Creating Web Pages Rodman Public Library

What do you want to put on the web?

• Photos
• Family History
• Professional Information
• Tribute to Favorite TV Show, Music Group, etc.

Who is Your Target Audience?

• Friends
• Family
• Anyone in the world

Things to Include on Your Pages

• State the purpose of the site/pages
• Include a way for feedback
• E-mail address
• Feedback form
• Include pertinent links to outside sources
• Include the date of last update

Page Layout

• Most important information at top - Newspaper "Above the fold" analogy
• Keep it simple
• Think horizontal

Content

• Don’t include anything that you wouldn’t want the whole world to know
• Personal information (SSN, mother’s maiden name, birthdate)
• Stay on topic
• Don’t change focus half-way through the page
• Include links to other pages you have created or other web sites

Getting Started

• Sketch out your site before you begin
• Browse the Web for Ideas
• Make use of View/Page Source

"Borrowing Ideas"

• Make use of File/Save As
• Right Click on Images to Save Locally
• Always ask permission before using pictures that you didn’t create!

Learn HTML

• The Bare Bones Guide to HTML - http://werbach.com/barebones/barebone.html 
• Books from the Library
• HTML for the World Wide Web visual quickstart guide : with XHTML and CSS - by Elizabeth Castro
• Build Your Own Web Site the Right Way Using HTML & CSS - by Ian Lloyd
• HTML for Dummies - Quick Reference by Deborah S. Ray and Eric J. Ray
• Creating Web Pages for Dummies by Bud Smith and Arthur Bebak

Basic HTML Codes

• Tags used by every web page 

Programs for Creating Web Pages

• Any text-based word processor
• PC: Notepad, Wordpad
• Mac: Simple Text
• WYSIWYG programs
• Dreamweaver
• Microsoft FrontPage

Adding Links - Anchor Tags

Color Considerations

• Background & Text
• Light Background/Dark Text
• Dark Background/Light Text
• Avoid "Busy" Background Patterns
• Sites for Checking Color Combinations
• http://www.bagism.com/colormaker 
• http://www.floris.net/ColourCentre/cc.htm 

Design

• Don’t overdo
• Avoid Mixture of Too Many Typefaces and colors
• Stick with light color backgrounds
• Avoid too much (or any) animation

Graphics

• Two types of graphics used on the web
• .GIF - Best for clipart
• .JPG or .JPEG - Best for photographs
• Keep file sizes small
• Files should be kept small for fast loading
• Edit picture sizes and colors in graphics program

Graphics Programs to Use

• GIF Wizard - to shrink your GIF files - http://useast.gifwizard.com/ 
• Commercial graphics programs
• Paint Shop Pro
• Microsoft Photo Editor
• Photoshop Elements

Correct & Improve

• HTML Checkers
  • W3C - http://validator.w3.org
  • WebLint - http://ejk.cso.uiuc.edu/cgi-bin/weblint 
• Shrink Your Graphics
  • GIF Wizard - http://www.gifwizard.com/ 
• CSS Checker
  • W3C - http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator

Where to Post Your Pages

• Geocities - Communities
  • http://geocities.yahoo.com 
• Tripod
  • http://www.tripod.lycos.com 
• Personal ISP, Search engine sites, E-mail sites
• Subscription sites