2.1. Your First Web PageStart up your computer, get on the Internet, and open up your Web browser program, like so:
Tip: Even though AOL offers a built-in browser, you don't have to use it. If you prefer Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, or some other browser, try this: First connect to the Internet using the custom AOL software. Then, once you're on and you hear the cheery voice say "Welcome!", you can open up Internet Explorer, Firefox, or any browser you like to use on top of AOL's browser. The first Web page you see is probably one chosen by Apple, Microsoft, AOL, or whoever provided your browser software. It doesn't matter, because you can easily jump to a new page or change your browser's startup page to be one of your own choosing (Section 2.3.3). No matter what the Web page, you're bound to see some hyperlinks . Hyper-linksor links for shortare typically sprinkled throughout the text of a Web page as words or phrases that stand out against the regular text, because they're a different color , they're underlined , or both. Clicking a link immediately takes you to another Web page containing information about the words in the link you just clicked. Links are what make the Web the Web : They connect pages to other pages, weaving them all together over the Internet. For example, on a movie review page, you may see the lead actor's name as a link. If you click it, your browser takes you to a page containing a biography of the actor and a list of previous film appearances . On portal sites like MSN (Section 2.2), just about every word on the page may be a link to something else. On news sites (Section 5.1) that display a list of headlines, the headlines themselves are usually hyperlinks that take you right to the page containing the text of the story. Pictures (usually little ones), labeled buttons , bars, and icons can be links, too. Clicking one whisks you away to another page or section of the Web site. These graphics are basically tarted-up hyperlinks. Tip: Clicking a photo on a Web page often gives you a larger version of the picture in a new browser windowor takes you to the page containing the story the photo accompanies . 2.1.1. Parts of a Web BrowserNow that you've got a Web page up on your screen, it's a good time to learn how to use the browser's buttons and menus to go where you want to go (and do what you want to do). Figure 2-1 shows a sample. Although the look and design may vary slightly, most Web browsers have similar controls. Figure 2-1. A typical browser, Firefox for Windows in this case, is your dashboard for your Web travels . Type a URL into the address bar to beam your browser to a new site, or click any of the onscreen links to move to other pages within the site you're viewing. Buttons and toolbars at the top of the window also help you navigate and jump to new pages.
With these basic features, your browser can take you all around the Web and back home again with a point, a click, and just a wee bit of typing.
2.1.2. Moving to Another PageOnce you're done looking at your first Web page, it's time to move on to something more interesting. As described below, you have several ways of getting to your next page. 2.1.2.1. By addressLike houses in a city, every Web page has its own address so people can find it. As noted above, Web page addresses have their own official nerd name: Uniform Resource Locators , or URLs. You see URLs displayed on everything from the sides of soda cans to highway billboards. They're recognized as a shorthand way to say, "visit our Web site for more information." To get to a Web page using its address:
Tip: You can also cut and paste URLs into your browser's window to save yourself some typing. 2.1.2.2. By linkAs mentioned in Section 2.1.1, Web pages are usually full of links, either in the form of colored (usually blue), underlined words in a page's text, or clickable buttons, bars, and icons on the page. Headlines in bold or photographs also usually take you to a new page. 2.1.2.3. By buttonThose Back and Forward browser buttons mentioned in Section 2.1.1 can also take you around the Web. Click the Back button to cycle back page by page from all the sites you previously viewed , and click the Forward button to go the other way. You need to have done a bit of surfing already for these buttons to workyour browser needs pages to go back or forward to and neither button works on your first page of the day because you haven't been to any other pages yet. Tip: Keyboard shortcut nuts should note that you can "click" the back button by pressing the Backspace (Delete) key in most browsers. Add the Shift key to go forward again. 2.1.2.4. By historyWeb browsers can remember a list of the sites you've recently visited in the past few days in a place called the browser history , and it's often sorted by the day you visited the page. Click the site or page name in the history file to return to that page. Different browsers put the history menu or button in different places, so you may have to look around for it (see Section 2.3.4.2 for tips on how to add it as a button). In Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, it's a small dropdown menu triangle by the Forward button. Safari has its own History menu, and in Firefox, the history list is in the Go menu. Tip: On most Web browsers for Windows, you can call up your history file by pressing Ctrl+H on the keyboard. Press -Shift-H to get your History with Firefox for the Mac. 2.1.3. Bookmarks: Getting Back to Where You've BeenThe history list can get you back to sites you previously visited, but it remembers only the last few dozen sites. When you find a Web page you might like to visit again, a better way to bookmark it for future visiting is, well, to bookmark it . Thereafter, the next time you want to visit that page, you're spared having to remember http://www.hothollywoodhairstyles.com or whatever; you can just choose the page's name from your Bookmarks or Favorites menu (Figure 2-2). Figure 2-2. Consulting your Bookmarks or Favorites menu lets you select a Web site from the list and pop over there without having to type or remember the site's address, which can conserve valuable brain cells for other information.2.1.3.1. Adding bookmarksTo bookmark a page or site that's currently up on your computer screen, go to the Bookmarks or Favorites menu and choose the relevant command: "Add Bookmark," "Add Page to Favorites," "Bookmark this page," or whatever. Most Windows browsers also let you right-click on a page and choose the add bookmark command from the shortcut menu; in Internet Explorer 7, you can just click the big yellow plus sign (+) at the top of the browser window. Once you start saving a lot of bookmarks, though, the list can get as unwieldy as an old overstuffed paper address book with Post-Its and business cards constantly slipping out. If you want some tips for tidying up and organizing your Bookmarks/Favorites list, stroll over to Section 2.3.4.3. |