First you'll need to write a HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language)
document. These are basically text files with a few formatting codes
included to help web browsers present the data properly. Many programs
will add these codes for you. I'd recommend using a program like
MS
Word 97 or Netscape
Composer to get started.
Once your document is prepared you'll need to find a server
to host it. You can rent space on a server or find free space on
a school server. Another option is to post your work on a free server
like Tripod or Geocities.
Coding
When building a page it is important to code the page
with the viewer in mind. If you have a large monitor, you may have
the monitor set to show as much as possible on the screen as you can.
However most people use a setting of 640 X 480 Pixels. If you program
in a greater setting, your page may force viewers to scroll from the left
to right as well as up and down the screen.
Once you're comfortable with the basics you can add more
additional features like animated graphics, java scripts and frames.
There are countless sites devoted to HTML coding.
Here's a good one to start on. HTML
Primer
Graphics
Probably the best graphics package on the market to day
is Paint Shop
Pro by JASC Inc. It is fairly easy to use, inexpensive and extremely
powerful.
The best way to speed up your page is to reduce the size
of the graphics. It is best to crop the images to show only what
you need. Then resize them to the size they will appear. There's
no need to download a larger image, just to cram it into a small image
box. Most importantly, adjust the compression level. A BMP
that is 300 k can be reduced to a 20k image by converting it to a JPG with
60% compression. I use Paint
Shop Pro to adjust the compression level, but many other programs can
do this as well.
If you want a to have an image that has transparent or
clear sections, you'll need to use a GIF format with a "Version 89a, Non-interlaced"
setting. This will allow you to designate which sections should be
clear.
You should also give each graphic image a title.
When the page loads the title will appear in the graphics box while the
image downloads. For viewers that chose not to download all the graphics,
the title will allow them to know what would be downloading normally.
Adding a title will also make the page more accessible to certain browsers.
In Netscape Composer, you can add a title by:
Highlighting the image
Right Mouse click
Click the Alt Text button and the bottom
Add a title and hit OK
For a graphic image it is best to designate what the image
dimensions are. In advanced editors like Composer or other WYSIWYG
editors the dimensions are assigned automatically. Nevertheless,
if you add the HTML tags manually, this will help some older browsers read
the files.
Advanced Techniques The following are some interesting
examples of the uses of Java on a web page. You'll need an advanced
browser to see these pages. I'd recommend Netscape 4.0 or better
and a fast Pentium or better.
