Building a Web Site For Dummies E-Book

David A. Crowder

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 359

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Beschreibung

The bestselling guide to building a knockout Web site, newly updated An effective Web site is the key to success for every venture from class reunions to major corporations. And since Web technology changes rapidly, Building a Web Site For Dummies, 4th Edition is fully updated for the cutting-edge tools and trends. If you need to build and maintain a Web site, even if your experience is severely limited, this book makes it easy and fun. You'll learn to plan, design, create, launch, and maintain your site using the most up-to-date tools. * A quality Web presence is essential in today's marketplace, and many individuals charged with creating one are unaware of the challenges * This guide gives novice Web designers the tools and know-how to plan, design, and build effective Web sites * Provides a nuts-and-bolts guide to site-building, including coverage of HTML, WYSIWYG construction software, CSS, and navigation plans * Shows how to spruce up your site with topnotch graphics, video, and great content * Guides you through getting your site online, promoting it, and even making money from it Building a Web Site For Dummies, 4th Edition is the tool every first-time Web designer needs to build a professional-looking site.

Leseprobe

Building a Web Site For Dummies®, 4th Edition

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

How to Use This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Conventions Used in This Book

How This Book Is Organized

Part I: Building Your First Web Site

Part II: Building Better Web Pages

Part III: Adding Frills and Fancy Stuff

Part IV: Making Money

Part V: The Part of Tens

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Building Your First Web Site

Chapter 1: Planning for Good Site Design

Drafting a Plan

What do you want to accomplish?

Who do you want to reach?

Keeping your site fresh

User-generated content

Designing the Look of Your Site

Appealing to your audience

Avoiding clutter

Achieving Usability

The Big Rules for Planning Your Site

Online Sources for Web Design

Chapter 2: Creating a Web Page with Basic HTML Tags

Tagging Along with HTML

Getting Wordy

Paragraphs

Headings

Fonts

Lines

Using Color

Creating Links

Picturing It: Using Images

Images

Background images

Putting It All Together

Online Sources for Web Page Building

Chapter 3: Arranging Your Text with Tables and Other Advanced Tags

Creating Tables

Defining rows and columns

Setting table dimensions

Defining cell sizes

Padding and spacing cells

Spanning rows and columns

Playing with alignments

Using Frames and Framesets

Building pages with frames and framesets

Adding borders and margins to frames

Online Sources for Tables and Frames

Chapter 4: Working with WYSIWYG

Creating the Basic Page in CoffeeCup

Setting the page properties

Working with text and links

Adding images

Switching views

Working with Website Projects

Online Sources for WYSIWYG

Chapter 5: Letting the World In: Choosing a Host and Domain Name

Going Live: Choosing a Host

ISPs

Virtual servers

Dedicated servers

Finding your match

Keeping It Cheap: Free Web-Site Providers

Getting Your Own Domain Name

Picking a name

Finding a registrar

Online Sources for Web Hosting and Domain Registration

Part II: Building Better Web Pages

Chapter 6: Using Cascading Style Sheets

Merging CSS and HTML

Selectors, Classes, and IDs

Using classes

Using IDs

Redefining Elements

Contextual Selectors

Going Beyond the Basics

CSS colors

Borders

CSS and WYSIWYG

Layers

Absolute positioning

Relative positioning

Online Sources for CSS

Chapter 7: Adding Images

Getting Graphics — for Free!

Heeding copyrights and credits

Creating your own images

Differentiating among graphics file formats

Putting Your Graphics on a Diet with GIFWorks

Creating a Logo with CoolText.com

Editing Images

Resizing

Cropping

Rotating and flipping

Adjusting color

Using special effects filters

Basic Design with Images

Placing images for maximum effectiveness

Sizing images in HTML

Online Sources for Quality Graphics

Chapter 8: Adding Forms

Getting Input

Typing in text boxes

Using text areas

Choosing radio buttons or check boxes

Setting up SELECT and OPTION

Submitting the form

Processing the Form

Why your ISP often won’t help

Finding a CGI provider

Using remotely hosted CGI scripts

Adding CGI Scripts

Basic techniques

Solving problems

Trying Out Form and Poll Makers

Response-O-Matic

FormSite.com

Online Sources for CGI and Forms

Part III: Adding Frills and Fancy Stuff

Chapter 9: Exploring JavaScript and DHTML

Principles of Programming

Constants and variables

Doing the math

Branches

Loops

Creating JavaScript Functions

Incorporating JavaScripts

Basic techniques

Dealing with problems

The Document Object Model (DOM)

