How to create webpage?

[wtiberon]

I'm looking to create a website similiar to civfanatics...in which it has links to a mainpage, forum, and have sub pages to place other information.

Problem is I'm a complete puter ****** and have no idea how to get this thing started. I was hoping a kind member would be able to guide me through the process. Not at designing the page itself but how to get it up and running.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Betrayed]

I think some HTML programme could help you a lot.


(It is very hard to create forums by the way.....)

 

[CruddyLeper]

1) First you design your webpage on a suitable program. It's a bit like doing a desk top publishing or VERY fancy word processing job.

2) Next you rent some webspace somewhere - your ISP probably has a folder tucked away somewhere just for you. Alternatively you can rent a domain name (you know, mywebspace.com) although that will cost you more.

3) Next you upload all the files used by the webpage with an ftp client program. There are lots of these - cuteftp is my current favourite. Whoever provided the web page will have given you a username and password that permits the upload.

4) Once all the bits are uploaded (starting HTML document should be called index.htm) then anybody can surf it.

Hopefully that will give you some idea... that's just for a static, unchanging web page though. If you want something that changes (dynamic) then you are talking programs like php and mysql, something I don't know squat about.

 

[Aphex_Twin]

Just remember the fundamental theorem of web programming: "FrontPage sucks!"

 

[gonzo_for_civ]

If you are a complete computer ****** as you say, then I would suggest getting some sort of WYSIWYG web page editor. During the process, however, I would suggest learning as much HTML as possible, it will help you when you just can't seem to get something right with the editor. I would personally recommend htmlgoodies.com's HTML primer set as a great beginners tool. Everything there is very simple, and is made very easy to understand.

I would also suggest buying a book for HTML reference. Here, really, any book will do as long as it has a ton of code samples, which just about every HTML book does. Get something that came out in the past year or so, you don't wanna get stuck learning HTML 3.0...

Once you have your page tweaked to your hearts content, do as cruddyleper suggested and get some space on the web. Yes, your ISP will probably have something for you, which will work more or less depending on how much traffic you are expecting. Most first time site builders wont see more than 100 unique visitors a month, and half of those will be search bots. If you are doing this for an organization, or are expecting more traffic than that, you may consider finding a hosting service. Number one rule with online hosting services is to READ REVIEWS BEFORE BUYING!! I'm not talking about the testimonials on the front page, you should search around the internet to find all the good and bad you can before investing any money. Also, look at how long they've been around. You don't usually want to go with small startups as the hosting is generally unreliable and if the business model isn't solid then you'll end up having to switch when they go out of business, usually meaning no refunds on pre-paid services. Stay away from free services as they'll reserve the right to throw ads all over your page in any way they choose. Usually any pay service will have an easy upload tool, but if not I would recommend cute ftp or WS FTP Pro. I have used both successfully in the past. I would definately recommend WS FTP if you are going to try the forums route, as it is much easier to perform chmod operations.

And most importantly, if(when) you need help, don't be afraid to ask.

 

[Chieftess]

Like Gonzo said, get a WYSIWYG editor. There's plenty out there. (Google DHTML HTML Editor). Another is FPExpress - a freeware version (very stripped down version) of Frontpage. It's not all that great though, but workable.

Page layouts - Use tables with a 100% width. Most pages have a header, content and footer, as well as 2-3 content columns (the left/right sides being used for menus).

CMS - If you're looking for a huge site, get some sort of CMS system (do a search. Wordpress is a free one that some like to use). If not, you can use javascript to pull in code from other pages. Just be careful about javascript though, as 10% of people have it turned off. Keep in mind though, if you make one change to a menu on one page, all pages need to be updated.

"3 Click Rule" - I forget where I heard this (either in college, or from researching for a college paper). The idea is, users don't like clicking anymore than 3 levels to get to content. It's best to not only have a main menu, but maybe a "Quick Links" section.

FTP Server - You need this to copy files to the webserver.

Web Hosting Server - Either use your Internet Account's name (www.domain.com/~somename), or find a free hosting site. If it has php, you can use certain php scripts.

Here's a basic setup:

<html>
<head><title>My Webpage</title>
</head>
<body>
<table width=100% border=1>
<tr> 
<td colspan=3>Header</td>
</tr>
<tr>
 <td>Menu column<br> "br" goes to the next line.</td>
 <td>Content Column</td>
 <td>Quick links column</td>
<tr> 
<td colspan=3>Footer</td>
</tr>

</table>
</body>
</html>

If you don't want 3 columns, but 2, then use colspan=2, and take out the last <tr> </tr> tags and everything inside of it.

 

[Grisu]

a free html-editor I stumbled upon is HTMLGATE (http://www.mpsoftware.dk/), haven't done a thorough test yet, but it looks promising so far

as for a CMS: Typo3 ist OpenSource and very powerfull, but not exactly easy to get running

 

[Aphex_Twin]

As for web hosting, this www.goldeye.info is a good place. It only has one banner at the top and no pop-ups.

 

[mastertyguy]

Mine is freewebs. It is free. Free. Free. Free. But you will soon notice why there is premium service. It is only if you can't use credit card.
Why is it free? Because every time you make a little change, it take slots of time before you notice it. I Had a few pages with black text on black bg. I never saw any pop-ups.