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So you've been around the Web a bit, and you've started to think, "Hey, I should have my own Web page!" Sure you should. Your own personal Web page is just waiting to happen. WHY PUBLISH WEB PAGES? To keep in touch with friends and family To advertise yourself and your skills to potential employers To promote an existing business, or start a new business venture To proclaim your opinions, provide advice, and share your knowledge on any subject under the sun To let the world read your poetry, see your photography, or hear your music Because everyone else and her cat are doing it HOW DO I PUBLISH WEB PAGES? The short answer is that you create the files for your Web pages on your computer and upload them to a Web server. Your pages will then be available for all the world to see - at least the parts of the world that are privy to your URL. Let's start at the beginning. CREATING WEB PAGES What makes a file a Web file is that it is written in "the language of the Web," Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML). HTML consists of a series of codes (tags) that are inserted into a text document. The tags specify how the page will look when it is viewed by a Web browser, and they tell where elements such as links and images will appear on the page. BUT I DON'T KNOW HTML! Luckily for the non-programming inclined, there is software that makes writing a page for the Web as easy as typing a text document. Web-publishing software falls into two general categories - software that helps you to do HTML, and software that does HTML for you. HTML Helpers. This category includes freeware such as BBEdit and HotDog. These programs will write tags for you, but you have to know enough HTML to know where you want to place them. HTML Doers. This category includes WYSIWIG (what you see is what you get) programs. These are visual layout programs, in which HTML is generated as you type, and you can see how your page will look as you're working on it. Many word-processing programs are now able to save and generate text files as HTML. You'll probably want to explore some of these programs, but it doesn't hurt to have a basic grasp of HTML, so that you know the logic of what's going on behind the scenes on your pages. You can see -- and learn from -- the HTML code for every page on the Web . In Netscape or Internet Explorer, go to the "View" menu and select "Page Source" or "Source." WHERE CAN I FIND SPACE FOR MY HOMEPAGE ON THE WEB? Through your ISP. Many ISPs offer their customers Web space for personal pages. At sites such as Yahoo's GeoCities and Lycos' Tripod, which exist simply to provide free Web space. In return, your pages will contain advertising. Through your browser. Your browser's homepage should have links to the area of the site where you can create pages. Many of these free-space providers make it easy for you to create your page just by pointing and clicking.. DOMAIN NAMES AND URLS Your homepage's URL will most likely consist of the name of the space provider and then the name of your page: www.yourspaceprovider .com/yourname If you're serious about getting people to visit your site, though, you may just need to be the master of your own domain name. Just think of it -- http://www.myname.com. How can you achieve this level of visibility? There are a number of services that will register the domain name of your choice. A fee is charged, and your domain name will be good for 1-2 years. You'll find links to these services from your space provider. HOW WILL PEOPLE FIND MY PAGE? You'll tell them about it, either personally or by registering your pages with search directories and engines. print this lesson | back to lesson main page Build a Web page, and post its URL on the Oprah Goes Online "My Web Page" message board! Some easy places to launch your Web presence are: Netscape GeoCities Tripod AOL HometownSM (For AOL subscribers) If your ISP has a Web page, visit it and see if there is any Web page building help there.