Introductory Web Page Design:

 Table of Contents and Content Introduction

Introduction

This is a place for people, like me, who need a bit of context to help get the most out of available resources. It consists of notes which organize links to experts, tutorials, programs, and other design resources into a coherent learning program. Structure and content build upon the self-help notes and resource links I began gathering during CEP 411. (CEP 411 is the UNR college class that introduced me to web page design.)  I hope these notes help you as much as they do me.

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These web design notes were originally posted as a course requirement of CEP 411. Mark Knudson, who taught this class, believed that shared experience leverages learning. One of the ways he reinforced the philosophy was to require every student to reserve an area of their required design projects to post a "portfolio of resources." "Portfolios" had to list links to sites a student was using (or considering using) to build content or develop new design skills.

Context notes were not required for these "portfolios", but, in the absence of context notes, the specific value of each link tends to fade. (I.e., "Why did I save that link last year?") In order to reduce this effect, I ended up combining my lecture notes with my link notes. It helped me remember the options, limitations, tools, and intentions that shaped this web site's structure.

Class ended in December of 1998, but content in this Web Page Designs area of Tom's Library continues to grow. New notes and links are occasionally added to expand upon my original set of resource links. Some of the new material and links addresses address suggestions or questions by visitors; other additions insure that, if I need to refresh or expand upon current skills, I remember "what's out there".  Together, these notes continued to grow in their original role: they reinforce and leverage my ongoing learning experience.

(For more background on how this material applied to this web site's design, check out the feature design highlights page. This page lists the design features required by the original project and links them to specific features within this site. Certain features have been discontinued; the page has been updated to explain feature deletions.)

Table of Contents

If you think the area will help your learning experience, use the following links to browse my web page design notes:
  1. Getting Started
    1. Getting web space
      1. Use the free space of your Internet Service Provider (ISP comparison criteria)
      2. How much should an ISP cost?
      3. Alternative: free web page hosting
    2. Your first web page: simple terms (What is HTML?), simple page editors, naming conventions, tips, and links to basic design tutorials
    3. Getting it published: The process is free; it really isn't a web page until its posted for viewing.
  2. Learning and Improving
    1. General HTML resources link list
    2. Moving into custom page design skills
    3. HTML manual coding
      1. HTML Frames
      2. HTML style sheets
    4. Graphics design and tools for HTML
      1. Layout tips and optimization
      2. Image sources available for free download and use
      3. Optimizing image downloads (download speed vs. viewing quality)
      4. Image mapping (linking web pages and explanations to details within page images)
      5. Making animated GIF images
    5. JAVA: making your site interactive
      1. JavaScript (simple, easy to learn without programing background.)
      2. Java programing (The real thing; power that isn't dependent on browsers to work.)
  3. Getting visitors *
    1. Do you want more visitors?
    2. Final Design Tips
    3. How does a search engine work?
    4. Improving site impact (adding meta tags)
    5. Listing your site on the internet
    6. Multilingual, Anyone?
      1. Tools for semi automating the translation process
      2. Finding human translators to translate your pages for you
      3. Help for understanding multilingual changes in HTML coding in non-English languages
    7. Additional Notes
*  Note: At this time, this web site focuses on learning design; the tools I learned and listed for actively soliciting visitors are not used by this site. I do need enough visitors to test my designs (feedback). However, SMA visitors, plus feedback from family and friends, provides enough of that. Any search engine listing at this time is accidental.

Site Errors

As I've noted on my opening web page, use anything I say at your own risk. There is much more out there than I'll ever know; these notes just sort out a few resources for beginners (like me). Think of them as a set of annotated links to real experts, rather than a complete set of web design instructions. If my notes don't make sense to you, start first by checking the experts in the links embedded in the notes. Then, I'd appreciate it if you'd drop me a note about what was confusing or wrong. The net is a great place for people to learn from each other.

Site Updates

 Learning doesn't stop when class ends; these notes are not static. I occasionally add new information or readjust site structure.  E-mail me if you feel I missed something or should add another link to make these self-help notes more useful.

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If your view of this page does not have a set of button controls on the left side of this page, click here to call the opening page of the normal frameset site structure. If you would rather browse this site without frames, click here to open a site map view in a new window. Most features can be reached through the site map.
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