A web page is nothing more than an HTML file. HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. What this means is a web page is nothing more than a text document that is marked up with descriptions of the way you want the text to appear. Your basic files will end in .html (or .htm if you are using an old version of Windows).

These lessons are designed to assist the person who has no idea of how to create a web site. They explain the use of simple HTML codes - the backbone of all web pages. Once the use of basic HTML is understood, if you want to learn more, you can move on to XHTML and CSS (cascading style sheets) which is preferred by professional web designers. Even so, HTML is all you need to create a web site. There are billions of web sites using nothing more than this simple markup language.

The lessons are very simple and basic so you do not have to have any experience creating web pages. It is assumed you do know how to use your own computer.

Do Not Use software such as Frontpage, Dreamweaver,
or similiar HTML editors - not if you want to learn HTML
and thus have more control over how your pages look.

To learn HTML...

The best way to learn HTML is to use it. I don't mean go out and buy software which will do it for you. You could do that but if you want full creativity and an understanding of what you are doing, or could be doing, (and you do, trust me on that) you should know basic HTML. Once you do, if you still want to purchase software to assist you, at least you will not have to completely rely on it.

For these lessons, write your web page in Notepad (the default text editor for Windows) or SimpleText (Mac users). Do not use a word processor unless you are sure you can save your files in a plain text HTML format. Any plain text editor should work. If you want something a bit more powerful later on, download NoteTab Light (free) or NoteTab Pro from www.fookes.com. What I like most about NoteTab is the ability to make my own custom "cheat sheets" when I am doing pages with redundant coding - also I can color code the HTML to make it easier for me to read.

You will need something to view your web pages with - a web browser. If you are reading this online now, you are using a web browser. If you're using Windows, then Internet Explorer should be on your computer. Netscape Navigator would be the next browser choice. If you're using an online service such as America Online to view web pages, that doesn't mean you have to use their browser.

It is highly recommended you use either Microsoft Explorer or Netscape Navigator to actually do your browsing even if you use AOL to connect to the Internet, that is if you want to see everything - but hey, if you can't see it you don't know what you're missing.

Using these lessons...

Use the Table Of Contents to navigate through the lessons. If you find any of them too difficult, please let me know so I can make sure they are easier to follow.

When you create sample pages from the lessons, you will be saving them on your computer's hard drive. You will be able to view them using a web browser just as you would if they were uploaded to a web space for all to see. This is how you test pages to make sure they appear correctly and to make sure they link together as you want them to. Once you are satisfied with the results, you upload them to your web space - that is nothing more than transferring copies of what you have created on your own computer, to a computer everyone else can access.

Have fun...