Tutorials

HTML Visual blueprint for designing effective web pages A very helpful book that makes HTML easy to learn Click here to see if it is available at

The purpose in this page is to help anyone who wants to have a web site or host one from their computer. You can start from a personal web site and gradually build it into a professional web site like this that provides information.

1. HTML "Hyper Text Markup Language"


There are many web sites like this that give detailed instruction on web design, but they are not very useful because they leave certain important information out. At Davesite.com/webstation/html has a good explaination of HTML which is the basic language for web design. At the left of this page there is a link to Ebay.com (an auction website) where you might find the book.

HTML: Visual blueprint for designing effective web pages for a good price of $5-10. The normal price for this book is around $25.


2. CSS "Cascading Style Sheets"



1. Quick and Easy CSS Tutorial


Many professioinal websites use CSS for layout and design and especially for larger websites that have multiple pages that use the same style. It makes it easier to make changes because all of the style is controlled from the same page. It is also more flexible than basic HTML. The problem with learning CSS ar first is that they use confusing terms like "selector" that does not really describe its use. After you get through that problem it can be easy. For a quick and simple explanation of CSS go to my: Quick CSS Tutorial.


2. www.davesite.com/webstation/css/
uses the actual words for CSS but you will have to rely my Quick CSS Tutorial to understand how to write it.


3. w3schools.com/css


The best site to go to for CSS after you learn the basics is w3schools.com/css. It has great tutorials and charts and lists for CSS.

Another website that has lists for w3schools.com/css. CSS is Westciv - CSS which has a detailed list and desciption of all of the CSS elements that you can use as a reference but lacks examples to show you how to write the code so it is best to use


4. Free web site templates at OSWD.ORG


Free web site templates is a great way to get started on a web site and then later as you learn you can change all of the styles to suit your tastes.


3. CGI
- "Common Gate Interface" - "Script" language for advanced web design

CGI is used for forums and other interactive web site functions other than just displaying web pages.

CGI 101
Expertwebinstalls CGI Tutorial
CGI Resource tutorials CGI Resource


4. PHP, Xml, Xhtml, Javascript and other languages W3schools

Free Software

Many web sites offer free trial versions that end after a short period and that have not been evaluated. These have been tested and are not trial versions.

1. Pagebreeze - Free HTML editor
   
2. Cofeecup - Free HTML editor
   
3. Coffeecup Free FTP - FTP "File Transfer Protocal" is used for uploading files to your host or web site
   
4. GIMP - Free Image Editor - Works very well except it is seperated into different windows making it a little hard to manage. It is a really complex and verstile software for something free.

Hosting

1. 100 Web Space - 100 MB free web space with CGI/PHP support. A small banner is required for free account
   
2. FreeSavers - 50 MB free web space that requires a banner unless you pay
   
3. 3IX - One dollar/month hosting.
   
4. PHPBB - Be administrator or moderator of your own forum.

Self Hosting

1. If you have an internet connection such as cable or DSL that stays connected 24/7, you can set up your computer to host your website. Setup will be different depending on what Operating System (OS) you have



1. Windows 2000 and XP Professional


Go to Control Panel> Add/Remove Programs> Add Components> then select IIS and click details to select the components including PWS.


2. Windows XP Home no 2000 CD


If you have Windows XP Home, but do not have a Windows 2000 cd, then go to Apachefriends.org and you can download XAMPP free server for Windows. You can host HTML pages but not ASP, which is what many web sites are using now. If XAMPP doesn't work then go to Ricochetingfor a simple turorial for installing Apache. If you have trouble with it, you might have to uninstall and restart your computer and reinstall.


3. Windows XP Professional


If you do not have IIS installed on Winodws XP Professional system or do not know how to configure your IIS, you can refer to Adamv.com also.



2. Test



When you have your server set up, you can test your web page by typing in "http://localhost/" or "http://127.0.0.1". Your server will usually have a test page or a start page that loads to make sure the server is working.



