Making a School Website

What is HTML?

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the language of the internet and to the uninitiated it probably looks like Greek.

HTML is the code behind your webpage and is what your browser looks for to display a webpage, the way the webdesigner intended it to look, and is a series of tags <tags> that tells the browser where to display what. It is really a series of simple commands that you give to the browser, just like telling your dog to sit, and because it is in plain English it is easy to learn. For example, if you want your text to show in a bold type, you command it <bold> to be bold text </bold>, it really is that easy.

You can see what this this page looks like as an HTML document by doing the following: (known as the "source code")

• Click on VIEW at the top of the screen.
• Choose SOURCE from the menu.
• The HTML document will appear on the screen.

A good website where you can learn more about HTML is Lisa Explains.

Software

If you are a beginner, or someone who doesn't want to learn a new language, then using a WYSIWYG program is your best option.

There are quite a few different web site creators on the market. Probably one of the most successful programs is Microsoft Front Page. This is a WYSIWYG program. Basically, What you see is what you get. You can create your page in much the same way as you use a word processor and with a click of a button you can also see the HTML script.

At our school we use Macromedia DreamWeaver as this is very easy to use and has many extra features if you need them.

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