Get Your Feet Wet with Web Pages!
Thomas Fortunato, Philatelic Communicator
Get Yourself a Web Page! Here are the steps anyone can do.
Step 1 — Find a Host : Find out if your own ISP (Internet service provider) offers free server space for hosting your pages. The code that displays a Web page resides on a computer hard drive somewhere in the world. When you type a Web address, otherwise known as a URL (uniform resource locator), you are actually hunting for the code on that computer. All code is written in a computer language called HTML (hypertext markup language). Most ISPs host Web pages, typically 10–25 megabytes in size — more than enough for your needs. If yours doesn’t, check such hosting sites as yahoo.com, tripod.lycos.com, or fortunecity.com. You have the option of signing up for their free ad-supported service (ads will pop up when viewing pages) or ad-free paid service starting at roughly $5 per month.
Step 2 — Decide How to Build Your Pages: To keep it simple, see if your ISP or web host offers free Web tools or site builders that make creating pages a snap. These programs typically are point-and-click and will step you through the process of selecting a layout style, background color or image, adding text and pictures, etc. from a selection of each that they offer. More advanced Web tools allow you to select these from your own computer, along with other elements such as music and video clips.
An alternative is to use a Web creation program on your own computer. You can create a page in recent versions of Microsoft Word and automatically convert it to HTML with the click of the mouse. Check out the File — Save as Web Page option or click on Help for directions. Otherwise, buy an HTML authoring program such as FrontPage or Dreamweaver, which can be expensive.
Web tools may not offer the flexibility in customizing the look and feel desire for your Web page, although today’s tools are much more flexible than before. To get the ultimate design in your mind’s eye, you may need to learn and write HTML code. Back in the dark ages (around 1997) this was my only option. This approach is not for the faint of heart, but if you’re game, check out such sites as htmlgoodies.com and arachnoid.com (HTML for the Conceptually Challenged).
Step 3 — Get at It!: Now the fun begins as you design your site. A few pointers. Remember that the “wilder” the background you choose, the harder it might be to actually read. Use complementary colors with enough contrast. Keep text to one or two styles at most, and in a font size that is easily read. The best advice is to scout out other web pages and use ideas you like.
Step 4 — Add Ons: OK, so you want to fancy things up? Consider adding a Web counter to tell how many people have visited your page. Some include other statistics detailing where viewers reside, when they visited, how long they stayed, etc. Want your own URL so that you look like a player, such as http://www.yourname.com? They’re as cheap as $5 per year if you look for them. So go ahead.
What are you waiting for? Get your feet wet with Web pages! 
