Your site is planned and the files are ready. Now we come to the point when you need to make choices in what way to go about the actual building. Browsers (like Internet Explorer) display a website based on the code in which the website is written. This code is called the HTML code, and it is the basic building tool of websites. You can either choose to learn the basics of HTML and build your site by handwriting the code, or you can use an HTML editor, such as FrontPage Express.
If you decide to learn the basic elements of HTML, you have the advantage of not having to learn another program simply to create HTML. Another advantage is that the code you write will be “cleaner” and easier for the various internet browsers to read. Plus, it does not take very much time to learn the basics of HTML. Enter “HTML help for beginners” or “HTML help for kids” in a search engine and check the various tutorial sites that come up. Most HTML help sites geared for beginners and/or kids are simple and offer many examples. Remember, you don’t need to know HTML very thoroughly to create a simple site. Just the basic commands of beginning and ending a HTML page, formatting text and inserting photos are needed for your first website.
If you decide that learning HTML by hand isn’t for you right now, you can use an HTML editor. One of the most widely used ones is Microsoft FrontPage. If the full version costs too much for your budget, you can always use the free version, Microsoft FrontPage Express. If you can’t find it already installed in your computer, write the name in a search engine, and you’ll find links to download it. These editors work with the so-called WYSIWYG method. WYSIWYG means “What You See is What You Get”, and it implies that you work seeing the actual files. Usually you have a blank page where you drag and drop your photos and paste your text without even noticing the HTML code. The program creates it for you automatically on the background. The downside of HTML editors is their possibly high learning curve, and the code itself. HTML editors are notorious for messing the code and adding useless bits and pieces here and there. While this usually won’t affect how your page looks viewed with Internet Explorer, it may slow down the page loading (as the browser needs to read all the useless code as well) and perhaps cause viewing problems in some browsers.