The Secrets to Successfully Learning Basic HTML

If you'd like to create/maintain a website, having some HTML knowledge is necessary in order to create a standard page on the web. Learning the HTML basics is easy and should take less than an hour.

First you'll need some type of software/editor to create your html pages. Here's a few to try out (or not) and see which you feel most comfortable with.

Editors for Hand Coding:

(http://www.notepad.org) Notepad - This easy-to-use HTML editor is FREE (for Windows version 2.0 and above). If you are interested in learning how to code by hand then this editor is highly recommended. It is not cluttered with tons of features and is handy for all scripting languages, html, perl, php, etc.

Advanced Source Code Editors:

These editors are similar to Notepad by allowing you to create your webpage via hand coding, but they help to speed up the process of coding by hand with features such as syntax highlighting, spell checking, global find/replace, code libraries, code snippets, file explorers, page previews, and much more. Ideal for all scripting languages.

(http://www.alleycode.com) AlleyCode - This award winning HTML editor is fast and comes with many great features. You can view your progress in real time using it's Synchro View feature. Another great editor if you want to learn to code by hand, comes with handy code snippets. Supports all scripting languages. Alleycode is FREE!

(http://www.evrsoft.com/download.shtml) 1stPage - This html editor comes packed with many features you won't even find in the high-priced editors, and it's free. This editor is perfect for everyone, from novice to expert. Some of it's features include, 400+ javascripts, 15 dhtml scripts, 17 perl scripts, 6 html scripts, 2 cgi scripts.

(http://www.macromedia.com/software/homesite) Macromedia HomeSite - $99 (Free 30-day trial). HomeSite provides a lean, code-only editor for web development. Advanced coding features enable you to instantly create and modify HTML, CFML, JSP, and XHTML tags, while enhanced productivity tools allow you to validate, reuse, navigate, and format code more easily.

WYSIWYG: (What You See Is What You Get) I do not personally recommend using these. Reason being that the code can be messy, unnecessary tags can get put in, and most importantly, the code will NOT be valid. Valid code is important for a properly functioning, SEO-friendly webpage. Once you learn how to hand code you can use these editors to save time and just go over the source code and clean it up to be sure it's valid.

WYSIWYG is a type of editor/software which allows the user to see the web page as it's being created. In other words, you can drag and drop images exactly where you want them, place text where you want it and not really have to deal with the code side of creating a web page.

(http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver) DreamWeaver 8 - Free to try; $399 to buy. Generally known as the best of the WYSIWYG editors. Comes with an easy to use interface, expanded CSS support, background FTP.

(http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010858021033.aspx) FrontPage 2003 - 30 Day Free Trial, $199 to buy. While being a popular choice and commonly used, FrontPage is also known to produce bloated, messy, invalid code, you're best not to use this program. Features include the ability to upload your web site without requiring an FTP program, hit counters, feedback forms, and more.

(http://www.adobe.com/products/golive/main.html) GoLive - $399. AdobeŽ GoLiveŽ CS2 software lets you unlock the power of CSS with intuitive visual tools such as prebuilt CSS objects that you can drag and drop to build sophisticated sites. Jump-start your designs by easily converting Adobe InDesignŽ layouts into Web pages. Or, design Web and mobile content in an advanced, standards-based coding environment.

To learn HTML it's best to make use of the tutorials offered at such sites as (http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp) W3Schools and (http://webmonkey.wired.com/webmonkey/authoring/html_basics) WebMonkey. That's how I learned. Also be sure to check out these excellent HTML resources, (http://www.websitetips.com/html) Website Tips and (http://www.htmlgoodies.com) HTML Goodies. To do the HTML tutorials I would advise using Notepad or one of the advanced source code editors listed above.

Colleen Chard is a professional web designer based in the greater Toronto, Ontario Canada area. She has been designing websites since 2001 and runs her own online business Kalina Web Designs, http://www.kalinawebdesigns.com. Colleen is also the webmaster of many other web sites including Directory Source, http://www.directorysource.info, and Apex Templates, http://www.apextemplates.com.

In The News:

pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


So Much About META Tags!

I've written about META tags in the past, and I... Read More

How to Hire The Right Web Design Firm

Regardless whether you manage a small business, charitable organization, or... Read More

Why is a Logo so Important to Your Business?

Well, a logo for your business. Why is it important?... Read More

Good Web Design ? What Is It?

There is unlimited possibilities when it comes to designing a... Read More

Tips for Getting More Sales From Your Website

(1) Create a Direct Response Website, with the minimum number... Read More

Website Promotion Ideas: 10 Tips On How To Use Your Picture Effectively To Increase Your Sales

Seeing is believing.One trick to increase your visibility as well... Read More

How to Choose a Website Design Company

The internet is full of web design companies pleading for... Read More

Turn Benefits Into Sales with Streaming Media

The "Wow" factor that accompanied the introduction of streaming media... Read More

Are You A Bill Clinton Webmaster?

One of the most frequent questions I get asked about... Read More

4 Things That Make A Web Site Great

First you need original content. Content is the heart beat... Read More

A Beginners Guide to Web Page Design

Designing your own successful web page can seem difficult and... Read More

Should I Use Pop-Up Ads?

Web advertising has taken many forms, including those that appear... Read More

Nine Effective Tips For Improving Your Website?s Usability

Web usability is perhaps the most important factor in any... Read More

7 Tips To Increase Sales With Your Ecommerce Web Site

Ecommerce is just exploding right now on the Net. More... Read More

Affordable Web Design In Birmingham

If you have a business, big or small you may... Read More

Color Psychology in Marketing

On the internet we don't deal with face to face... Read More

Web Design for Ecommerce

Your website is your tool for showing the online community... Read More

Images: How To Make Them To Load Fast On Your Web Pages?

1. Use .gifs rather than .jpgs. GIFs are smaller in... Read More

Website Sales: Discover 10 Mesmerizing Insider?s Tricks To Ignite Your Sales

Marketing is not an easy skill to acquire.It requires patience... Read More

The Ultimate Web Site Marketing Strategies That You Should Know

Most of us know that we need to advertise our... Read More

Tried and Tested Tips to Improve Your Website - Part 1

1. DO NOT use excessive graphics or banner images on... Read More

Website Design Mishaps - How to Avoid Costly Errors That Can Crush Your Chances of Success

Designing your website can be a difficult task especially if... Read More

User Experience and Search Engines: If Your Home Page Could Only Talk

Dear web site visitor.I can't tell you how glad I... Read More

Top Ten Ways to Use Audio on Your Site

Audio can provide an added dimension to your site. It... Read More

Top Ten Absolutely Free Websites for Downloading Cool Fonts

The following list of websites is the best compilation of... Read More

A Landing Page is Not an Order Page (and why it matters)

To explain my point I need to first confuse the... Read More

Creating Your First Website? Your Options

Creating your own website is great fun! But how is... Read More

Save Time and Boost Profits with Free Content

Public domain gives you a head start creating ebooks, ecourses,... Read More

The Key to Getting More Magic Shows Booked Online

This article is the result of a conversation I had... Read More

The Monster Garage of eLearning

Have you seen Jesse James on the... Read More

10 Ways Web Site Text Can Impact Your Readers Buying Decision

10 Ways Web Site Text Can Impact Your Reader's Buying... Read More

Web Design: Use it to Showcase the Message

If you are designing a web site for which the... Read More

The Contrast And Similarities Between A Web Designer And Web Programmer

The concept of web designing based on the nature and... Read More