About the Outline

About the Outline

This book is divided into five parts , each containing several chapters.

• Part 1: Welcome to the Web . In this part, you'll start planning the Web site you want (Chapter 1). You'll learn the basics behind HTML, the language of the Web (Chapter 2); and you'll put your page online with a reputable hosting company (Chapter 3). Finally, you'll look at how you can simplify your life by using Web page editing software (Chapter 4).

• Part 2: Building Better Web Pages . This part shows you how to use Web page essentials like pictures, links, and tables. You'll learn your way around the CSS standard, which lets you add fancy colors, fonts, and borders (Chapter 6). You'll master slick layouts (Chapter 9 and Chapter 10), and create an entire Web site with linked pages.

• Part 3: Connecting with Your Audience . The third part explains how to get your site noticed in popular Web search engines like Google (Chapter 11), and how to foster a community by making your site more interactive with features like discussion boards (Chapter 12). Finally, you'll consider how you can get on the path to Web riches by showing ads or selling your own products (Chapter 13).

• Part 4: Web Site Frills . Now that you can create a professional, working Web site, why not deck it out with fancy features like glowing buttons and pop-out menus ? You won't learn the brain-bending details of how to become a JavaScript programmer, but you will learn enough to find great scripts online, and use them in your own creations.

• Part 5: Blogs . In this short part, you'll take a look at blogs (or Web logs) and the free software that helps you create them. (Blogs are a type of Web page that consists of regular, dated postingslike an online journal. In recent years , blogs have become a self-publishing phenomenon and a great place to rant, rave, and spill company gossip.)

At the end of this book, you'll find two appendixes. The first gives you a quick reference for HTML that explains its tags and points you to more detailed discussions in the various chapters of this book.

The second appendix lists a pile of useful Web links culled from the chapters in this book, which can help you learn more, get free stuff (like pictures, Web software, and handy examples), and sign up for services (like Google's ad program and PayPal's shopping cart tools). Don't worryyou don't need to type this information in by hand. It's all waiting for you on the "Missing CD" page at www.missingmanuals.com.