Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Own Website
Building a webpage is easy to do, even if you don't have an expensive program to help you. A text editor is a simple solution for creating an HTML document and a good way to learn. However, there are other options for creating webpages. Many people use blogs as their primary website; they find it easy to set up and maintain. Either way, you will need to choose a domain name and find a hosting service to make your page available for the World Wide Web before you can post your newly created page.
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Instructions
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Creating a Webpage With a Text Editor
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1
Open a text editor, such as Notepad. Create the elements needed for your webpage by typing the code below into your text editor:
<html>
<head>
<title>My First Webpage</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Heading</h1>
<p>Use sentences to form a paragraph.</p>
<a href="http://www.example.com">This is a link to an example page on the Web.</a>
<p>Below is a picture.</p>
<img src="a_picture.jpg" width="250" height="200" />
</body>
</html>
Replace the word "Heading" with the title of the webpage. Replace the words "Use sentences to form a paragraph" with the text of your choosing. Repeat the <p> and </p> tags around each paragraph.
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2
Add style to your page by inserting it into the HTML document. This is accomplished by using the "style" attribute. If you want to add color and change the font of your text, add style="font-family:sans-serif; color:green; font-size:30px" to the <p> tag. You can also add a different background color by adding style="background-color:gray" to the <body> tag. Your HTML code should now look like this:
<html>
<body style="background-color:gray">
<h1>Heading</h1>
<p style="font-family:sans-serif; color:green; font-size:30px;">Use sentences to form a paragraph.</p>
<a href="http://www.example.com">This is a link to an example page on the Web.</a>
<p>Below is a picture.</p>
<img src="a_picture.jpg" width="250" height="200" />
</body>
</html>
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3
Save your HTML document. Use an ".html" or ".htm" extension when saving the file (e.g., "example.htm"). One extension is not better than the other; they are the same for all intents and purposes.
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4
Load the files for your website (your HTML document and images) to your server. This is generally not difficult. Just find the section of your provider's website that says something like "file manager" and then use the application provided to upload your files.
Create a Blog With Your Own Domain Name
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5
Download and install Wordpress from Wordpress.org. You can use other blogs, such as Blogger, but Wordpress has great functionality and Plug-in support and is easy to implement into your webpage.
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6
Create a MySQL database. Your hosting service should make this easy; if you are using 1and1 Web hosting you can simply click "New Database" and fill out the information they ask for. You should be taken to a page that describes your newly created database information.
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7
Find the Wordpress folder that you previously installed and find "wp-config-sample.php." Rename this file to "wp-config.php" and open the file with your text editor. Fill in the information with your previously created database information page.
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8
Download an FTP program such as FileZilla (available for free). An FTP program is needed to transfer your files from your computer to your Web host. Download and install FileZilla and then go back to your hosting website. Alternatively, Microsoft Windows provides "My Network Places," an FTP tool for websites.
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9
Transfer your Wordpress folder to your host by clicking FTP in your host's website. Open FileZilla or go to "My Network Places," fill in the information from your database information page, save and connect.
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10
Drag the Wordpress folder from the "computer" side of the partition to the "website" side of the partition in your FTP program.
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11
Open your preferred Web browser and visit your site to start blogging or customize your template.
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Tips & Warnings
Your hosting provider may provide a website building tool, or look into WYSIWYG programs if you are not interested in learning HTML.
You may want to use your blog template as your sole website. In that case, skip the Make Your Webpage section and proceed to the Hosting section.
Another option is to use a blog builder provided by your Web hosting provider, if available.
Check your website with different browsers, as not all browsers display information the same way.
The picture in this example needs to be saved in the same directory as your Web page file (example.htm) to display properly.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit computer image by fotografiche.eu from Fotolia.com
