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Web Site
Design
Web site design is a daunting process at first, but
with time and perseverence is actually a fairly simple process that
can be rewarding both financially and artistically. Yes, you can
learn what you need to know about Web site design from home. No, you
don't need to be an expert. Yes, the more you practice Web site
design the better you'll get at it. No, you don't need to spend a
fortune to do so. In fact, you don't really need to spend anything.
The nature of the internet is that information is free,
so that with some time and effort you can find most anything you
need without paying a cent. Well, without paying a cent beyond what
you provider charges you for your monthly bill. I've searched, but I
have yet to find a way around that particular outlay.
Anyway, if you're interested in web site design, you
should begin by searching for information on what, exactly, a web
site is. What is the mechanics behind the software - how does the
technology work, what does "designing" it actually do, and where do
you start?
For me, the beginning
point for web site design was learning HTML, or Hyper Text Markup
Language. HTML is the coding that's used in ninety nine percent of
the world's web sites for designing and giving them functionality.
In other words, HTML is what you use to talk to your computer, and
eventually the server that hosts your web site, so that it
understands the page you're designing and what it's supposed to do.
It's funny that something as momentous and important as
HTML is so new. It was invented, more or less, by scientisst Tim
Berners-Lee in 1990. That's only twenty years ago! Yet HTML is now
as ubiquitous as the automobile or television. Every time you go on
the world wide web, you're viewing web sites that use HTML.
From its origins in 1990 it took very, very few years to
become the default hyper text protocol for the entire online
universe. By 1994 or so it was clear that the world wide web was a
communication phenomenon on the level of the telephone or radio, and
within maybe two years after that folks who pioneered web site
design were multi-millionaires. And it's still a growth industry
today.
HTML finally became
standardized in May of 2000. Though there are always tweeks being
made by the technologically advanced among us, the basic principles
have stayed roughly as they are since then. If you're interested in
web site design you don't have to master those principles, but it's
best to know what they are and why they exist in the first place. |
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