The Internet is the wave of the future. It’s time to reserve a spot in the cyber world with a slice of virtual property. That property is called a website, but in order to create the perfect site, a person needs to know some of the basics first.
What is HTML?
HTML is the computer language devised to create websites. Once these websites are created, they can then be viewed by millions of people who frequent the Internet every day. This language is pretty simple to learn, but as with everything, it should start with the basics.
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. Hypertext is the method by which you move around on the web – when you click on a hypertext link that takes you to another page. Markup is what HTML tags can do with any text that is put inside them, for instance bold-faced text or underlined text.
How Does HTML Work?
HTML is similar to other programming languages. It starts by typing in codes in a text file. These codes become the tags. Once the coded page is completed, it is saved as an html file and then uploaded to a server where viewers can see it through their web browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox). The browser reads the coded files and translates them into readable formats.
Webmaster Glossary
ASP – Active Server Page. This is a scripting language developed by Microsoft that allows for dynamic page generation.
AVI – Audio/Video Interleaved. This is a compression technique used for Internet video with sound.
Bandwidth – The speed that information can travel. It’s measured in kilobytes per second.
BMP – BitMaP. A file extension for saving bitmap images. A bitmap image is made up of lots of rows or dots.
Browser – The program used to view web pages, such as Internet Explorer, Netscape, or Mozilla Firefox.
CGI – Common Gateway Interface. This is one way of making pages dynamic. CGI is used for creating interactive websites, such as forms or guestbooks.
CSS – Cascading Style Sheets. A way to gain better control over the way the page is going to look.
FTP – File Transfer Protocol. This is used to transfer pages to another computer or server. An FTP is what is needed in order to upload page files online.
GIF – Graphics Interchange Format. The most popular form of graphic image, developed by CompuServe.
JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group. Another common form of graphic image. This type is best suited for photographs.
URL – Uniform Resource Locator. The address of a web page, such as http://www.yahoo.com .
WWW – World Wide Web. The vast archive of web pages that are connected in a network called the Internet.
The Internet is evolving and so are the programs and scripts used to display the various web pages. There are software programs available to make the webmaster’s job easier. All sites must conform to the W3C rules.
This is where the content for the site will appear. Anything appearing between the body tags is what visitors will see in their browsers.