website tutorial

Trust me, making a site is not as easy as it looks. That's why I've devised a great tutorial for people who are thinking of starting their own site.

getting started
Before you even get started making a page, you need a server. A server is where your page will be located. My server is Angelfire. With most servers, you will have to have pop-up or embedded ads and your address will have to begin with your server's name. Here are some places that provide free pages. You might want to check out a few of them to see which is easiest or has more benefits. 99% of servers allow you to have 5MB of space, but Angelfire now allows you to have 50MB, that's 10 times as much as other servers!!!

Angelfire | GeoCities | Free URL | Chickpages | Gurlpages | Member.zoom

naming that page
Brainstorm ideas of what you want your website to be like. Maybe write a list of some pages that you want to have. Find a model website (one with a similar subject to yours) which you can look to for ideas, pictures, information, and more (with permission, of course). When you register at one of the above servers, they will ask you basic info, such as name, address, phone number, etc. This info is kept confidential, so tell all. Then they will ask you to pick a site address. The only part of my site addy that I chose was the ntirelynsync part and I was given a choice for the ga3/ part. Most servers only have you choose the ntirelynsync part. When picking a name, make it short, easy to remember and spell, and make it pertain to your site. For instance, if your site is going to have movie reviews, make the address movieworld or something like that. If you have a long site name, like Jenny's Totally Cool Page Just about Me and My Friends, try jennyandfriends or simply jennyspage.

making the site
I make my site half on Microsoft FrontPage 2000, half using HTML. You might have FrontPage 2000 on your computer, or you might have something similar to it, like FrontPage Express. Use these if you have them. If you don't have them, you can think about buying them as software, but you don't have to. All servers have a way for you to upload pages you make using a software like FrontPage, as well as a place for you to make them on the server. Most of them give you tons of different options, but when you use their page maker, your site will be very basic. Another page-making option is writing the HTML yourself. This is for the advanced only, even I don't totally know how to write the HTML for a page. If you choose to do this, many servers have a tutorial or some kind of HTML guide to assist you. So if you want an easy-to-make, basic site, go for the server-provided page maker. If you want a hard-to-make, advanced page, choose to write the HTML yourself. And if you want easy or medium-to-make, basic, medium, or advanced site, use a software like FrontPage.

playing around
The most affective way to find out how to do things is to play around with them. Study a site that you like a lot. Maybe copy and paste them onto the software you use to make your site and see what it does. This is how I figured out how to do a lot of the things on my site. For example, like those things that scroll around?  This is what I'm talking about. They are called marquees. Then copy it and paste it onto FrontPage. One day when you have some time, pull down all of the toolbars on your software and play around with all the options. Click all the buttons in your server to find out what they do. When you play around with things, you can figure out how it's done.

special things
The following are some places that you can get chat rooms, message board, e-cards, characters, polls, announcement lists, hit counters, guestbooks, forms, cursors, and way more! You're gonna want to check them all out. And be sure to go to Bravenet for free guestbooks, chat rooms, hit counters, greeting cards, free-for-all links, short URLs, and way more. Also, if you want to make graphics, banners, and awards people can win, you are going to need a software with paint to make them. I make mine using PaintShop Pro. You can download a trial version for 30 days here. If you want to buy it and keep it, you can get it at a computer store for about $100.

Beseen | Zapa | InsideTheWeb | ListBot | Pollit | Cometzone | Bravenet

need more help
If you choose to write the HTML yourself, you're gonna need more help. Also, if you want to add HTML into your FrontPage pages (that's what I do with my frames), you can get lots of help and tips at these places.

HTML Goodies | Website Design Help | Search Engine Tutorial | Writing HTML

thank me
Because I helped you out and took the time to type this up, I would appreciate it if you Signed My Guestbook. Thanks! Good luck on your website!!!