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Creating your own web page may seem
daunting, but it's easier than you think. The Internet abounds
with sites geared to help you design your own web site. However,
before you proceed, here are a few things to consider:
- Plan your web page. What
is the main topic and/or content? What about a title for
your page? Many online services, such as AOL, have "communities"
where you can locate your site (i.e., family, hobbies, special
interests, sports, etc.). Check them out first and view
several web pages in the available communities to get an
idea of what others are doing. Remember the more specific
your title/topic, the easier it will be to locate.
- Keep your page design simple
and your content clear. Complicated fonts and backgrounds
can be hard to read, and links/text not relative to your
site's purpose can confuse or bore the reader.
- Write your text first. Most
Internet hosting sites offering free home sites (web pages)
require you to design them while online. Have your prepared
text before you so you minimize your online time.
- What elements do you want to
include, besides your text? Are you considering adding photos?
If so, make sure they are in JPEG format (Joint Photographic
Experts Format; i.e., photos taken with a digital camera--file
extension is .jpg) which uses less space. Also, not everyone
can afford a digital camera, so you might consider developing
your film through a photo developing company, such as Seattle
FilmWorks or Clark Color Labs. For a minimal fee, both offer
pictures on disk. Clark also includes the (Kodak) software
that allows you to view your developed photos on a computer
and save them in the JPEG format.
- Keep your photos to a minimum.
The more photos you add to your web page, the longer
your page will take to download on the viewer's computer.
- Keep animated images to a minimum.
While photos are usually in JPEG format, clip art is
almost always in GIF (Graphics Interchange Format). This
format uses far more space on your website -- something
to consider when you have limited space. Like photos, animated
images add to the time it takes for your page to download.
While animation can be "cute" and interesting, it is also
distracting. If you must have animation, try using the same
GIF several times, perhaps on different pages.
- Do you plan to add links to
your favorite Internet sites? Check the sites' links
before you add them to insure they're valid; and verify
those links often, since all too frequently sites change
their Internet addresses.
- Do you want to receive comments
from visitors to your site? If so, include an E-mail
address where they can contact you. You might also consider
adding a "guestbook" to your site.
- Would you like to keep track
of how many people visit your web site? Add a counter
to your page. (Some web page host sites have counters that
are a snap to add; others provide easy instructions; and
some require knowledge of HTML (HyperText Markup Language).
- Do you want to improve traffic
flow to your site? Add your site to Search Engines that
increase your site's exposure on the Internet.
Online services such as AOL, CompuServe,
etc., offer free web pages for their customers (though you'll
have ads or banners on your site in exchange for the free
space). They provide 2 megabytes (MB) or more of space per
screen name (more than enough for several web pages, including
graphics), and offer easy web page tools that are a snap to
use and don't require knowledge of HTML. The cost for these
providers can run anywhere from $15/month to $25/month or
more. If you use AOL, CompuServe,
etc., as your ISP (Internet Service Provider), I suggest you
design a simple web page at first. You can always add graphics
and more pages as your confidence grows.
For a listing of sites available on
the Internet for designing your personal web page (these are
updated monthly), please visit my
Web
Page Design & Graphics site: http://members.aol.com/romriter/advice.htm
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