Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Website - 5

Build a Website With No HTML Experience

The Basic Steps are:

1. Register a Domain Name
2. Set up a Hosting Plan
3. Get a Template, or Webpage Builder Software
4. Obtain or Create Graphics
   Next Step:
5. Create and/or Customize the Home Page
6. Copy for Each Additional Web Page and Customize
7. Upload the Files to the Hosting Server Account
8. Test, Modify, Upload - Repeat Until Done

Step 5 - Create or Customize the Home Page

The home page should be named index.html so that it is displayed automatically when the Domain name is entered in the Address bar. Each webpage should also have the extension .html to be displayed in the browser. The graphic files should (usually) have extensions .jpg or .gif.

If you are using a webpage builder, now is the time to dig in and learn it and create your home page.

If you have a template, you will still need a little HTML knowledge. There are a host of resources on the Internet for learning HTML. I found many of them are written assuming that you are already a programmer.

That is why I created my "ALittleHTMLGuide" for you to use for now if you are just beginning. It works with my free template (and logo graphics file). See my "ALittleHTMLGuide" to download them.

Use a text editor like Notepad to edit your file, but consider more extensive HTML editors, like CoffeeCup made just for website designing. If you want to keep doing your own website programming, you may want more features available with advanced web design tools. Do NOT use MSWord or a word processor which adds their own formatting characters and will mess up your work.

There are more tools discussed in Website Building at my PlanBreview website. I do not recommend that you start with them. If you learn the basics with my tutorial and template, you will know more about what features are important to you.

As with most programming, the formatting is critical. In HTML, tags do everything. Tags begin with < and end with >. Most tags are ended with a closing tag with / (slash) in the tag.

See the exact tag formatting in "ALittleHTMLGuide". Be sure not to "break" the tags in your template. In no time you will know what character combinations must be intact for the HTML to be displayed correctly.

Save a copy of your last working webpage, just in case you need to go back to it. Try to just change the display text at first, and maybe the colors and graphics files. You will soon be able to change and add the tags to present your page just as you want it.

Navigation is used to link to the other pages of your website. It is popular to build a navigation bar along one side or across the top and bottom of your webpage. Many templates provide graphics buttons for menus.

Links are also used to reference an external webpage or website, and are therefore called external links.

Help with link formatting is in "ALittleHTMLGuide".

After you save your first website index.html file, your can see it in your browser by clicking on that filename from the Explorer view. Make changes until you are satisfied, by editing the .html file, saving it, and clicking its filename in the Explorer again. Repeat as needed.

It is helpful to have your "home page" or index.html design, or layout, final before you copy it and make the changes needed for your "internal" webpages, or the additional pages of your website, which is covered in the next Step.

You can email me at webmaster@myminisites.net for a quick response to your inquiries.