Start your own Website
You can write your own web pages using HTML . With
HTML you will have control over your web pages and
how to improve them. HTML can be written and viewed
on any type of computer like Windows, Mac, UNIX/Linux,
or any other. Because HTML is platform independent,
you'll need to save your HTML files in standard text
format, sometimes known as ASCII. This can be done
by using a program like notepad .exe in Windows, pico
in Linux, and the like. You can also use a word processor
like Word or WordPerfect to write your HTML code,
but you need to save your files as "Text"
or "Text Only." You'll see this option in
a drop down box in your "Save As..." screen.
In the event that you are using a word processor
and forget to save your file in Text format, you will
end up seeing distorted data when you try to view
your page with a web browser.
Finding a Web Host
Running your own server is very expensive, complicated,
and not recommended. Therefore you will need a web
host who looks after the server that hosts your site.
By choosing a web host, your site will be available
to the world 24/7.
To make a personal web site, you can choose to get
a web site from your Internet Service Provider (ISP),
free space at a free host, or go straight to a domain
host.
The disadvantages of free hosts:
There is no way to turn off the ads on a free service.
They show banner ads or pop-up windows or both to
pay for your service. Free hosts also limit the number
of visitors you can receive in a month. If you exceed
their "limit" your site will be "turned
off" until the next month. Free hosts limit the
amount of web space you get, usually to about 20 MB.
If you are not able to monitor the site yourself
it can create problems, but there are products and
services available that can carry out various tests
to check if your site is still "live". Even
if you can prove that your site was unavailable to
you or the monitoring service for more than the agreed
acceptable level, you should always check the small
print; if the problem was not your host's fault, they
may not need to pay up!
The advantages of Domain hosts:
Domain hosts place no ads on your site. They often
give you 1000 MB (1 GB) or more of web space. They
do not shut off your account based on number visitors.
You need a domain host to make your personal website
look professional or for a business site or for an
organization like a church etc. A domain name ends
in a .com, .org, or .net.
Once you sign up for a host, you'll get a username
and password to log in and edit your site. On free
hosts, your username is also your directory, so choose
wisely. For domains, your username is not as important.
The most important HTML file- index.html
When you log on to any website, the file that is
loading on almost all web servers is index.html. Take
an example where you are making a web site of three
HTML pages, the opening page (index.html), an about
me page (aboutme.html) and a links page (links.html).
If you're on your own domain, the files would look
like this once you upload them on your server.
http://www.abc.com/index.html
http://www.abc.com/aboutme.html
http://www.abc.com/links.html
The first page, http://www.abc.com/index.html, can
also be loaded by just typing http://www.abc.com/
The same is true of folders or directories. If you
made one called /xyz/, you could put a new index.html
in it, and it could be accessed two ways:
http://www.abc.com/xyz/index.html
http://www.abc.com/xyz/
The Two Copy Rule
When you write your web site, you'll need two copies,
one on your web host and one on your hard drive. The
reasons for this are, firstly that you need a backup
and secondly when you're working on your site, you
don't work on it live. When you work on the copy of
your HTML pages on your hard disk, it's called "editing
the local copy." The copy on the web host is
called the "remote copy." You will edit
the files from a folder in your hard drive, and once
you're down, you'll upload them to your web host.
That's when everyone can view it. You can always view
your files on your hard drive before you upload them.
Open your web browser.
Choose File -> Open... File, (Browse).
Find the folder with your HTML files.
Double-click the one you're working on, and it will
be in your web browser.
Commonly made Mistake
The most common mistake for new web-designers is
to put the c:\ in links and images. When you're on
the web, there is no c:\ to the rest of the world.
When you start out, keep all your HTML files and images
in one folder, and don't use c:\ at all.
For example- loads an image into a web page. If you
have a file called taco. jpg, use the code to load
it, not
Author is a web business developer. He is a coaching
of web hosting.
More information : http://www.pickto.net