3. Configuration



Under Control Panel > Administrative Tools > (right click) Default Web Site > Properties > Web Site > make sure your IP Address is showing which is a 10 digit number that looks like this ex: "http://192.168.0.100/" Your start page will usually be an index.html, default.htm, or default.asp file. If you will be using an index.html page to start your web site, make sure you have index.html as one of your default documents under Control Panel > Administrative Tools > (right click)Default Web Site > Properties > Documents.

Click on Home Directory > Browse and select your root folder.

If you are using a dsl or lan router, you will have to find out what your external ip address so you can assign to your domain, if you have one, or otherwise you can use it as your url or web address. If your router doesn't have documentation to show you how to forward or redirect your ip address you can do an internet search of your router manufacturer ex. "d-link" to find out how to do it. Your external or router ip address might look like this "66.34.24.16" and when you configure your router, depending on what port you set it to which usually is "80", your url that people can use to browse your web site will probably look like this "http://66.38.16.34:80", which is "http://" followed by the ip address, followed by a colon, followed by the port number. ex. "http://ip address:port number". If you decide to set up servers on different computers on a network, the port numbers would be different for each one ex. "80, 81, 82"



4. Windows XP Home Web Address



If you have Windows XP Home and can't install IIS and you do not know your IP address, there is a website called ipchicken.com or whatismyip.com to easily find out what your ip address is. If you are using Apache or XAMPP, you will use your ip address with whatever port you set in your server configuration which is usually 80. The format will be "http://ip address:port number". And this will be the url to your web site or the ip address that you assign to your domain if you have one.

Domain Name (.COM)

If you want a web site that will be easier to remember such as www.speara.com you can pay to have a domain name and register it. It only costs about $5-10 a year just to register the name if you find the right registrar(a company or website that provides domain names). It costs around $10 a month or $120 or more a year for a host. You can find one by doing the web search "cheap domain". When I first started thinking about getting a domain name, I thought that I might be able to find a way to do it free, but I can't find one.

ICANN is the official service that sets that governs domain registration, but you have to go through a registrar. ICANN provides lists of all registrars, but you can find one by doing a web search.

To find out which domain extension to use such as .com or .net you can go to IANA to find out what they stand for and what are the requirements for them. I got my .info domain just by paying for it at yourfuturedomain.com.

Here is a web site called PCNAMES where you can find out really quickly what names are registered already or not available. They also give some choices of registrars to register your domain.

When you register a domain with your registrar, you will give them your URL. This can be a personal web site at first if you do not have a server on your computer. Or it can be your IP address.

Promotion

Robots.txt Tool - Generates a robot.txt file that tells search engines which parts of your web site they are not allowed to crawl.
Sitemap Protocol - Create a Sitemap that contains all the links on your site.
Linkscan - Check your web sites for errors with this online validator. Seobook Spider Tester at Seobook Tools - Test your website for web search engine search ability

Google

Google Webmaster Central - Google is the largest search engine and this site lets you add sites, test them, and add sitemaps.

Google Rankings - Find out how your web site ranks on Google.

Google Ranking Factors - SEO Checklist

Yahoo

Yahoo Site Explorer - Free Submission. Yahoo is the second largest search engine and this site allows you to add multiple sites to their search engines and upload sitemaps and manage them.

Yahoo Free Submit - It might be a good idea to submit your sites through this site also to be sure that your site makes it in.

Yahoo Paid Submit

MSN-Live - You can try to submit to MSN but there is no guarantee that they will add you.
Patriot Web Ring - If you have a Christian Web Site and want to get listed on Yahoo, Google, or MSN quickly and easily you can submit to Patriot Web Ring.
Submit Express - Free Search Engine Submission to 40 different search engines with one click.
FreeWebSubmission.com - Free Submission to 13-20(usually only 13 work) more different search engines with one click.
Web Launch Free Submit - Free submit to 27 (20 manual, 7 automatic) search engines with one click.

Major Search Engines List
More Search Engines - Some of the same but a few different plus many unique Google sites.