Setting up a web page

COMP1260 > Setting up a Web Page(Tutorial)

Introduction EDIT SUMMARY - Kyle Measner Reworded last sentence of Introduction Added single quotes around 'Create an account now' in the Make an Account section Many of you already have a Facebook account. But what if you wanted to expand your presence on the web? Where should you start? Starting a website and creating a blog are two excellent ways to grow your web presence. There are many different ways to start your own site, but for this tutorial I'll be describing how to use Google Sites to make a free site.

...by students Bad Websites Making your own site hasn't always been as easy or as "idiot proof" as it is now. Back in the 90's they was Geocities. It was a free web hosting service for anyone to use. It's too bad we can't go back and look at those sites, since Geocities has been shutdown, but some of those sites were just awful. A bunch of sites were simply unreadable cause of the colours they used. Like dark red text on black backgrounds. Terrible. I remember some sites would have glitter or words that would follow the pointer around the screen. Now it's almost hard to make a bad website. The templates on Google start you off in a great direction.

Creating a Web Site (Using Google Sites)

Google Sites is a free tool provided by Google to let anyone start a fully functional site for free.

Make an Account

First, you must create a Google Account.

1. Go to Google and click on "Sign In" in the top right corner.
2. Click on the 'Create an account now' link.
3. Fill out all the information.

Setting up Your Page

Go to Google Sites, log in and click Create new Site. Google has many templates to choose from. All of the templates are editable and extremely flexible. Giving your site a theme adds personality and makes your site unique. Give your site a name and a URL. Generally it's a good idea to leave the URL the same as your site name for consistency and it'll be easier for people to search for your page. Finish off by clicking Create Site.

Adding and Editing Content

Content is what drives the Internet. It's the reason why people visit your site. So adding high quality content to your site is very important.

To add content to an existing page enter the Edit Mode by clicking on the Edit Page button on the top left corner. Now any content on your page can be changed. You can now add sidebars, widgets, tables, pictures and more to any page on your site. Every addition has properties that can be altered to suit your needs. Many come with tips to assist you in getting started.

Once you have all the functionality and look of your website you'll need to add your news, opinion or whatever you want to your site. Remember that content is the key to success on the Internet. It's what makes your site worth visiting over other sites. Keep it all fresh, unique, up to date and consistent.

Starting a Blog

They could be on your site.

A blog is another popular way to get a stronger personal web presence. Blog is short for web log. It's basically a online journal for others to read. They are based around personal lives of the author or specific topics. A blog is made up of regular entries describing events or opinions. Some blogs have multiple authors and some are created by groups or companies.

Recently smaller news sites have started to adopt the blog format for reporting. The idea is that a blog entry is a lot easier and faster to post and update than an actual article. These sites need to be constantly updated to stay ahead of other news sources. Even the University of Manitoba has a news blog

A site, such as PostSecret, is a type of blog known as a multimedia blog. Every entry is a picture. Most personal blogs aren't like this but the concept is similar. Adding movies, images etc. to your blog is great.

Any site can function as a blog but it's generally easier to use one of the many free blog services online such as Blogger or Blog.com. These sites provide easy ways to get your blog started and organized. They do all the heavy lifting for you, like crating an RSS feed so people can see every update instantly.

Summary

Getting started on the Internet is extremely simple. But creating a truly compelling site is a lot of work and takes a long time to produce. With the tools discussed here, you'll be headed in the right direction for starting your own web site. The Web is full of options for any price and expertise.

References

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