| 1 | Using Windows Explorer, create a new folder on your hard drive. (Click on Start, then on Programs, and Windows Explorer. A new window opens, showing the contents of your 'C' drive. Click on File, then on New, and Folder. Overwrite the highlighted default name New Folder with your choice of name e.g. website). | ||||||
| 2 | Open up Microsoft Word. | ||||||
| 3 | Start a new document. | ||||||
| 4 | Type in several lines of text, using a different font size for each line. Try a mixture of bold and italics and also different colours for the fonts. | ||||||
| 5 | Insert a table (choose Table, then Insert Table, e.g 3 columns and 2 rows).
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| 6 | Click in one of the cells and insert a picture (e.g one of the windows wallpaper files C:/windows/bubbles.bmp). (Choose Insert, Picture, From File).
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| 7 | Click in another cell and type some text.
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| 8 | Click on File, Save As. | ||||||
| 8a | In the box adjacent to File name: type in a name (e.g mysite). | ||||||
| 8b | In the box adjacent to Save in: locate and select the folder you created in step 1 (i.e website). | ||||||
| 8c | In the box adjacent to Save as type: choose HTML document (*.htm;*.html;*.htx) from the drop-down menu. | ||||||
| 8d | Click on Save. | ||||||
| 8e | When a message box appears about formatting being lost, just click on Yes to continue. | ||||||
| 9 | You have now saved your file mysite as a HTML (or HTM) file in the folder website. (Windows 3.1 limits file extensions to 3 letters, but later versions of Windows recognise the four-letter HTML extension) | ||||||
| 10 | Close Microsoft Word. | ||||||
| 11 | Open Windows Explorer and go to your new website folder. | ||||||
| 12 | You will see your newly-created file mysite.htm or mysite.html. Double-click on it. | ||||||
| 13 | Internet Explorer will open up and display your new website page. This does not mean that you are 'online'. You are merely seeing how your page would look on the Web. At this stage it is still on your hard drive, accessible only by you, as you try to get it looking the way you want it. | ||||||
| 14 | To see how your Word document has been converted into HTML, click on View, Source. The Windows Notepad should open up showing your first piece of HTML code. Congratulations! | ||||||
| 15 | It's a good idea to print this, save your file, and then close Notepad. | ||||||
| 16 | You can now see the webpage on the screen, and simultaneously study the printed HTML code behind it. This should enable you to figure out how some of the HTML code works. It's a bit like studying a completed crossword and trying to understand how the answers match the clues. | ||||||
| 17 | Open up the source code in Windows Notepad again, as in step 14 above. Try changing one or two things, such as the % figures which set the table column widths, or a font size, or a colour (often represented in HTML by a number such as "#808080" - try changing such a number to "red"). Choose File, Save, and close down Notepad. Don't be afraid to experiment - you still have your printed copy of the original source code, should you wish to change it back again later. | ||||||
| 18 | After changing the source code, you must close down and then re-open Internet Explorer for the changes to take effect. Close Internet Explorer by clicking on the X in the top right-hand corner. Then re-open the webpage, from Windows Explorer to see the changes. | ||||||
| 19 | Repeat steps 17 and 18 to gain a better appreciation of the meaning of the HTML code. | ||||||
| 20 | You cannot figure out all of the features of HTML in this way, but your appetite should certainly have been whetted. You should now read a textbook on HTML which can help you move on to the next stage. There are several good books around, of which I can highly recommend the following, which uses plenty of pictures to explain the programming. a Visual Quickstart Guide by Elizabeth Castro Published by Peachpit Press Liz's website is at http://www.cookwood.com/ and Peachpit Press's site is at http://www.peachpit.com |
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| 21 | When you are finally happy with the layout and content of your site and want other Web users to see it, you'll need to choose a host and send the file to the host's server (computer). Your internet service provider (ISP) - e.g AOL, Compuserve, etc. will often provide webspace for your site, together with instructions on how to upload your files. This site is hosted by FortuneCity who allow up to 100Mb of space on their server free of charge, in return for placing advertisements on the site. Take a look at their website http://******** to see how easy it is. I did! |
