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Disclaimer: This site was done purely for my recreation. If I am offending anyone in any way by displaying copyrighted items, please e-mail me and I will try to resolve it. Mahalo.
So you want to know how I made my web page? Then let me give you a few helpful hints.
Step 1
Before you even begin making your web page, think about what kind of theme you're going to have, and who you want to target. Visit other web sites that share your theme and see how they did it. What do you like and what don't you? How often can you update? Have a specific layout in mind. Try to make it appealing and original to show people what makes YOUR site different from others.
Step 2
Ideally, you want to learn HTML or web language. Since that's tedious work, you may want to consider using a web building program. The one I used is Microsoft Frontpage, part of Microsoft Office 2000. You can type and add pics, animations, tables, change fonts, add music and backgrounds, etc and the program will translate that automatically into HTML format. Try to finish the bulk of your page before you publish it and make sure all your links work. Nobody likes "Under Construction" and broken links. Also keep in mind about copyright laws. "Give credit where credit is due."
Also, watch your color schemes, graphics, and font sizes. Bright yellow on light blue don't cut it. The main thing is the site has be readable. Sounds simple enough but you'd be surprised how many people on the web don't know that. Graphics should be no more than 30K for a full-size picture and 1-2K for a thumbnail. Make sure the dpi is 72. This cuts down on loading time while still having a decent quality picture. If you're not sure, resample your picture to fit these parameters. Only midi music is recommended. Most people won't be able to download large files and it just takes longer for the page to come up.
Step 3
Find and sign up for a web site from a server. There's plenty out there so take your time and find one that suits YOU. For instance, Fortune City gives you 15 mb of space but their sites have heavy advertising windows. Yahoo! geocities also has advertising but they're smaller with less of them, and give you 15 mb of space. Angelfire gives you 30 mb of space but only in 5mb increments.
If you're using Frontpage, however, you have to make sure that your server can support Frontpage extensions. Angelfire and Yahoo! are the two I found that were the best in this respect. In the case of Yahoo!, because my site was so big, I had to sign up for multiple pages, hence the reason why each part has its own section. If you're going to use this method, you have to build each section separately in its own folder, and copy over any shared border information to each folder in which you want a shared border. Tedious yes, so in a way it's just better to learn the language. But I find it's small price to pay.
Step 4
Now you probably want a shorter URL than the one you were given. You can get your own domain name from several places but these usually have a monthly fee attached. Alternatively, you can go to http://www.cjb.com to get a partial domain name. It'll show up a www.cjb.com/_____ rather than a www._______ The up side is that it is free. Can't beat that! (In my case, I had no trouble with geocities because it's well-known enough and short enough to not be a problem.)
Step 5
Okay, now you have to take your web layout and either use the "Publish" option of your web builder program to your assigned URL or copy the HTML coding and paste it on your site. Either way would work.
Step 6
At this point, you may want to add other things such as counters (built in to your web builder program, or you can find some nice ones over the net) or get some nice banners to finish decorating your site. They're all out there on the web somewhere so surf it! You might also want to join some web rings or have other sites post your site on theirs to increase traffic to your site. Also submit your site to the popular search engines.
Step 7
Alright! Now you're in business! Check all of your links again (preferably by accessing the site from someone else's computer who has a modem connection) and make sure that download times (if you have any) are fast enough. Tell all your friends to go to your site! Remember, update often and listen to any advice your "visitors" tell you. Enjoy!
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