Chapter 24: Browsing the World Wide Web with Internet Explorer

Creating Your Own Web Pages

Previous versions of Windows came with a Web page editor called FrontPage Express. Windows XP doesn't come with a Web page editor, although you can create Web pages using Notepad if you learn all the HTML codes to include. If you have Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect, you can save documents as Web pages, a much easier way to make pages. Web pages created by word processors tend to be huge, including an enormous number of unnecessary codes., but they work for quick-and-dirty pages that you plan to replace later. Better options are these:

• CoffeeCup HTML Editor This program is an easy way for beginners to create their first sites. Information is available from CoffeeCup Software at http://www.coffeecup.com. You can also download the CoffeeCup Free HTML editor from the site.
• HomeSite This program is a full-featured, reasonably priced Web page editor from Allaire Software at http://www.allaire.com/Products/HomeSite. You can download an evaluation version.
• Netscape Composer Netscape Communicator (Netscape's suite of programs that includes Netscape Navigator) comes with a Web page editor called Netscape Composer. See http://home.netscape.com.

To make your Web pages and picture files available on the Web, you must upload files from your computer to a Web server. You can use Web Folders to drag-and-drop Web pages to your Web server, or you can use the Windows FTP program for uploading, but it uses arcane commands. Netscape Composer has a Publish button on its toolbar that makes uploading files easy. Windows XP comes with a Web Publishing Wizard, another way to upload files to a Web server.

To run the Web Publishing Wizard, put the files that you want on the Web into one folder, and click Publish This Folder To The Web from the Task pane. The Wizard lets you select the files from the current folder to include, select a Web server from one of the Web hosting companies which Microsoft has decided to offer (including MSN), and (for pictures) choose whether to resize the pictures to reduce their file size (see Figure 24-7). When the Wizard is finished, it displays the URL of the page you have just created. Save this URL (using cut-and-paste to a Notepad file or other file) so that you can tell other people to visit your page.

Figure 24-7: The Web Publishing Wizard

Xdrive, a widely-used Web hosting company, is one of the Web servers that the Wizard offers. Note that its Web sites are no longer free. Unfortunately, your ISP, which probably offers free Web space as part of your Internet account, might not be one of the Wizard's options.