Making your own Web Page is not as difficult as it may seem. Many locations are FREE, and provide easy fill-in-the-blanks page creators. These services will help you publish a Web site even if you have no experience in writing HTML (the coding language that is used to create Web pages).

HTML is HyperText Markup Language which is the predominant markup language for web pages. But some word processors will allow you to save as a Web page. And there are easy-to-use web page editors that allow you to create and upload web pages in minutes without technical knowledge.  Also there are templates that allow you to put your words and ideas into a page that is already set up.

A good way to get started is to download some software that will allow you to experiment off-line. For example,  KompoZer is a free and complete web authoring system that combines web file management and easy-to-use WYSIWYG  (what you see is what you get) web page editing. KompoZer is designed to be extremely easy to use, making it ideal for non-technical computer users who want to create an attractive, professional-looking web site without needing to know HTML or web coding.

KompoZer is an open source editor and  the application can call on the W3C HTML validator, which uploads pages to the W3C Markup Validation Service and checks for compliance.

When you come across a page that you find appealing, you can save it to your hard drive to study off-line, and even use it as a template to practice your editing skills. To save, just click FILE and SAVE AS, and choose where you want to put the file. Make a folder ahead of time so when you visit sites offering free graphics and such, you will have a convenient place to save your favorites.  To stay organized, make a sub-folder for each of your new web sites. Be sure to save the URLs, passwords, usernames, images, and other details about pages you create so you can work on then and tell friends how to see them.  However, propriety Web sites have protective code built in and must not be edited and re-published.

 See also

• BlueGriffon (replaces Nvu)
• Comparison of HTML editors
• Free software portal

 External links

• Official KompoZer website
• Official blog of KompoZer's main developer
• Project website on SourceForge
• Development and User Forums
• KompoZer and Nvu User Guide Contributed by Charles Cooke
• Gin Up A Quick Web Page With Kompozer
• KompoZer FAQ
• More about KompoZer

• Kompozer video tutorials
• HTML tutorials for beginners

Building Web pages - HTML Aides and Information

• A Beginner's Guide to HTML
• Search results - tutorials
• Slacker's Guide to Internet Authoring
• NCSA's Beginners Guide to HTML - If you need to learn the Basics of HTML, look no further, just go to this page and learn.
• Website Development Tools - links. 
• Guide to Web style - A very well organized Style guide by Sun Microsystems Inc's Rick Levine to create web pages suited for their task.
• Composing Good HTML - A more advanced exploration of stylistic points of HTML composition
• Midnight Madness - Thinking about building a Web page? This is the place to go for icons, graphics, backgrounds, and more! A great graphics resource, including an Adobe Photoshop tips and tricks section!
• Builder.Com -  offers definitive help and info for just about all aspects of web creation. Builder.com is the site for site creators, new and advanced.
• Cool Central - the Best Of Web Design, Cool Sites, And Hot Links, Cool sites of the Moment, Hour and How to become an information provider on the web.
• Zuberlinks is a powerful resource guide to hundreds of indispensable links for web designers, web producers, webmasters, and web site builders - including design, development.
• How to write HTML files - and The Worldwide Web Handbook - by Peter Flynn. 
• Archive of HTML Translators -  sunsite.org.uk FTP Service, download SWALLOW.DOC
• Buttons, Cubes & Bars          Color Index
• Graphic Element Samples - also  HTML Editor links, prices, etc
• HTML Tables Tutorial
• Add a search engine to your web site today.  It's free!
• Web Developers Journal - Technical, graphical, authoring, resources.
• How To Create High-Impact Documents
• Web Site and HTML Resources -  Web Site Resources - if you are  just starting
• Lissa Explains It All - sections on Tables,  JavaScript and even CCS (cascading style sheets.) 
• Making Your Web Site Work for You
• Nexlook E-Commerce Design's Helpful Links 
• Weekly Guerrilla Marketing Tactics - Archives
• Join Free! PhotoPoint - "Create an Online Photo Album with one click!"
• Web Site Garage provides services for maintaining and improving your Web site. Automate site maintenance checks, optimize your graphics and analyze your traffic.
• W3C 10-minute guide for newcomers to HTMLalso Add a touch of style Using CSS & Advanced
• LEARNING HTML
• sintaxe URL parte 1 rfc 1738
• sintaxe URL partte 2 rfc 1808
• HTML Home Page
• html_help's Home Page
• Help with HTML
• GIFWorks! Free Online GIF eTools
• amazing resources
• Matts script archive
• Webmaster Tools
• Webmonkey
• Graphic Designer's Studio
• eyeball-design
• Macromedia
• Targeted Traffic From Search Engines 
• Top Promotions
• Search Engine Positioning

CGI

Overview of CGI

The Common Gateway Interface

The Common Gateway Interface: FORMS

Build A Web Site; CGI Scripts

HTML & CGI Unleashed

Extending HTTP with CGI

Imagemaps with CGI

Free CGI Applications

How to install CGI scripts - CGI Zone Freeware -other scripts FAQ here

GUI Stuff

• The Homepage for JAVA! - A veritable gold mine of info.
•  Java Programming 101
• Cut 'n' Paste JavaScript
• Cool Java! - this page is an absolute wonder to view.

