Where to start?

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Webpage Construction >>
Where to start?

HTML code, which stands for Hypertext Markup Language, is the programming language used to create a webpage. You can learn how to type this code to create webpages or you can use a software program that lets you create webpages without learning HTML. These programs are called HTML Editors or WYSIWYG Editors. WYSIWYG stands for "what you see is what you get." HTML editors allow you to enter and format text and images much like what you did in the Word module, except that what you are creating is the a webpage as opposed to a word processing document. Instead of saving a .doc file, you save an .htm or .html file. In fact, it is possible use Word to create a webpage. A tutorial is available in the resource section of this module on how that can be done. I would recommend that you use an HTML editor instead, though, or try HTML code. The Intro section of this website will provide links to some programs. Netscape Composer comes free with Netscape Navigator or Communicator. Other programs like Macromedia Dreamweaver or Adobe GoLive are downloadable for free for a limited evaluation period. You can also seek out freeware HTML programs from websites like http://www.tucows.com. There are a number of tutorials in this module's resource section for various programs or for HTML code. Please make use of them.

Get your feet wet

First, you are asked to get a taste of HTML code. Windows users should open the "Notepad" program (this can often be found under the Start menu by going to Programs and then Accessories). Macintosh users should open the "SimpleText" program. We're going to break some rules of HTML code by not entering some code elements, but this is just to serve as a quick demonstration of code. Enter the text (or use copy and paste):

This is my first html file.
<A HREF="http://www.uvic.ca">This is a link to UVIC.</A>

Next, choose "Save As" from the Notepad or SimpleText file menu and choose "Text Document" or "Text Only" as the file type and then name the document with the .htm or .html extension. For this, name your file "webpage.html" (without the quotes). Make sure you know where you saved the file on your computer, so you can find it again. Ta-dah, you just created a webpage. To view this webpage, open your browser, then go to the File menu and select "open page." Click on "Choose File" or "Browse" then locate this webpage.html file and click Open. You should see the webpage you just created displayed as follows:

This is my first HTML file.

This is a link to UVIC.

This is just a demonstration of how the code in an HTML file works. To create a paragraph in HTML, you would place the paragraph "tags" around the paragraph text. In the above example, there were two paragraphs - each surrounded by the paragraph tags, which are at the start of the paragraph and at the end of it. Inside the second paragraph was a hyperlink. The code for inserting a hyperlink is:

<A HREF="Insert URL here">Insert text to display hyperlink here.</A>

Choosing your approach

In starting your webpage for the assignment, you should

Choose what HTML editor you want to use to create a webpage (i.e., FrontPage, Netscape Composer, etc.) or if you want to create a webpage by just typing HTML code.
Consult the resource section of this module to find links to HTML Editors and their associated tutorials, HTML code tutorials, and other resources.
You may also explore the contents of the "Help" menu in the program of your choice. The amount of material in most Help menus is amazing. Under "Contents" or "Index" you can enter the topic of your choice (i.e., tables), so it will display the associated information.

This module will require all students to take more of an active role in exploring the various resources and to try out the steps suggested. You are encouraged to make use of the WebBoard or email the coordinator to ask any questions. By using the WebBoard, the responses to questions will be posted for all students to see, so that individual questions will only need to be addressed once, as opposed to repeated times one-on-one with the coordinator. Peer support is also strongly encouraged. UVic students also have access to support from the Computer Help Desk if posting a website to their UVic server space. The Computer Help Desk may be contacted at 721-7687 or helpdesk@uvic.ca during the hours posted on the following website: http://helpdesk.uvic.ca/resource/helpdesk/hours.html

Please continue onto the next section on organizing your content.