Beginner Website Help
Web Site 101

Getting started on the Web can be intimidating. A host of technical questions need addressed: How do I obtain Web space? How do I create and structure my site? How do I post pages and graphics correctly to the Web?

In this 3-lesson course, we offer a one-stop solution: a painless start to establishing your Web presence.

We'll help you select and register your domain name, set up a Web hosting account, and build your first site, posting it to the Web for all to see. Along the way, you'll learn the technical fundamentals that every Web site builder needs to know and avoid common pitfalls for those starting out.

Important: In Lesson One of this course, you will need to purchase Web hosting service. Many inexpensive hosts are available, and we will detail how to choose and sign up for one in your first exercise.

This course is recommended for any student just starting out on the Web, particularly those enrolled in Sessions Web Design or Multimedia certificate programs.

Instructor:
Margaret Penney is a teacher, designer, writer and media artist...
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Course Developer:
Tara MacKay is a Web designer who has designed award-winning sites ... get bio

Choose and register a domain name (and extension) that is appropriate for the purpose of a Web site.

Research and select Web hosting features, and purchase a hosting package appropriate to a Web site's needs.

Analyze the pages and underlying file and basic code structure of HTML-based Web sites.

Prepare a Web site file structure with given files.

Edit basic HTML code to change a page's title, email link, and image alignment.

Modify HTML tags with absolute paths to create links to outside Web sites.

Submit a site to a search engine and optimize it for search engine placement.

Set up an FTP application to connect to the server settings of a purchased hosting package.

Upload all pages and images of a Web site to a server through FTP.

Troubleshoot broken links and images on the local and server versions of a site.

Outline:

LESSON 1 Establishing your Web Presence This lesson provides an overview of setting up your first Web site. First, you'll explore the domain name system, learning the function of each part of a Web page's URL (Universal Resource Locator). You'll look at the relationship between domain names and IP addresses, discovering how a Web address works from both a technical and a user perspective. Lastly, you'll study strategies for choosing a domain name that builds a brand and/or communicates your site's purpose to potential visitors. In the exercise, you'll select a domain name of your own and register it along with the purchase of your Web hosting service.

LESSON 2 Deconstructing a Web Site Lesson Two gives you a fundamental insight into how Web sites are developed and structured. We've created a Sessions starter Web site for you to download and customize to your tastes. You'll study how its component parts, HTML pages, and graphics work together to create a integrated visual design, and look at the step-by-step process by which our designers created the site. In the exercise, you'll download all site elements to your hard drive and put the site through its paces.

LESSON 3 Going Live on the Web In Lesson Three, you'll customize your Web starter site (no coding or graphics skills needed), launch it, and register it with Web search engines. You'll modify key features of the Sessions Starter Web site so that the site reflects your site's needs. We'll walk you through the process of posting files correctly to the Web using FTP software (a task that's often confusing for beginners). And finally, we'll give you tips for search engine placement, to enhance your site's visibility on the Wild, Wacky Web.

Tuition: $252 US