Lycos WebMonkey - offers searchable  JavaScript Code Library, HTML Cheatsheet, Special Characters, Color Codes, Browser Chart, Unix Guide, Glossary, Domain Registries

• Web Site Announcement and Promotion - provides advice on web site promotion. Includes a section on understanding traffic logs, and a series of forums on popular search engines and directory services
  
• GRAPHICS - tutorials, FAQ, Digital Cameras, Scanners and software.
• Whisper 32 - is a nice freeware program that remembers all your passwords and anything else you want to keep private or password protected. It is easy to use. Notice where it saves the master file and back it up, along with your address book, e-mail and other important files.
• Domain Names and hot to register your own name
• HTML-Haven Discussion Group -  Novice to experts welcome! Free help for HTML, web design, all webpage/website-related problems including browser compatibility/incompatibility, email clients, web graphics, promotion, search engines, online classes, etc. If it's related to HTML and the web, we  support it.
• Who is linking to your page? - find out for free
• Moving - If you don't use FTP, you will need to remove your previous site hosting service's ad banner code from your HTML files. No matter which method you choose, you may need to adjust your links and image tags to properly reference your new address. We recommend you make all changes to your HTML files before you upload the pages. To move files you can use FTP. IF you want to take the plunge and learn FTP (you'll be glad you did!), FTPplanet has created a great tutorial for Tripod members. Tripod also has a Guide to Moving Your Site that will give you tips on transferring files. 

There are quite a few free sites, and a websearch is sure to find others, or check out
Free Webpage Provider Review.

Here is a summary of a few of the popular ones. The following information will be out of date from time to time due to changes made by the hosting services.

Tripod
Offers 15megs free space. Your pages will have popup banner, no email address, direct ftp upload, no spaces in filenames, underscores ok, online edit/file manager, allows directory listing, document.last.modified always shows 1 Jan, 1970, Local file links have a tripod download page auto created by tripod, use direct url to files starting with http://209.185.176.10/ if you want to allow direct downloads.

FortuneCity
Offers 100meg, no pop-up banners, email address, direct ftp upload, 1meg max file size, won't list directories. Local file links now have a download page created by FortuneCity.

Angelfire
5meg, no popup, no email, anoying way of upping page via ftp - use web shell, only 1 main (root) dir & images dir, pages must be html not htm, no spaces or underscores in filenames, online edit/file manager, document.last.modified now always shows 1 Jan, 1970. Local file links to zip & exe's have an angelfire download page auto created by angelfire. Soon/maybe - new javascript & cgi, direct ftp upload, embeded or popup ads, multiple sub-dirs.

Geocities/Yahoo
15meg, popup, email address, direct ftp upload, watermark auto added to each page. Their
Filemanager Help Page explains a lot about managing webpages in general.

Webjump
25meg, no pop-up banners, forced framed banner along the top, no email address, direct ftp upload

Nettaxi
Puts a spoiler image in between downloading a zip file.

Xoom
Offers unlimited space, but don't push your luck too much, no popup, forced framed banner along the top, email address, direct ftp upload.

Freetailer
Build a FREE online store!  - Sell Stuff Online. Set up your own e-store FREE! 

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If all this seems a bit intimidating, here are a couple of the easiest sites where all you have to do is click a few options and get your own web page created for you:

• Express pages -  Get your own free web page up and running in just a few minutes.
• Ememories - This free page by Kodak allows you to eaily share photos and snapshots.

If you don't publicize your new Web site, no one will know it exists. But if you use a free website provider and/or software designed to announce your site to the search engines, you will be asked if you don't also want some free e-mail. Checking  yes, even to a single category means you will get a lot of  junk mail (spam) forever after. Almost anything on the internet that is "free" can survive only by selling something such as your email address.

After creating one of these simple pages, you might save it in a folder, then edit it with an editor like Netscape COMPOSER, the upload to another site with more features. Or, you might want to look at other Web Page Editors. The Photoshop Club offers the following review.

