The code above will enable you to create a basic Web page. To
save this page:
(a) Select "Save As..." in the File menu. (NOTE: The name under
which you save the file does NOT have to be the same as the title you insert
in the HTML code.)
(b) If you plan for this to be the first page of your Web site that visitors
see (i.e., the "home page"), name it "index.html."
(c) If this isn't the home page, choose a name for the page. (NOTE: If the name
consists of more than one word, do NOT insert spaces between the words--this
may cause problems with some browsers. Instead, use a dash or underscore between
the words. Also, remember to end the name with ".htm" or ".html".)
(d) Click "Save."
HTML Tutorials
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3.
Write and format your text
In between the <BODY> and </BODY> tags, type the text you want to
appear on your Web page. Unlike common word processing
programs, writing a Web page isn't like composing an essay or letter--once you
finish writing the text, you need to organize it using HTML. Go back through
your text and insert the following "tags," or HTML code, where appropriate:
<p> Type this tag whenever you want to insert a blank space
in between lines of text.
<br> Type this tag whenever you want to begin text on the next line.
<font size=#> Type this tag whenever you want to set or change the size of your letters. Remember to add the closing tag </font> at the end of your selection: <font size=3>Hello!</font>
<b> Type this tag whenever you want to bold letters or words. Remember to add the closing tag </b> at the end of your selection: <b>Hello!</b>
<i> Type this tag whenever you want to italicize letters or words. Remember to add the closing tag </i> at the end of your selection: <i>Hello!</i>
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4. Insert hyperlinks
"Hyperlinks" enable you to direct visitors to other Web pages or parts of other Web pages. For your Personal Web Page, you can choose to include links to your favorite Web sites, to other pages on your site, or even to different parts of pages on your site (i.e., the "Back to top" links on this page).
To add hyperlinks to your Web page, scroll to the place in your text where you want the hyperlink to appear. Then, use the appropriate tag below:
- Use <a href="http://pages.prodigy.net/">Web site name</a> to link to another Web site, replacing the URL between the quotes with the URL of the Web site to which you wish to link.
- Use <a href="my_page.html">page name</a> to link to another page on your site, replacing "my_page.html" with the name of the page.
- To link from one part of a page to another part of the same page, you will need to use two tags, one tag where you want your link to appear and the other tag where you want the visitor taken to. Use <a href="#the_link"> and </a> on either side of the word(s) you want to link from. Then, use <a name="the_link"> and </a> on either side of the word(s) you want to link to. You may change "the_link" to any name you choose--just make sure you use the same name in each tag.
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5. Add color
You can change the color of your text, links, and page background by inserting
extra instructions in the <BODY> and <FONT> tags. Before you do
this, you will need to find "browser safe" colors and the HTML codes for them.
Once you've picked your colors, insert the appropriate tags into
the <BODY> tag:
(a) Use <BGCOLOR="#ffffff">, replacing "#ffffff" with your color code, to change the background color of your page.
(b) Use <text="#000000">, replacing "#000000" with your color code, to change the color of your text.
(c) Use <link="#0000ff">, replacing "#0000ff" with your color code, to change the color of your hyperlinks.
(d) Use vlink="#ff0000", replacing "#ff0000" with your color code, to change the color of visited hyperlinks. (After a visitor uses a hyperlink, its color will change to remind the visitor that they have been to the site).
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6. Add graphics/photos
To add graphics, you can select from our graphics library, grab free
images off the Web, make graphics out of your own photographs, or all
of these.
To make graphics out of your own photos, you can either scan an image yourself, or contact your local film developers and ask if they have the equipment necessary to put your photos on a disk. Many color copy centers have a "scanner," a machine that basically photocopies your picture and "digitizes" it, that is, makes it into a image.
To add an image to your page, scroll to the place in your text where you want the image to appear. Then, use <IMG SRC="picture.jpg">, replacing "picture.jpg" with the name of your image file.
When adding images to your page, it's also important to keep in mind the size and number of images you are putting on your page. If you have a lot of large images, your pages will load slowly, an experience many Web surfers find annoying. You can shrink the wait time by adding up the file sizes of all the features on your page (text, sounds, images, and so on) and making sure that the total size does not exceed 100k.
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7. Test your site
Once you've finished building your Web site or page, preview it in your Web
browser. Do this by launching your browser, selecting OPEN in the File menu,
navigating to your HTML file, and clicking OPEN. Your page should appear in
your Web browser (if it doesn't, double check to make sure you have all the
HTML tags in Step 2). Look for mistakes like:
- HTML coding errors.
- Misspellings.
- Hyperlink errors: Click on the hyperlinks to make sure they actually link
to the sites you intended. If an error message appears, make sure you typed
the URL in the HTML tag correctly (hint--go to the Web site you want to
link to, copy the URL right off your browser, and paste it into the HTML
code).