Making Choices with JavaScript Events

Mouseovers and clicks

Keyboard input

Adding Interactive Menus

Making drop-down lists

Making a menu with CoffeeCup

Online Sources for JavaScript and DHTML

Chapter 10: Adding Image-Based Buttons and Image Maps

Creating Buttons

Creating Image Maps

Online Sources for Buttons and Image Maps

Chapter 11: Web Sights and Sounds

Getting Music and Video

Finding music houses

Finding public-domain music and video

Picking a File Format

Compressing Files

Adding Audio and Video Files to Your Site

Adding a Flash music player

Importing YouTube video

Online Sources for Web Audio and Video

Chapter 12: Adding a Blog

Adding Blogger to Your Site

Bloggin’ with WordPress

Adding a post in WordPress

Altering the General Settings

Online Sources for Blogs

Part IV: Making Money

Chapter 13: Attracting an Audience: Publicizing Your Site

Working Keywords into Your Pages

Adding meta tags

Incorporating keywords in the content

Avoiding keyword trickery

Analyzing keywords that other sites are using

Keyword advertising

Submitting to the Search Sites

Doing it yourself

Using submission services

Keeping out of the search sites

Checking Your Search Site Position

Investigating Reciprocal Linking

Finding sites to link to

Joining Web rings

Joining a banner exchange

Online Sources for Getting the Word Out about Your Site

Chapter 14: Designing for Internet Commerce

Learning the Real Secret to Internet Success

Developing the right attitude

Focusing on your business

Getting supplies flowing

Designing for E-Commerce

Adding a Search Function

Using Google Site Search

Getting a free search engine with FreeFind

Dropping in Perl CGI scripts such as Simple Search

Adding a FAQ

Online Sources for Internet Commerce

Chapter 15: Checking Out Online Payment Methods

Checking Out Online Payment Methods

PayPal

Google Checkout

Cash alternatives

Phones, faxes, and snail mail

Getting a Merchant Account

Choosing which acquirers to sign up with

Deciding which cards to take

Signing up

Watching out for fees

Protecting against credit card fraud

Building on a Business Platform

Converting Currencies

Adding the converter to your Web page

Customizing the converter

Online Sources for Merchant Services

Part V: The Part of Tens

Chapter 16: Ten Great Web Sites to Get Advice

Bizy Moms

Cozahost Newsletter

Geek/Talk Forums for Webmasters

grammarNOW!

LivePerson

LawGuru.com

webmaster-talk.com

The Small Business Advisor

Web Developer’s Journal

Website Tips

Chapter 17: Ten Fabulous Tools for E-Commerce

CafePress.com

DMA Privacy Policy Generator

ECommerce Guide

HumanClick

MapQuest

osCommerce

S&H greenpoints

SYSTRAN Translation Software

TRUSTe

WorldPay

Chapter 18: Ten More Great Add-Ins

@watch

Crossword Compiler

Everyone.net

GeoPhrase

VFM Leonardo

localendar

Merriam-Webster Online

SuperStats

Google Friend Connect

theFinancials.com

Glossary

Building a Web Site For Dummies®, 4th Edition

by David A. Crowder

Building a Web Site For Dummies®, 4th Edition

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2010926852

ISBN: 978-0-470-56093-8

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Author

David A. Crowder has authored or coauthored nearly 30 books on subjects ranging from computers to historical mysteries, including popular bestsellers such as Sherlock Holmes For Dummies, Building a Web Site For Dummies and CliffsNotes Getting on the Internet. He was selling hypertext systems back in the days when you had to explain to people what the word meant. He’s been involved in the online community since its inception and is the recipient of several awards for his work, including NetGuide Magazine’s Gold Site Award.

He is the son of a teacher and a college president, and his dedication to spreading knowledge, especially about the computer revolution, goes beyond his writing. He also founded three Internet mailing lists (discussion groups), JavaScript Talk, Java Talk, and Delphi Talk, all of which were sold to Ziff-Davis. One of his most treasured memories is the message he received from an old-timer on one of those lists who said that he had never seen such a free and open exchange of information since the days when computers were built by hobbyists in home workshops.

When he isn’t writing, he spends his time with his wife Angela, wandering through villages in the Andes or frolicking in the Caribbean surf.

Dedication

For Angela. Eres mi sol, nena, eres mi luna.

