Millions upon millions of people are now to surf the World Wide Web now that we are approaching the new century. A large percentage of these people also lay claim to their own web page, which is enough for most to prove that they are part of the growing trend toward computerization both at home and at work. These webpages might have and educational value as a learning experience for their creators, but the majority of personal websites have little purpose for the outside world, as the lack of any true content simply takes up server spaace.
Most sites run by individuals, even if they offer a service or product for the internet community, simply don't work. Such sites lack the polish and refinement that characterizes what we see when we hear the word "website."
My goal in operating Loki's Homepage Resource Center is to give anyone who is interested the knowledge and ability to create a web page that makes you want to use the content and maybe even come back if you happen to stop by. When you visit here, you may not be feel the need to master HTML or make your site look incredible, but I encourage you to think farther than finding a good link and never seeing this site ever again. I created this site to bring together all of the resources I needed but took forever to find when I got into webpage design not too long ago.
So what I'm going to try to communicate to you now is the way that I would recommend learning this exciting medium and showing the world what you really envision in your website while contributing something to the internet community as a whole.
In starting off on your way to creating a personal website, first try to get an idea of what you're jumping into. Don't rush off to find a free server to hold your pages, but instead read some HTML Information and Tutorials and familiarize yourself with the language. After you feel like you know the basics of HTML and maybe have printed out a few of these tutorials for reference, you might just want to see the HTML for some of the sites that you have really liked. All you need to do is to find such a site and then locate the command in your browser for "View Source" or something equivalent. In Internet Explorer, this can be accessed by clicking on the "View" menu, and then dragging the mouse down to "Source." Notepad is loaded with a copy of the HTML for the site already in front of you.
After you feel comfortable with HTML, you are ready to go and find yourself a server to host your website. Loki's Homepage Resource Center (hosted by GeoCities) has listings of many companies that offer web space at no cost in the Free Web Pages section. When you have selected the site that most appeals to you, fill out their form and wait for validation.
Once you have received confirmation of your account on the server, you are now ready to begin coding your page. I would recommend simply using notepad (or equivalent) and your knowledge of HTML to create your page rather than a fancy and often too complicated graphical editor. The first page you need to create is the index.html file necessary on all sites. This is the page that is automatically loaded when someone types in your URL on the World Wide Web.
When you have completed your page(s), you need to upload them to your server. There are two main ways of doing this: browser uploading and FTP. Of the two, browser uploading is the most simple, but many servers do not support it and even if they do only Netscape and upgraded versions of Internet Explorer support browser uploading. FTP, on the other hand, requires another program called a FTP client to upload files. A good one you can download from the GeoCities server is called WS-FTPL and is fairly simple to use. Refer to your website server to further instructions on their uploading procedures.
Before you advance any further, look at the site you have just created. At this point, the basic framework should be in place, but content is probably about zero. Now you need to look for other sites on the web and see what they've done in the way of content and organization. If you like methods you see in other places, don't be afraid to use them. That is one of the best aspects of the World Wide Web. Don't even begin to worry about graphics and logos until you are sure that your page deserves the time it takes to load in a browser.
When you know your site has reached at least an average in content, it is time to go after the graphics. Unless you are very talented and have a lot of time to devote to your webpage, you need to use graphics that you can find for free on the internet. It takes time to find classy free graphics, but you need look no further than the Free Web Graphics section for information and links to the best free graphics sites on the web.
When your site has reached a level where you can feel no small amount of pride at its construction, it is finally time to publicize. There are numerous sites available to submit your site to many of the popular search engines for free, and the sites I find best can be found in the Miscellaneous section.
Congratulations, you are now on your way to your own niche in the World Wide Web.
Co-authored by Charlie Chrisman.