatting and Headings
• Step 7: Toss In a Few Links to Other Pages
• Step 8: Add Impact with Images
• Step 9: Use a Browser to See How Your Page Looks
• Step 10: Publish the Page on the Web

2 It's a Wonderful World Wide Web

• The Internet Nitty-Gritty
• Redefining the Internet
• An Overview of the Internet Services
• The Net's Wunderkind: The World Wide Web
• The Secret of the Web's Success
• Some Web Words to Surf By
• Browsing Basics, Featuring Netscape Navigator
• Getting Your Hands on Netscape
• A Tour of the Netscape Screen
• Navigator Navigating I: Following the Links
• Navigator Navigating II: Entering a URL
• Navigator Navigating III: Retracing Your Steps
• Navigator Navigating IV: Creating Bookmarks
• Browsers: The Best of the Rest
• The Least You Need to Know

3 A Brief HTML Web Page Primer

• Okay, So Just What Is HTML?
• What Can You Do with HTML?
• You Can Format Text
• You Can Create Lists of Things
• You Can Set Up Links to Other Pages
• You Can Insert Images
• You Can Format Information in Tables
• Pages from All Walks of Web Life
• The Personal Touch: Personal Home Pages
• Hobbyists Do It with HTML
• Not for Bathroom Reading: Electronic Magazines
• Corporate Culture Hits the Web
• Your Tax Dollars at Work: Government Web Pages
• The Changing Face of HTML: HTML 3.0
• The Least You Need to Know

Part 2: Creating Your First HTML Web Page

4 Laying the Foundation: The Basic Structure of a Web Page

• Getting Started
• Crank Out a New Text File
• The Edit-Save-Browse Cycle
• Tag Daze: Understanding HTML's Tags
• And Now, Some Actual HTML
• A Page by Any Other Name: Adding a Title
• The <TITLE> Tag
• Title Dos and Don'ts
• Fleshing Out Your Page with Text
• How to Do Paragraphs
• The Least You Need to Know

5 From Buck-Naked to Beautiful: Dressing Up Your Page

• Sprucing Up Your Text
• Yer Basic Text Formatting Styles
• Combining Text Formats
• Accessorizing: Displaying Special Characters
• Sectioning Your Page with Headings
• A Few More Formatting Features
• Handling Preformatted Text
• Them's the Breaks: Using <BR> for Line Breaks
• Inserting Horizontal Lines
• The Least You Need to Know

6 A Fistful of List Grist for Your Web Page Mill

• Putting Your Affairs in Order with Numbered Lists
• Scoring Points with Bulleted Lists
• Definition Lists
• Combining Lists Inside Lists
• The Least You Need to Know

7 Making the Jump to Hyperspace: Adding Links

• The URL of Net: A Cyberspace Address Primer
• Getting Hyper: Creating Links in HTML
• External Links to Faraway Pages
• External Links to Nearby Pages
• Anchors Aweigh: Internal Links
• Creating an E-Mail Link
• The Least You Need to Know

8 A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Clicks: Working with Images

• Images: Some Semi-Important Background Info
• No, Images Aren't Text, But That's Okay
• Graphics Formats: Can't We All Just Get Along?
• How Do I Get Graphics?
• Converting Graphics to GIF Format
• The Nitty-Gritty, At Last: The <IMG> Tag
• Good Uses for Images on Your Web Page
• Aligning Text and Images
• Handling Graphically Challenged Text Browsers
• Images Can Be Links, Too
• The Least You Need to Know

9 Publishing Your Page on the Web

• A Plethora of Web Publishing Possibilities
• Use Your Existing Internet Provider
• Try to Find a Free Hosting Provider
• Sign Up with a Commercial Hosting Provider
• A Pre-Trip Checklist
• Okay, Ship It!
• Setting Up the FTP Program
• Sending the Files Via FTP
• Getting the Word Out: Advertising Your Page
• The Least You Need to Know

Part 3 A Grab Bag of Web Page Wonders

10 Fooling Around with the Netscape Extensions

• The Pizza Metaphor: A Warning Before You Begin
• Text Extensions
• The <FONT> Tag
• The <BASEFONT> Tag
• Changing the Color of Your Page Text
• The Dreaded <BLINK> Tag
• List Extensions
• Using a Different Numbering Scheme in Numbered Lists
• Changing the Bullet Type in Bulleted Lists
• Graphics Extensions
• Specifying Image Height and Width
• Setting the Background
• Extra Extensions
• Centering Paragraphs
• A Better Horizontal Rule
• The Least You Need to Know

11 Table Talk: Adding Tables to Your Page

• What Is a Table?
• Web Woodworking: How to Build a Table
• The Simplest Case: A One-Row Table
• Adding More Rows
• Creating a Row of Headers
• Including a Caption
• Table Refinishing: More Table Tidbits
• Aligning Text Within Cells
• Spanning Text Across Multiple Rows or Columns
• Netscape's Table Extensions
• The Least You Need to Know

