ROVIN’ AND RAVIN’ WITH MIKE
Copyright © 2002, 2000 by
Michael Segers, All rights reserved
Who
Still Wants to Be a Web-master?
Now, we are ready to look at ways to create pages for your own little corner of cyberspace, once you’ve found it, and ways to send (upload) them to your site. We’re not going to get very technical, but in case I start raving with some words that you aren’t familiar with, here are a couple of good glossaries of “net-speak.” For a good, basic vocabulary, look at— http://help.earthlink.net/internet/glossary
For more details and more words, Webopedia is just as good as it claims it is— http://www.webopedia.com
If you are a member of Peanut.org (that is, if you have an e-mail address @peanut.org), you have free web space waiting for you. If you use an ISP (Internet Service Provider) like Earthlink or AOL, you have web space waiting for you. And, for anyone with any access to the Internet, there are several sites, which I mentioned last week, that offer you free space.
Perhaps you are wondering, just what would you put on your web pages? Let me suggest that you click on Users’ Web Pgs in the left hand margin (if you are seeing this with the Peanut.org frame), which will take you to—
http://www.peanut.org/user5.htm
Here is the index of Peanut.org members who are using their free space. I am pleasantly surprised by the variety of uses people have made of this space, to tell their personal stories and their family histories, to share their artistic creations and hobbies, to brag about their children and their animals. I’m especially pleased to see so many teachers in the cyber-peanut patch, because that models for students the behavior of learning. Each teacher’s page has the built-in message, “Look, if I can learn how to put up a web page, surely you can learn…” whatever the subject matter is. If you are not a member of Peanut.org, please skip this paragraph and the next one, because I don’t want you to get too envious.
But, Peanut.org members, please read carefully. Your web space is already reserved for you, and here is how you can find it. First time visitors to the luxurious Peanut.org headquarters are amazed by the informality around here. When you get to my office suite, on my door is simply the name “mike” without even a capital letter (the spirit of e e cummings lives). In any dealings with Peanut.org, I am mike. My e-mail address is mike@peanut.org. And so, look what happens when we go here— http://www.peanut.org/users/mike
Again, if you are a member of (have an e-mail address with) Peanut.org, take out “mike” in that last URL (uniform/universal resources locator) and insert your user name (that is, the name in front of the @ sign in your e-mail address). There you are, at your developed or undeveloped web space. So, now what? If you see this page with a frame on the left, click on Help and Info, which takes you to— http://www.peanut.org/OURFREE5.HTM
Then click on How to use the Free-Net Web Page Editor, to reach an excellent tutorial prepared by our sysop (system operator) Kent Guske—
http://www.peanut.org/how2edit.htm
OK, so we are all together again, Peanut.org members and our less fortunate friends. Now, we all need some sort of program to create our web pages in HTML (HyperText Markup Language), which is a set of instructions given to your browser, the program you use to view Internet sites, either Internet Explorer or Netscape. You can see these instructions (with Internet Explorer) by clicking on View in the toolbar at the top of the page and then on Source—the source code behind the page. Go ahead, and give it a try.
How do you write HTML? Well, most of us do not. We use a program that does the dirty work for us. I am creating this page with Microsoft’s
FrontPage, perhaps the best-known program for generating web pages. If you are using Geocities, Angelfire, Earthlink, or other such sites, you can use their online editors. The disadvantage of these is that you have to work online. There are many programs, however, that you can download for free to develop your pages offline. AOL had a very good editing program called AOLPress. Although you can no longer get it from AOL, the program (and some useful tutorials) are available at various places online. Start here:
http://members.aol.com/rjdriver/aolpress.htm
Another free program which you can download with lots of information and some intriguing reflections on “careware” is Arachnophilia— http://www.arachnoid.com
Microsoft distributes for free its FrontPage Express, a limited version of FrontPage. If you have Windows, you may already have this installed on your computer. If not, you can download it and AOLPress without charge here—
http://www.uct.ac.za/depts/its/webdesign/build/install.htm#Downloading%20FP
But, I suggest you look at thisFrontPage Express tutorial first—
http://www.bv229.k12.ks.us/bvideas/staffdev/Expressworkshop/FPexpress.htm
Here, you can download Note Tab Light, which, like FrontPage Express, is a reduced version of a program that you can buy—
Once you create your pages, you need some way to get them to your web space. The bad news is that you need to learn another abbreviation, FTP (File Transfer Protocal); the good news is that you can download the necessary program for free. Again, I’m going to give you a choice of free programs and a great tutorial. It seems the most commonly used FTP program is WS_FTP, which you can buy, or which you can download for free for educational and home use from this excellent site— http://www.shareware.com
Enter “WS_FTP” in the search (be sure to underline the space, but do not include the quotation marks). While you are at this site, look at other good things you can get for free, including CoffeeCup software. Two other free FTP programs you can download are FTP Explorer, from this first site, and FTP Voyager, from the second—
Now that you have an FTP program, how about “Getting Started with FTP”? To be honest, I had more trouble grasping the concept of FTP than of any other aspect of creating a website. I found the following article so helpful that I have printed it as a handy reference, and I encourage you to do the same— http://home.verio.com/support/access/pweb/ftp.cfm
If you use Microsoft’s FrontPage, you do not need a separate FTP program. You can use its “Publish” function to upload/send your page. There are at least two points to keep in mind, both of which have almost driven me out of my mind. One is that, unlike WS_FTP, which will dial-up your Internet connection, FrontPage will return an error message if you try to publish when you are not already online.
The other is that it will upload every file in the folder unless you specifically indicate that you do not want certain files published—and you have to select each of them individually. In other words, the default is to upload. Also, some sites cannot receive FrontPage files, or if they do, you have to follow special procedures. If you are familiar with Microsoft programs such as Word for Windows, you will recognize a lot of the commands and features in FrontPage, but it may be more of a program than you want to deal with, at least to get started.
We are about to make history. For the first time, Rovin’ and Ravin’ is going to have a trilogy, because we need another article about becoming a web-master (or web-mistress). Last week, we looked at how to find web space for free or else economical web hosting services as well as how to register a domain name, if you wish. This week, we’ve looked at some programs and tutorials to help you create your web pages and get them to your site. But, there are still two more crucial problems. Once you get your web site set up, how do you get people to look at it? And, just what do you do when you reach that stage in your life when you really need a dancing alligator on your web pages? Or, for that matter, a counter, a guest book, or other goodies. Check “Web-masters (and Mistresses) of the Universe”— http://www.peanut.org/users/mike/text/webmaster3.htm
If you want to create web pages the old-fashioned way, writing HTML, here is a very good sites to get you started—
Keep your feet dry, your heart full of noble thoughts, and why not point your browser to the web pages of some of our Peanut.org neighbors? You’ll find some good information and some visually appealing sites. If you find one that you especially like (and our cyber-neighbors have created some very likable sites), why not e-mail its proprietor a fan letter?
Find more articles about creating your own website.
Rove to the Rovin' and Ravin' opening page.