Creating Web Pages Bible

This Bible is a 100% comprehensive reference on creating Web pages, for all user levels

Contents

Preface v

Acknowledgments ix

Quick Start: Building a Flash Web Site

Part I: Building Web Pages and Sites

Chapter 1: Planning Your Web Pages

Analyzing Web Site Types

Personal home pages

Informational sites

Organizational sites

Political sites

Commercial sites

Understanding Internet Demographics

Finding good information

Surveying site visitors

Determining Your Approach

Focusing on goals

Deciding on complexity levels

Establishing a budget

Chapter 2: Using HTML Building Blocks to Create Your Pages

Understanding the Basic Elements

Defining elements with start and end tags

Nesting elements via container relationships

Structuring pages with block level elements

Fine-tuning with inline elements

Adding Flexibility with Attributes

Working with common attributes

Using specialized attributes

Accepting defaults and setting values

Grasping the Classic HTML Structure

Adding Text

Heading elements

Adding line breaks

Dividing with horizontal lines

Understanding whitespace

Understanding the Types of Authoring Tools

Text editors

HTML editors

WYSIWYG programs

Word processors

Exceptions to the rule

Choosing Your Tools

Trying demos

Experimenting with shareware

Using freeware

Going Beyond the Basics

Link checkers

Code validators

Compatibility testers

Server monitors

Working with Specific Tools

Notepad

HomeSite

Netscape Composer

Dreamweaver

Chapter 3: Organizing Your Web Pages into Sites

Addressing Resources with URLs

Adding Links

Getting hypertext references right

Creating internal links with local anchors

Sending e-mail with mailto links

Other types of links

Locking relative URLs with the BASE element

Comparing Page Design to Site Design

Color

Text style

Navigation

Understanding the importance of content

Making your site functional

Breaking Up Your Site

Creating topic-specific Web pages

Finding natural breakpoints

Chapter 4: Putting It on the Web

Getting Your Domain Name

Choosing a domain name

Picking a registrar

Coping with registration pitfalls

Finding a Web Space Provider

Picking the right Web server

Determining your space needs

Choosing a non-virtual, virtual, dedicated, or co-located server

Balancing price/service ratios

Investigating Web space providers

Testing Responsiveness to Your Needs

Obtaining customer service

Accessing technical support

Avoiding Common Provider Scams

Thinking like a crook

Suffering domain name theft

Getting "unlimited" traffic or space

Rushing deadlines for special deals

Exploring Bells and Whistles

Getting extra e-mail accounts

Redirecting messages

Using autoresponders to provide information

Getting visitor statistics

Using control panels to set site options

Becoming a reseller

Uploading Your Pages

Transferring with FTP

Uploading with Web Browsers via HTTP

Part II: Enhancing Web Pages with Fonts,

Images, and Color

Chapter 5: Getting Fancy with Text

Customizing Text with Character Styles

Italicizing text

Bolding text

Preformatting text

Adding superscripts and subscripts

Using the FONT and BASEFONT Elements

Specifying a size

Using relative size

Comparing font size with heading size

Overriding default font faces

Coloring text

Aligning and Indenting Text

Dealing with deprecation

Indenting with BLOCKQUOTE

Choosing Character Sets

Using Special Characters and Entities

Chapter 5: Finding Images

Exploring Graphics File Types

GIF

JPEG

PNG

Getting Free Images off the Web

Finding public domain photographs

Downloading free artwork

Finding suitable artists

Using stock photographs

Avoiding Legal Problems

Using copyrighted material

Respecting trademarks

Chapter 7: Blending Images into Your Pages

Adding Images

Using the height and width attributes

Setting horizontal and vertical spacing

Setting border size

Covering All the Bases with Placeholders

Adding alternative text for accessibility

Using low-resolution images to speed page download time

Aligning Text and Images

Floating images out of the flow

Demystifying word wrap around images

Aligning multiple images

Using Images to Link Files

Using borders

Making multiple links with image maps

Solving Image Problems

Using thumbnail images to speed up page downloads

Embedding special fonts

Adding Background Images

Calculating sizes for tiling

Dealing with "sidebar" backgrounds

Checking seamlessness

Avoiding busy backgrounds

Choosing color and contrast

Chapter 8: Creating and Enhancing Images

Choosing a Drawing Tool

Photoshop

Fireworks

Painter

Paint Shop Pro

Modifying Images

Cropping

Resizing and resampling

Rotating and flipping

Sharpening and blurring

Applying artistic effects filters

Using 3D Graphics Programs

Poser

Bryce

trueSpace

iSpace

3D models and more

Chapter 9: Adding Color Throughout Your Site

Setting Color Attributes

Setting background colors

Specifying foreground colors

Changing link colors

Using Color Names and Hex Numbers

Decoding RGB triplets

Facing limitations of named colors

Using color pickers

Using the Three C's: Complement, Contrast, and Coordination

Choosing complementary colors

Ensuring contrast and visibility

Coordinating color schemes

Understanding Color Warmth

Part III: Designing Web Layouts

Chapter 10: Harnessing the Power of Tables

Adding Tables and Setting Table Size

Managing Borders

Using Padding and Spacing

Aligning Tables and Cell Contents

Setting horizontal alignment

Setting vertical alignment

Preventing word wrap

Spanning Rows and Columns

Working with Images and Color

Specifying background images

Specifying background colors

Chapter 11: Organizing Your Site with Frames

Designing Frame Layouts

Analyzing functional needs

Creating navigation layouts

Setting up action/result layouts

Creating Framesets

Setting columns and rows

Mixing pixel, percentage, and relative sizing

Preventing resizing

Specifying frame names and contents

Nesting framesets

Adding NOFRAMES content

Setting Targets for Your Links

Targeting custom named frames

Using reserved frame names

Customizing Frame Borders and Margins

Setting border width

Handling border colors

Setting margin width

Setting Scroll Bar Options

Avoiding Frame Problems

Making sure you have enough frames

Adding foreign elements

Using too many frames

Providing backup navigation

Chapter 12: Styling Web Pages with Cascading Style Sheets

Testing Your Browser

Coping with Browser Support Issues

Cascading Priorities

Going inline with the style attribute

Embedding with the