12 Need Feedback? Create a Form!

• What Is a Form, Anyway?
• Creating Forms
• Making It Go: The Submit Button
• Starting Over: The Reset Button
• Using Text Boxes for Single-Line Text
• Using Text Areas for Multi-Line Text
• Toggling an Option On and Off with Check Boxes
• Multiple Choice Options: Radio Buttons
• Selecting From Lists
• Oh Say, Can You CGI?
• Ask Your Provider
• The Hire-a-Nerd Route
• Check Out the Web's CGI Resources
• The Least You Need to Know

13 The Elements of Web Page Style

• Content Is King: Notes About Writing
• Spelling, Grammar, and Other Strangers
• More Tips for Righteous Writing
• The Overall Organization of Your Web Pages
• The One-Track Web Page: Keep Pages To a Single Topic
• Use Your Home Page To Tie Everything Together
• Use a Consistent Layout
• Organization and Layout Hints for Individual Pages
• Elements To Include in Each Page
• Make Your Readers' Lives Easier
• Guidance For Using Graphics
• Link Lessons: Keeping Your Links in the Pink
• The Least You Need to Know

14 Some HTML Resources on the Web

• Graphics Goodies
• The Three Bs: Buttons, Bars, and Bullets
• Yet Another "B": Background Textures
• A Guide to HTML Style Guides
• Counter Check: Tallying Your Hits
• Mailing Lists and UseNet Newsgroups
• A List of HTML Lists
• The Least You Need to Know

15 Hack to the Future: What's Ahead for HTML and the Web

• The Java Jive: A Piping Hot Mug of Browser-Based Programs
• What You Need for Java
• Some Java Examples
• VRML: Another HTML Dimension
• VRML Browsers
• Over, Under, Sideways, Down: Some VRML Worlds
• A Look at What's New in Netscape 2.0
• Divide and Conquer: Frames
• Power On Demand: Plug-Ins
• Java for the Masses: JavaScript
• Thar's Gold in Them Thar Pages: Netscape Gold
• How Netscape Gold Works
• The Least You Need to Know

Part 4: Painless Page Production: Easier Ways To Do the HTML Thing

16 The Best Free HTML Editor: HTML Writer

• Cranking Up HTML Writer
• Getting a Document Onscreen
• It's a Setup: Getting HTML Writer Ready to Go
• Creating an HTML Document with HTML Writer
• Inserting Document Tags
• Inserting Style Tags
• Inserting Paragraph Tags
• Inserting Image Tags
• Inserting Link Tags I: Remote Links
• Inserting Link Tags II: Targets
• Inserting List Tags
• Inserting Character Codes
• Taking the Document for a Test Drive
• The Least You Need to Know

17 The Best Commercial HTML Editor: HotDog

• Getting Your Hands on HotDog
• Downloading the HotDog File
• Installing HotDog
• Installing VBRUN300.DLL
• Serving Up HotDog
• Working with Documents
• Creating an HTML Document with HotDog
• Inserting Tags Directly
• Inserting Objects
• Inserting an Image
• Inserting a Remote Link
• Inserting a Target
• Inserting a Table
• Inserting a List
• Inserting Character Codes
• Getting a Sneak Preview of Your Document
• The Least You Need to Know

18 The Word Wide Web: Internet Assistant for Microsoft Word

• Grabbing Internet Assistant
• Dealing with Documents
• What Happens to Word
• Internet Assistant: WYSIWYG Web Weaving
• Adjusting the Title
• Need a New Paragraph? Just Press Enter
• Formatting Characters
• Working with Styles
• Working with Numbered Lists
• Working with Bulleted Lists
• Working with Definition Lists
• Inserting an Image
• Inserting Hypertext Links I: Remote Links
• Inserting Hypertext Links II: Bookmarks
• Constructing Tables
• A Few Odds and Ends
• The Least You Need to Know

19 Getting Your Web Words Online with America Online

• America Online's Web Page Publishing Possibilities
• Working with My Home Page
• Adding Text, Links, and Graphics
• Tossing in Some Text
• Inserting a Link
• Sending a Multimedia File to AOL
• Adding a Multimedia File to Your Page
• Seeing the Changes to Your Page
• Editing My Home Page
• Making My Place Your Web Home
• Accessing Your AOL FTP Directory
• Uploading Files to Your FTP Directory
• The Least You Need to Know

20 Assorted Other Ways to Create HTML Documents

• Rapid Reviews of a Few More HTML Editors
• Getting the WebEdit Page Editor
• Professional HTML Editing with HTMLed Pro
• Stop the Web Presses: It's NaviPress!
• The Step-by-Step Web: WEB Wizard
• Faded Glory: HoTMetaL
• HTML Editors for the Mac
• Grabbing HTML from an Existing Page
• Web Pages That Create Web Pages
• Converting Existing Documents to HTML
• The Least You Need to Know

Speak Like a Geek: The Complete Archive

HTML Codes for Cool Characters

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