Create Web pages that contain Cascading Style Sheets, JavaScript, and frames, with these authoring tools.

1. AceHTML: Have you ever tried to create frames in a Web page, only to get lost because you couldn't decipher the code and determine where one frame ends and another begins? This free HTML editor can help you create frames that are well organized and easy to edit. I used one of the program's templates to get started (you can also create a frame from scratch), and I made a Web page containing three frames. Each frame had different target attributes. A frame properties dialog box simplified the selection of HTML source files and frame names; I liked that feature because it allowed me to keep track of the target areas and their corresponding windows. Predefined frame alignments helped me select horizontal and vertical formats, whether the frame should have a border, and automatic scrolling. This robust program also comes with ready-to-use JavaScripts, as well as predefined DHTML scripts that you can easily insert into a document.

2. Arachnophilia: Filling out a form on the Web should be as simple as filling out a paper form. The process should be quick, pain-free, and completed in a couple of minutes. The form generator in this editor allows you to make Web forms that are well organized and supported by different browsers. A customizable toolbar contains all the fields you need to create forms with pulldown menus, radio buttons, or check boxes. You can even create a password box that displays asterisks as information is typed in. You also get a macro feature that you can use to create shortcut keys for repetitious tasks, such as generating tables. An instant view window shows you what the Web page will look like as you're creating it. Generating tables, bulleted lists, or numbered lists happens automatically with a simple click of an icon. And the program's Analyze HTML feature checks your Web page for syntax errors and nested tags.

3. HomeSite: In a well-appointed room designed by Martha Stewart or Laura Ashley, everything matches. Why not do the same for your Web pages? If you want to give your Web pages a common look without having to define the properties of every individual word or element, the Cascading Style Sheets feature of this program is for you. Using the TopStyle LiteStyle Editor that comes bundled with this program, I took two pages with basic HTML code and substituted style properties and values for the HTML. A pulldown menu simplified the process of setting rules for the page by offering properties that applied to each selector (HTML tag). For example, I created a uniform look for the headers in the documents by selecting, from the pulldown menu, properties for the font, including the type (Arial), the style (italic), and the color (blue). You can also make global changes to a site. In addition, a color-coding system makes identifying various style elements easier. Wizards for frames, tables DHTML, JavaScript, and RealNetworks streaming technology are available, as are project management and quality control features. DHTML, SMIL, Cascading Style Sheets, JavaScript, ASP, JSP, Perl, CFML, VBScript, and XML are all supported. The trial version is good for 30 days.

4. 1st Page 2000: Have you ever come across a Web site that had special effects you really liked, and wanted to reproduce on your own Web page? If so, this program may be worth checking out. It includes 450 JavaScripts that you can use in your document. Each script falls within a category (such as Alerts, E-Mail Forms, Cookies, and Enhancements) and performs various functions, such as initiating e-mail messages with the subject line already filled in, creating pop-up windows, generating cursors that blink, or making text scroll. Using a function called Instantz Scripts, I inserted several scripts into my Web page without having to rewrite a single line of code or perform special configurations. I also viewed the script through an internal preview option.

This freeware program offers four levels: Easy, Expert, Hardcore, and Normal. However, beginners should take a look at the Tips & Tricks section before getting started. The editor highlights tags in color and lets you insert tags from lists. The program works with existing HTML files, or you can use it to start new ones that support Cascading Style Sheets and Java applets. Other features include automatic image resizing, rollover-button creation, and code checking through the Tidy HTML feature, which you can also use to convert HTML to XML.

5. Dreamweaver: If you strive to keep your Web site up-to-date, you know that managing your files can be a complicated--if not downright confusing--task. One false move while transferring a file from a local disk to a remote server can spell disaster. The site management feature in this program simplifies such issues by synchronizing file transfers and keeping copies of files in both directories. After I created local and remote locations through the program's step-by-step tutorial, I uploaded several files through FTP to the remote site in 10 minutes. But what I liked most was the way the program mimicked on the remote server the changes I made on the local site. After making several noticeable changes, I used the Site Synchronize command to transfer the latest versions of the files to the remote site. A dialog box prompted me to verify which files I wanted to transfer before it initiated the command. It also had options for deleting files that had no corresponding origins.

If you're working with others on a project, the check-in/check-out system keeps track of when a file is checked out and puts a color check mark next to the file icon with the team member's name. Team members can also add Design Notes to any file so that other members can get status reports. Other features include a QuickTag editor that gives users on-the-spot access to HTML code. Inline image maps allow you to add hotspots and change links and targets. You pay a hefty price for this top-of-the-line product ($299), but you can use a trial version of it for 30 days.