introduction

The Visual QuickProject Guide that you hold in your hands o.ers a unique way to learn about new technologies. Instead of drowning you in theoretical possibilities and lengthy explanations, this Visual QuickProject Guide uses big, color illustrations coupled with clear, concise step-by-step instructions to show you how to complete one specific project in a matter of hours.

Our project in this book is to create a Web log, or blog, using Google's online Blogger software. A blog is a clever combination of database and Web site that lets you focus on writing while a computer program, in this case Blogger, dates and archives your entries and then automatically generates a Web site that not onlycontains what you've written that day, but also contains links to all your previous entries. The blog you'll create in this book is a simple, online journal, complete with photographs and links. Because the project covers all the basic techniques, you'll be able to use what you learn to create all sorts of other blogsperhaps to begin an online newspaper, showcase a frequently updated photography portfolio, or work on a team project using a blog both as a communication tool and also for archiving the team's progress.

Why use Blogger to create your blog? Blogger is one of the most popular online blogging tools, works with any modern browser, and is free, well designed, and easy to use. The Web pages it generates follow current standards for both XHTML and CSS. And it o.ers beautiful, professionally-designed templates for formatting your blog. In addition, Blogger o.ers free blog hosting in exchange for a minimal bit of advertising. It's a great choice.