Author’s Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to Steven Hayes, Christopher Morris, Barry Childs-Helton, and James Russell, my fine editors, who were there for me every step of the way. Sometimes the relationship between writers and editors is smooth as silk, and sometimes it’s tempestuous, but it always results in a better book through the give-and-take of the writing/editing process — and I’m grateful for the critiques and contributions of all the members of the Wiley team. All helped to make this the best book we could put together for you. And they’re just the tip of the iceberg: About a zillion people work their tails off anonymously and behind the scenes at Wiley to bring you the finest books they can possibly produce. My hat is off to all of them, from the top editors to the humblest laborer on the loading dock. Last, but by no means least, I’d like to say how much I appreciate all the hard work done by my literary agent, Robert G. Diforio, without whose help I would be lost in the intricacies of the publishing world.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

Senior Project Editor: Christopher Morris (Previous Edition: Jean Rogers)

Executive Editor: Steven Hayes

Senior Copy Editor: Barry Childs-Helton

Technical Editor: James Russell

Editorial Manager: Kevin Kirschner

Media Development Project Manager: Laura Moss-Hollister

Media Development Assistant Project Manager: Jenny Swisher

Media Development Associate Producers: Angela Denny, Josh Frank, Marilyn Hummel, Shawn Patrick

Editorial Assistant: Amanda Graham

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Katherine Crocker

Layout and Graphics: Claudia Bell, Ashley Chamberlain, Christin Swinford

Proofreaders: Laura Bowman, Lindsay Littrell

Indexer: Steve Rath

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Introduction

Maybe you already have your own Web site and you’re not quite satisfied with it. Or perhaps you’re still in the planning stages and want to know what you can do to make your site as good as it can be. You’ve been to Web sites that have all the bells and whistles, and you wouldn’t be human if you weren’t just a wee bit envious. Well, now you can have it all too. In Building a Web Site For Dummies, 4th Edition, I show you some of the best stuff around, and I tell you just how to go about putting it on your site.

About This Book

This isn’t just another Web design book. It’s special. Really. I set out to write the one book I’d want by my side if I were looking to set up a really fancy Web site and not break the bank doing it. I tracked down and tested zillions of Web-site enhancements and selected the top of the line to share with you. And I’m honestly proud of the results. I’ve authored or coauthored more than 20 books on computers and the Internet, and this one is my hands-down favorite.

It’s full of things you’re sure to love. It’s packed with fun stuff, but it’s got plenty of serious stuff, too, like how to get past the hype and really make money through your Web site. You’ll wonder how in the world you ever got along without having these features on your Web site.

How to Use This Book

Keep this book next to your computer and never lend it to anybody. It’s far too precious for that. Make your friends buy their own copies. If you need to make space on your bookshelf, throw away anything else you own to make room for it. When you travel, take it with you. Hold it in your arms at night and tell it how much you love it.

Each chapter is a stand-alone entity. (Don’t you just love that word?) You don’t have to read the whole thing, and it’s a rare person who will read the book from cover to cover right off the bat. Go ahead — hit the table of contents or the index and jump to the parts you’re most interested in. But don’t forget to explore the rest of the book after you’re done with the parts that excite you most. You won’t regret spending the time — you’ll find wonders in every chapter.

Foolish Assumptions

I assume that you have a favorite Web-page creation program — whether it’s Dreamweaver, plain old Notepad, or the UNIX-based text editor vi — and you know how to use it. So when I say to copy and paste text or save your file, you know what you need to do. Just in case you don’t have a good Web-authoring program, I include sources for some good HTML editors in this book.

Conventions Used in This Book

It’s all organized; I promise. Even though it’s rather plebeian compared with finding free content for your site, lots of people worked very hard to make sure that this book follows some straightforward rules and typographical conventions.

Code listings, of which there are plenty, look like this:

<HTML>

<HEAD>

<SCRIPT>

...

</SCRIPT>

<TITLE>

...

</TITLE>

</HEAD>

...

HTML elements in this book are in uppercase, and their attributes are in lowercase, as in this example:

<INPUT type=”hidden” name=”answer” value=”yes”>

If the value of an attribute is in normal type, you enter it exactly as shown. If it’s in italics, it’s only a placeholder value, and you need to replace it with a real value. In the following example, you replace myownimage with the name of the image file you intend to use:

<IMG src=”myownimage”>

Whenever you see the URL for one of the top sites I’ve tracked down, it appears in a special typeface within the paragraph, like this: www.dummies.com. Or it may appear on a separate line, like this:

www.dummies.com

How This Book Is Organized

This book is divided into six parts. I organized it that way, with a little help from the folks you see in the Acknowledgments. You did read the Acknowledgments, didn’t you? Don’t tell me that you’re the kind of person who reads the Introduction but doesn’t read the Acknowledgments. Please tell me that you didn’t miss the Dedication, too?