- Image errors: Check to make sure your images load correctly. If they don't,
double check the file name in your HTML.
Next, run your page through an HTML validator, a software utility that checks
the HTML code of your page and identifies any coding errors or invalid HTML.
There are several online and offline tools available to help you find HTML coding
errors on your web page. Check our recommendations in "
Cool Tools" to find the HTML validator that's right for you.
Make all the necessary edits to your HTML code and text before
you proceed to Step 8.
HTML FAQ
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8. Upload your files
These instructions are for Windows users only. If you are a Mac user, click here for instructions.
Once you have created your Web page files in HTML, you're ready to move them (along with images, sounds, and other features) from your hard drive to the Internet where they will reside on the Personal Web Pages (PWP) server. To do this, you must have File Transfer Protocol (FTP) software.
If you already use another FTP program to transfer files, you can skip down to Step 2, configure it, and transfer your Web pages now. If not, you can download a free version of WS_FTP LE™, an FTP program from Ipswitch, Inc., or read about other recommended FTP programs.
Use the following steps to download and install WS_FTP LE, configure your FTP program, and upload your files to the Web
A. download & install WS_FTP LE:
- Click here
to download WS_FTP LE.
- A window will open asking you where you would like to save
the file. Choose a directory, and then click Save.
- Find the folder on your hard drive where the software was
saved, and double-click on WS_FTPLE.EXE. The file will automatically expand
into a set of install files.
- Double-click on INSTALL.EXE and follow the onscreen instructions
to install the program. When prompted for a local destination directory for
file transfers, select the directory in which you normally save your HTML
files.
- Once the installation is successful, double-click on the
WS_FTP icon to launch the program and open the Session Profile dialog window.
You're now ready to configure the program to use with PWP.
B. configure your ftp program:
NOTICE: sbcglobal.net customers: Your Host name will be pages.sbcglobal.net. Your UserID is your username. Your password is your chosen password (passwords are case sensitive).
- Open your program to the Session Profile screen or similar host setup screen in other programs.
The Session Profile Window
- In the Session Profile window, type in the following settings:
PROFILE NAME: Personal Web Pages
HOST NAME: pages.prodigy.net
HOST TYPE: auto-detect or UNIX (standard)
You do not need to change any other settings.
- Type your Prodigy Internet username and password in the appropriate fields. Be sure to use all lower-case characters for your username and the appropriate upper and lower-case characters for your password. For security purposes, save your password only if you have sole access to your computer.
- If you are using an FTP program other than WS_FTP, you will need to follow that program's instructions and type this information in yourself.
C. upload your files:
WS_FTP main screen. (The files and directories shown here are only examples)
- Connect to Prodigy Internet, then launch your FTP program.
- Choose PWP and click on OK in the Session Profile window (or similar host setup screen). This will connect you to the PWP server.
- The left window pane will show the files on your hard drive. If the files you want to upload do not appear, locate the appropriate directory on your hard drive by navigating to it or clicking on the "ChgDir" button on the top left.
- In the right window pane, you will see the contents of your PWP directory.
- If you would like to create subdirectories, click on the "MkDir" button on the right (or similar device in other programs).
- Select the file(s) you wish to upload. To select several files at once, hold down the [Ctrl] key and click once on each file you wish to move. Don't forget to upload graphics, sounds, applets, and other features in addition to your HTML pages.
- To transfer the files to your PWP directory, click on the right-pointing arrow button in WS_FTP (or similar device in other programs). For your reference, you can also move files from your PWP back to your local directory by clicking on the left-pointing arrow button in WS_FTP (or similar device in other programs).
Congratulations, you're on the Web! If your email address is username@prodigy.net, your URL is http://pages.prodigy.net/username (all in lowercase). If your email address is username@wans.net your URL is http://wanspages.prodigy.net/username (all in lowercase). If you've named your main page "index.htm," it will show up automatically when you type that URL.
NOTICE: sbcglobal.net customers; Congratulations, you're on the Web! If your email address is username@sbcglobal.net, your URL is http://pages.sbcglobal.net/username (all in lowercase). If you've named your main page "index.htm," it will show up automatically when you type that URL.
If you require additional assistance, consult your WS_FTP Help File or post a detailed question to our special Prodigy Internet HTML Help Newsgroup.
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9. Hype your site
Ready to let the world know you're on the World Wide Web? Draft a statement about your site that's 25 words or less. All of the major search engines (i.e., Yahoo, Alta Vista, and Lycos) invite you to submit your Web site URL and a brief description for inclusion in their databases. There are two ways to submit your site:
1. Visit the Web site of every search engine whose database you'd like to be entered in, look for an icon or link that says "Add Your URL," and click on it. You'll be taken to form in which you can type the name, URL, and description of your site.
2. Go to a submission site and send the name, URL, and description of your site to multiple search engines all at once! Check our recommendations on "Cool Tools" to find the most popular URLsubmission sites.
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