Coding your HTML by hand gives much better results than
using a WYSIWYG program. You can get the layout that you
want, and make small adjustments easily.
NotePad comes free with Windows - but a much better text
editor is NoteTab Light. This has a sidebar with HTML tags -
double-click to enter the tag you want, with a dialog box
for those that have options or preferences, such as size,
colour, placement, etc. Download it from
http://www.notetab.com/ . There is also a NoteTab mailing
list, where you can ask questions, and exchange tips and
tricks - subscribe to the basic list by sending a blank
e-mail to mailto:NoteTab-Subscribe@eGroups.com
When you're used to coding, an award-winning program is
First Page from
http://www.evrsoft.com/ . It runs in easy,
normal, expert and hardcore modes - so you can learn to use
it and continue to keep up with your web page output.
Version 3 is due out any day. A built-in browser lets you
view your pages as you create them, there are buttons or
menus for tag creation, JavaScript wizards, HTML reference
guides, template facility, and much more. Don't buy an HTML
editor until you've tried this freeware!
You'll need to check your pages for errors. I use CSE
Validator Lite from
http://www.htmlvalidator.com/ You can
also buy a PRO version, but I've found the free version
enough for my needs. You can correct errors directly in the
main window, and each error is explained as you highlight
it.
Graphics often need a bit of a tweak before you add them to
your pages. Cropping, making the background transparent,
resizing, or just finding that picture that you **know**
you've got somewhere on your hard drive! Irfan View can
carry out all these tasks, and includes a great browser
which loads at the click of a key, and displays thumbnails
for you to choose from. Available from many freeware sites
(see below), you can also download from
http://softwarecenter.net/irfanview/Uploading to your server (the computer where you web site is
stored and accessed from) is done using File Transfer
Protocol, or FTP for short. Two good freeware programs are
FTP Explorer from
http://www.ftpx.com/ and WS_FTP, available
from many freeware sources (see below). Both have graphical
interfaces, very similar to using Windows Explorer. You can
download a free WS_FTP tutorial in PDF (Adobe Acrobat)
format by Steve MacLellen from my e-book library at
http://www.freesitebuilder.co.uk/library/library.htmlIf you haven't got Adobe Acrobat reader, use the
link on my library page to download a free copy.
Another essential check - dead links. The web is a very
fluid medium - sites arrive, move, and disappear regularly,
and if your site has a link to one that has vanished or
moved, your visitors get a "404 page not found" error
message. Your reputation and business can suffer, not to
mention your rankings with directories and search engines. I
use Xenu's Link Sleuth, from
http://completelyfreesoftware.com/ - the reports are easy to
understand, and can be saved to read off-line.
Finally, a task that is all too often forgotten, but which
is absolutely essential, - backing up! If the worst happens,
you need to be able to create all or part of your web site
quickly - and the only way is to run regular backups. You
can use the Backup program that comes with Windows, but I
find the Swedish program MyOwnBackup much easier to use, and
more flexible. Create different sets to back up your web
site(s), important data, e-mail, or whatever you want to
keep secure. You can create new archives or add new or
changed files to a current archive, restore complete sets or
individual files, zip archives, and span diskettes. The help
includes *9 Steps to a Complete Backup* to guide beginners.
Download from the main site
http://home4.swipnet.se/~w-42000/MOB/ (Sweden) or the mirror
site
http://www.nt-eng.com/mob/ (USA).
Some of my favourite freeware sites:
http://www.completelyfreesoftware.com/http://www.webattack.com/http://www.jumbo.com/http://www.moochers.com/ About the Author
Dianne Reuby is co-author of the e-book "First Website
Builder",
http://newbieclub.com/builder/?pramclubDianne created and runs the Free Site Builder web site and
ezine, dedicated to helping newbies create web sites with
free tools, services and resources.
Visit FSB at
http://freesitebuilder.co.uk/Send for a complete list of free articles and lessons by e-
mail : mailto:fsb-lessons@getresponse.com
