Home - Page Tutor
So, you want to make a
Web Page!
by Joe Barta - PageTutor.com
 
This tutorial is one in a series of PageTutor tutorials
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Hello. My name is Joe and I'm going to give you a few simple lessons on how to make a Web Page. I must warn you though, this is for "all wet behinda ears" Newbies. If you're at all experienced at this sort of thing, you'll probably find this tutorial a bit of a yawner.

You'll be happy to learn that it's really pretty simple. The basic idea is this... A web page is nothing more than a file, a HTML file to be exact. It's called HTML because web page documents have the file extension HTML stands for Hyper Text Mark-up Language. (If you are unclear about this file extension stuff, then you really are newbie!! Take a quick detour for a few ramblings on the subject).

Let's get started. First, if you have any of them fancy HTML editors and have an inkling to break em in now... forget it. The worst way to learn is to use one of those things. (Although there are a few that you will find helpful, they'll only help you once you learn the basics, so don't even worry about it now.) What's the best way to learn HTML?? Notepad. I know, I know, you got this 9 megabyte Wunder Wizzard that says it's gonna make putting up a web page as easy as scratching your head. Just trust me on this one. K? K.

Joe,
 
Just wanted to drop you a line to let you know how much I enjoyed your tutorials. After reading your tutorials, I bailed on my old web site which was done with **** and started my own from scratch with Notepad. It was like crawling out of a 5 gallon bucket. I now can do exactly what I want.
 
Thanks,
Mike

FAQ: What the heck is Notepad and where do I get it?

NotePadA: Notepad is the default Windows text editor. On most Windows systems, click your Start button and choose Programs then Accessories. It should be a little blue notebook. For our purposes, ANY text editor will do nicely. You can go to most any shareware/freeware site and pick yourself up a zippy new text editor, many of them being free. For the time being though, Notepad will do quite nicely.

NoteTab LightRight from the outset, you will be doing yourself a very big favor if you pick yourself up a free copy of NoteTab Light. It can be used as a simple Notepad replacement, or with a little fiddling, can be one of the most powerful text manipulation tools in the world. I give this wonderful free editor my personal "two-thumbs-up" and wholeheartedly encourage you to try it out and and learn how to use it. I've tried quite a few editors and this is what I use every day.

Mac Users: SimpleText is the default text editor on the Mac. Mac users eventually might want to download BBedit Lite, a more powerful, and free mac text editor.

And one more thing (again) at least while you're learning... put away Composer, put away Front Page, put away Sooper Dooper Web Page Cruncher. Just follow along with Notepad. Trust me. Would I lie? 😉

Another tool you'll need is a browser to view your web pages. You're probably using a web browser right now to view these pages. The most widely used is Microsoft Internet Explorer. That's the default browser on must computers. A recently very highly rated browser is Firefox. It's free, it's an excellent alternative to Internet Explorer, and it contains tools that are especially useful to web developers. I use it all the time and I enthusiastically recommend you download it and give it a whirl.

If you use a service such as AOL or MSN your browser is whatever you use to browse web pages. (Of course you're not resticted to what the give you... you can use any browser you wish.)

Speaking of which, if you're using an online service such as AOL, MSN etc, you can still easily make a web page using these tutorials. The lessons are applicable no matter what you are using. Also, just because you're using AOL (or some other online service), that doesn't mean you have to use their tools... you are welcome to use whatever you want. WebTV'ers - I don't know much about WebTV, but I do know that people have been able to make web pages with it and WebTV'ers have made good use of these lessons. You might want to look for some WebTV specific sites to learn how they do it. Then you can come back here and go through these lessons.

With that out of the way I can say with confidence that you are less than 5 minutes away from making your first web page! So... off to Lesson 1.