Creating Web Sites: The Missing Manual

Description

Think you have to be a technical wizard to build a great web site? Think again. For anyone who wants to create an engaging web site--for either personal or business purposes--Creating Web Sites: The Missing Manual demystifies the process and provides tools, techniques, and expert guidance for developing a professional and reliable web presence.

Like every Missing Manual, you can count on Creating Web Sites: The Missing Manual to be entertaining and insightful and complete with all the vital information, clear-headed advice, and detailed instructions you need to master the task at hand. Author Matthew MacDonald teaches you the fundamentals of creating, maintaining, and updating an effective, attractive, and visitor-friendly web site--from scratch or from an existing site that's a little too simple or flat for your liking.

Creating Web Sites: The Missing Manual doesn't only cover how to create a well-designed, appealing, smart web site that is thoroughly up to date and brimming with the latest features. It also covers why it's worth the effort by explaining the rationale for creating a site in the first place and discussing what makes a given web site particularly aesthetic, dynamic, and powerful. It further helps you determine your needs and goals and make well informed design and content decisions.

Creating Web Sites: The Missing Manual includes a basic primer on HTML, working with JavaScript, and incorporating services like Paypal's shopping cart, Amazon's associate program, and Google AdSense and AdWords. It delivers advanced tricks for formatting, graphics, audio and video, as well as Flash animation and dynamic content. And you'll learn how to identify and connect with your site's audience through forms, forums, meta tags, and search engines.

This isn't just another dry, uninspired book on how to create a web site. Creating Web Sites: The Missing Manual is a witty and intelligent guide for all of you who are ready to make your ideas and vision a web reality.

 

Table Of Contents

The Missing Credits

Introduction

     What You Need to Get Started

     About This Book

Part One: Welcome to the Web

Chapter 1. Preparing for the Web

     Introducing the World Wide Web

     Planning a Web Site

     The Ingredients of a Web Site

Chapter 2. Creating Your First Page

     The Anatomy of a Web Page

     The HTML Tag

     The HTML Document

     XHTML

Chapter 3. Putting Your Page on the Web

     How Web Hosting Works

     Domain Names

     Getting Web Space

     Transferring Files

Chapter 4. Power Tools

     Choosing Your Tools

     Working with Your HTML Editor

 

Part Two: Building Better Web Pages

Chapter 5. HTML Text Tags

     Understanding Text and the Web

     Basic Text Tags

     HTML Tags for Lists

     Inline Formatting

Chapter 6. Style Sheets

     Style Sheet Basics

     Colors

     Fonts

     Text Alignment and Spacing

     Borders

     Class Selectors

Chapter 7. Adding Graphics

     Understanding Images

     Images and Styles

     Techniques with Graphics

     Finding Free Art

Chapter 8. Linking Pages

     Understanding the Anchor

     Image Links and Image Maps

     Adding Bookmarks

     When Good Links Go Bad

Chapter 9. Page Layout Tools: Tables and Styles

     HTML Tables

     Style-Based Layout

Chapter 10. Frames

     The Problem with Repeating Content

     Frame Basics

     Building Better Frames Pages

 

Part Three: Connecting with Your Audience

Chapter 11. Attracting Visitors

     Your Web Site Promotion Plan

     Spreading the Word

     Adding Meta Tags

     Directories and Search Engines

     Tracking Visitors

Chapter 12. Letting Visitors Talk to You (and Each Other)

     Transforming a Site into a Community

     Helping Visitors Email You

     Adding Forums and Groups to Your Site

Chapter 13. Making Money with Your Site

     Money Making the Web Way

     Google AdSense

     Amazon Associates

     PayPal Merchant Tools

 

Part Four: Web Site Frills

Chapter 14. JavaScript and DHTML: Adding Interactivity

     Understanding JavaScript

     JavaScript 101

     Dynamic HTML

     Scripts on the Web

Chapter 15. Fancy Buttons and Menus

     Creating Fancy Buttons

     Creating Fancy Menus

Chapter 16. Audio and Video

     Understanding Multimedia

     Background Music

     Video Clips

     Animations

 

Part Five: Blogs

Chapter 17. Blogs

     Understanding Blogs

     Getting Started with Blogger

 

Part Six: Appendixes

Appendix A. HTML Quick Reference

Appendix B. Useful Web Sites

Index