Each part has chapters in it. And each chapter has headings and subheadings. All the sections under these headings and subheadings have text that enlightens the heart and soul. Here, take a look.

Part I: Building Your First Web Site

Part I spills the secrets of how to plan a successful site from the ground up. It tosses in a quick refresher course in basic HTML, then goes into more depth with some of the more advanced approaches such as tables and frames. Toss in a look at WYSIWYG site creation and some advice on getting your material on the Net, and you’re ready to transform a bunch of Web pages into a coherent Web site.

Part II: Building Better Web Pages

Part II introduces you to Cascading Style Sheets, and different ways to add images and forms to your site.

Part III: Adding Frills and Fancy Stuff

Part III gives you a ton of ways to make your site work, look, and sound great. This part demystifies JavaScript and DHTML (Dynamic HTML), then it covers the different ways that you add new features like blogs to your Web site and shows you where to get great multimedia.

Part IV: Making Money

Part IV takes a look at making money from your site. It explodes the myths about Internet income and shows you how to really make a profit, how to get a credit card merchant account, and how to work both ends of the affiliates game.

Part V: The Part of Tens

Part V is The Part of Tens. Well, it just wouldn’t be a For Dummies book without The Part of Tens at the end, right? This part comprises three chapters, so you’ve got 30 extra bits here that tell you all sorts of wonderful things, like where to go for Web-site design advice and ways to add value to your site.

Finally, at the end of the book is a glossary of all the tech terms that might otherwise leave you baffled.

Icons Used in This Book

The icons in the margins of this book point out items of special interest. Keep an eye out for them — they’re important.

Psst! Listen, pal, I wouldn’t tell just anybody about this, but here’s a way to make things a bit easier or get a little bit more out of it.

Time to tiptoe on eggshells. Make one false step, and things can get pretty messy.

You don’t really need to know this stuff, but I just like to show off sometimes. Humor me.

Well, of course, it’s all memorable material. But these bits are ones you’ll especially want to keep in mind.

Where to Go from Here

Well, keep turning pages, of course. And use the material to make your own Web site the hottest thing there ever was.

One of the hardest parts about getting this book together was categorizing the material in it. Many times, a Web site add-in could’ve been slotted into a different chapter than the one it ended up in because it had multiple features or attributes. So when you’re visiting any of the sites that I mention in this book, be sure to take a good look around. A site that has a great chat room might also have a fine affiliates program. One that offers a good series of Java applets could have some solid tutorials on Web design. A site that has good information on dedicated servers may have the best e-commerce solution for you. I encourage you to browse up a storm.

Additionally, you can go to this book’s companion Web site, at www.dummies.com/go/buildingawebsite4efd, where you can find links to many of the sites discussed in the book.

Part I

Building Your First Web Site

In this part . . .

I start off by covering all the things you need to know to put together a Web site. Chapter 1 shows you the differences between a random bunch of Web pages and a coherent Web site, while Chapter 2 is a quick refresher course in basic HTML. Chapter 3 goes into some more advanced areas like tables. Chapter 4 shows you how to use a WYSIWYG editor to visually design your pages. Finally, Chapter 5 gives you everything you need to know about different Web-hosting options.

Chapter 1

Planning for Good Site Design

In This Chapter

Determining your site’s purpose

Analyzing the audience

Appealing to visitors

Keeping your site lean

People argue about what the number-one factor in quality Web site design is, and they probably always will. Some say great graphics are the key. Others say worthwhile information is everything. Still others think that ease of use is the most important factor. I’m not so sure that there’s such a thing as a linear ranking for these kinds of things. After all, a good-looking site that doesn’t work well is useless. A site with a combination of good content and lousy graphics is nothing to crow about either. This book shows you how to do it all and how it all fits together to make a Web site that’s actually worth visiting. If you want to get the basics of Web page structure down pat, check out Chapters 2 and 3 on HTML; for the lowdown on graphic design, make sure you spend some time with Chapter 7.

In this chapter, I walk you through the fundamental things you should consider as you create your Web site. And at the end of the chapter, I give you four basic rules for creating Web sites that work. Take ’em with a grain of salt — remember, you’re the ultimate judge.