Creating a web site

How do I write HTML web pages?
How should I name my files?
How can I find people to design my web site?

Help with CGIs

What languages can my CGI be in?
My CGI scripts don't work, what's wrong?
What are the paths to Perl and Sendmail?
How should I upload CGI scripts?
Do you support server side includes?
How do I do image maps?

[ Creating a web site ]

How do I write HTML web pages?

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) in a nutshell is a text file with tags. You can edit HTML files with a simple text editor, such as Notepad. But if you are new to HTML, and don't completely understand the language, we suggest you read a few HTML tutorials on the Web, and use your new found knowledge and apply it in graphical HTML editors. Also, please check our Web Design Tips page for instructions on how to create a professional web site.

HTML Tutorials

A Beginner's Guide to HTML - A great tutorial that covers everything of HTML. Considered to be the mother of all HTML tutorials.

Style guide for Online Hypertext - Gives tips on how to design and layout your web pages. Made by Tim Berners-Lee, the man who invented the World Wide Web and set grounds for HTML.

HTML Editors

Tucows - If you've spent some time on the Web, you'll definately know these cows. Tucows contains one of the largest collections of Internet applications in the world, everything from HTML editors to HTML browsers. Definetely a link you want to try out.

How should I name my files?

HTML files should end in .html or .htm (lowercaps). Since the UNIX file system is case sensitive, we suggest you make all of the materials in your web site in lowercaps and all the links in lowercaps so it won't cause any great confusion. Also, your main welcome or opening page should be named index.html or index.htm, since it is automatically read as the main opening page when someone looks into a directory. For instance, instead of using a URL like http://yourpage.com/yourdirectory/intro.htm, you can rename intro.htm to index.html and simply use the http://yourpage.com/yourdirectory/ part as the URL. Also, CGI scripts should be named under a .cgi extension, and SSI includes should end in .shtml.

How can I find people to design my web site?

If you're not ready for the HTML language or don't have the time. You can contact a professional designer or web development company to do it for you. Imperial Webs's Web Design Team is a great example. Our rates are fair, and are one of the most competitive over the Internet, and our products are real quality. If you're interested in Imperial Webs's web development services, feel free to contact us.

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( Help with CGIs )

What languages can my CGI be in?

• Perl 4.x and Perl 5.x
• C, C++, Objective C
• Bash, Ksh, Csh, etc.

• Make sure that you set the proper permissions for your scripts. Users must be able to read and execute your script. This can be done by Telnet "chmod 755 filename", or by FTP if your FTP software allows it. If you have a Basic Hosting account, CGI scripts are automatically given this permission.
  
  
• If you're having trouble with your script, try 1) changing the extension to *.cgi instead of *.pl or whatever it happens to be.
  
  
• One of the most common problems of Perl scripts are the CRLFs (carriage return line feeds). We suggest you use HotDog and save your scripts in a Unix format. You can also use a handy utility called dos2unix.
  
  
• If your script is Perl, the first line must be configured to tell the script where Perl is located.
  
  
• Your CGI bin must be named cgibin, not cgi-bin. You can run *.cgi scripts from any directory you wish.
  
  
• Do keep in mind that CGI is programming, and is a lot more involved than HTML. Be familiar with the relevant FAQ's and have a couple of good reference books handy. If you are trying to run a shareware/freeware CGI script and are having difficulty, the best place to seek help is the author of that script. Most of the shareware/freeware scripts we've seen on the Internet come with excellent documentation.
  
  
• Never upload scripts (or any text document) in binary mode. Upload them in ASCII mode.

You must upload your scripts as ASCII. Perl scripts should have an extension of .CGI, not .PL. Do not make a \cgi-bin directory and place your scripts there, if you have to, name it \cgibin. Also, since we run a Unix system, your scripts must not have CRLFs (carriage return line feeds)! We suggest you use HotDog and save your scripts in a Unix format or use a free handy utility called dos2unix.

Do you support server-side includes?

Yes, we do. The HTML file that has the SSI commands must have an extension of .shtml.

How do I do image maps?

We all know we can use images as links, but how about multiple links off different locations of one image? Image maps save time, space, and bandwidth! To use image maps, you'll need an image mapping software. You can find out more information about image maps in the ImageMap Help Page.