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So you want to learn html!
If you're thinking about building your own website, you'll be surprised at how easy it really is!
Four years ago, when I was contemplating learning to make my own website, I was intimidated
at the thought of learning a "programming language." Once I discovered how easy it is, I was laughing.
Webpages are written using "html." Html stands for "hyper text markup language." I was pleasantly surprised to learn that html is not really a programming language at all! Html is just plain old English!
Html is just make up of simple English "abbreviations" (hyper-text) placed into brackets.
Look at your keyboard and find the angle brackets. (On most keyboards, the angle brackets
are above the period and the comma.) They look like this:
When you place the right abbreviations in those brackets, you tell a browser how to display your "content". For example, the abbreviation (hypertext command) to make a word bold is the letter "b." So, to Make a word on your webpage bold, you put the bold tag around the word, like this; 
The letter "b," when placed in the angle brackets, becomes the "html tag" for creating bold text.
In the illustration, did you notice that after the word "big" I used another tag with a forward slash (/) in front of the letter b? You see, when you tell a browser to start making your text bold, you also need to tell it when to stop making the text bold. To "stop" any command, you simply add a / to the tag.
You can make your text bigger or smaller, bold and italicized, colored, centered and much more just by using simple "html tags." There are "html tags" to add images, make links, lists and so much more!
It's really that simple! All you need to do is learn the html tags and you're off and running. You don't even need to memorize them. When I first started learning html, I kept a list of commands handy for "copying and pasting" for months until I'd memorized them by using them over and over again
A note about Browser Wars!
The challenging part of learning html is not the code itself, but is the issue of
"browser wars." Many, many html tags are viewed the same by all browsers. However,
there are some codes that are specific to a particular browser. For example, if
you wanted to embed background music, Netscape recognizes the html tag <embed src> but
Internet Explorer recognizes the tag <bgsound src>
The good part is that there are always ways around the browser wars. For example, if you wanted background music, there is a wonderful little tag that will allow your webpage to "detect" which browser the visitor is using and use the appropriate html tag for the browser. And - it's all "copy and paste" easy!
The best way to make sure your website is loading properly for all your visitors is simple to keep both Internet Explorer and Netscape on your computer. That way, you can check your website in both of the major browsers. You can get free copies of the major browsers here:
Download Internet Explorer free here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.htm
Download Netscape Navigator free here:
http://home.netscape.com/download/index.html?cp=bri
Where can you learn html?
If you type the phrase "learn html" into any search engine, you will find thousands of pages that teach html. Unfortunately, I have not yet found one that specifies whether they are listing browser compatible codes, or whether they are listing codes that are specific to one browser. That's easily solved, too. All you have to do is remember to test your page in both Netscape and Internet Explorer as you create it.
In the past four years, I've had countless people ask me "why doesn't part of my website show in the other browser?" Every single time I see this happen, it's a simple solution. The webpage designer just forgot to test the code in both browsers, and substituting the "browser compatible" code for the browser specific one solves the problem.
To help people, like you, with browser compatibility issues, I have written a book that lists only browser compatible code and some of the tips and tricks that I find helpful. The book, titled, "Html is NOT Rocket Science" is available at:
http://www.lindacaroll.com/books.html
There are also two other resources that will be very helpful to you! One is right in front of you, right this minute. Most browsers have a link that allows you to see the code for a webpage. Look up at the top of your browser window. Do you see the word "View?" If you click on the word "View" you'll get a dropdown menu. In that dropdown menu, there should be an option called "source" or "page source." Selecting View -> Source allows you to see the code for a webpage.
As you surf the web, when you find a page that you like, view it in both Netscape and Internet Explorer.
If it looks good in both browsers, use your View -> Source option to look at, and learn from, the code.
Another excellent learning tool is a little program called "Cute Html." Cute Html is like Notepad (textpad) on steroids! It's a simple little text editor with some wonderful shortcuts! You can click a button to automatically make a word bold, or italicized. You can click a button to add an image or create a link. And - it gets better! Cute html will display all your image tags in red, your link tags in green, your html tags in blue and your page text in black. At $19.99 it's a steal of a deal! To make it even better, they also offer a 30 day free trial! You may purchase the software or download the trial version at:
http://www.cutehtml.com
Is website creation for you?
Some people learn html and are excited and enthusiastic about how easy it is to turn out their own webpages. Other people delve into html and decide they really don't want to learn it after all. Only you can decide whether learning html and creating your own website is the right choice for you.
If learning html is the right thing for you, rest assured that it's not difficult. I taught it to my 10 year old stepson in about two weeks. If a ten year old can learn it, you can, too!
If learning html is not the right thing for you, I strongly advise you to hire a professional. Although there are many software programs that generate html in a "drag and drop" interface, most of them do not even address browser compatibility issues and may easily generate webpages that do not display properly to all your visitors. I offer a browser compatibility guarantee, as does my partner company. For more information about website design, or to enquire about design services, feel welcome to visit us at;
http://www.lindacaroll.com
http://www.swdomains.com
Best of luck with your website!
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Linda Caroll is working mom, a partner, a sister, a friend, a dreamer, a freelance writer, a website developer and a website success coach. A strong believer in the power of people, Ms. Caroll also teaches an online course, appropriately named the "Website Magic Workshop."
Linda has 19 years of experience in graphic design, copywriting, marketing, pr. &
business management.
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| She has been developing interactive websites since 1996, and has worked in the field of promotional computer graphics and desktop publishing since 1986. Her articles have been published by numerous publications, both online and offline.
In Linda's own words; "I believe that most businesses have good ideas. They simply lack the knowledge that would allow them to propel those ideas skyward. Dreams without wings. My goal is to teach people what works online so I can give them the wings - with which they can fly!"
Visit Linda online at:
http://www.LindaCaroll.com
http://www.WebsiteMagicWorkshop.com
 work at home
get paid to shop
write articles for traffic
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