Building
Your Own Personal HomePage
Sun Review Feb. 5, 2000
Have you ever wanted to set up your own personal website but don't know where to begin? Depending on how computer-savvy you are and how much time and money you're willing to invest in your website project, there are several ways to tackle this challenge: You can use your own software to build your site, or use a free webhosting service that provides built-in website wizards.
The original do-it-yourself way is to purchase or download the necessary software, build your site and then find somewhere to store (host) your site. You'll need to use an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) editor, a graphics program, and an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program. A great source of these programs is Download.com (www.download.com), where you can find HTML editors (HotDog, HomeSite, PageMill, etc), graphics programs (PaintShop Pro, Ulead PhotoImpact), and FTP software such as CuteFTP. You can also download 30-day trial versions of these products from the manufacturers' websites before deciding to purchase.
HTML editors simplify the task of building your website. Most HTML editors don't even require you to know HTML, although I always insist that a fundamental knowledge of this language is extremely important in understanding the limitations of website design. And since HTML is simply text, you can also build your site using a basic text editor such as NotePad.
A graphics program is essential for making your photos and other images web-compatible, and reducing the image file size while still retaining optimum image quality. If you're scanning your own graphics, start with a higher resolution and then re-save your files into either JPEG or GIF format at 72dpi. Photos and other images with thousands of colours should be formatted as JPEG files (.jpg extension), while most logos and images with fewer than 256 colours, should be formatted as GIF files (.gif extension). File size is an extremely important consideration: optimize your images so that they download quickly but still look great. A single webpage should take up no more than 100Kb (maximum!), which means it will take 15 seconds for a 56K modem user to load the entire page. So if each of your images has a file size of 25Kb, you should place no more than 3 images on a single page. If you stick to the 100Kb guideline, 5MB of webspace is enough room for 50 webpages.
Once you've built your website and tested it on your own computer, you can use an FTP program to transfer the website files from your local computer to the webserver (the computer that stores your website).
Where can you host your website? Free personal webhosting services are widely available on the Web. Just be warned that you will probably not be able to pick your own domain name (or website address), and you will also be required to display the webhoster's advertising on your website. Check out the Free Site Network (www.fsn.net), MSN (www.msn.com), Geocities (www.geocities.com), and Xoom (xoom.com).
Geocities and Xoom also feature built-in Web wizards to help you build your site and upload your files, add clipart and even display streaming media such as audio or video for your visitors to enjoy.
Where to find help:
Locally: OUC offers many Internet-related courses, including website design.
On the web:
© 1999 Ingenius Webdesign