Dick Oliver has brought his unique and ful writing style to a several web and graphics books from Sams Publishing, including Web Page Wizardry and Tricks of the Graphics Gurus. He is the president of Cedar Software and publishes the online newsletter, Nonlinear Nonsense.
Michael Morrison is a writer, software developer, toy inventor, and author of a variety of Sams Publishing books, including the previous edition of this book, Sams Teach Yourself HTML and XHTML in 24 Hours and the second and third editions of Sams Teach Yourself XML in 24 Hours.
IntroductionIntroduction
Put Your HTML Page Online Today
In 2005, it is estimated that approximately 900 million people will have accessed the Internet, including 188 million in the U.S. alone. Throw in 58 million Japanese users, 45 million German users, 35 million British users, 18 million Russian users, and 17 million Canadians, and you can see the meaning of the word "world" in "World Wide Web." Along with all of these people who use the Internet, there are also quite a few people cranking out new content for the Web. Although accurate measurements of the total number of web pages are difficult to come by, the popular search engine Google reports having indexed more than 4 billion web pages as of late 2005.
In the next 24 hours, tens of thousands of new web pages will be posted in publicly accessible areas of the Internet. At least as many pages will be placed on private intranets, where they will be viewed by businesspeople connected to local networks. Every one of those pages—like the 4 billion pages already online—will use Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML.
If you read on, your web pages will be among those that appear on the Internet in the next 24 hours. This will also be the day that you acquire one of the most valuable skills in the world today: mastery of HTML.
Can you really learn to create top-quality web pages yourself, without any specialized software, in less time than it takes to schedule and wait for an appointment with a highly paid HTML wizard? Can this thin, easy-to-read book really enable you to teach yourself state-of-the-art web page publishing?
Yes. In fact, within two hours of starting this book, someone with no previous HTML experience at all can have a web page ready to place on the Internet's World Wide Web.
How can you learn the language of the Web so fast? By example. This book breaks HTML down into simple steps that anyone can learn quickly, and shows you exactly how to tackle each step. Every HTML example is pictured directly above the web page it will produce. You see it done, you read a brief, plain-English explanation of how it works, and you immediately do the same thing with your own page. Ten minutes later, you're on to the next step.
The next day, you're marveling at your own impressive pages on the Internet.
Beyond HTML
This book isn't just about HTML because HTML isn't the only thing you need to know to create web pages today. My goal is to give you all the skills you need in order to create a stunning, state-of-the-art web site in just 24 short, easy lessons. I've received literally thousands of email messages from readers telling me that the earlier editions of this book achieved that goal better than any other book available.
Go ahead and scan the bookstore shelves. You'll discover that the book you're holding now is the only one on the market that covers all the following key skills and technologies in plain English that even beginners will understand:
XHTML (Extended Hypertext Markup Language) and XML (eXtensible Markup Language) are the new standards for web page creation. Every example in this book (and on the accompanying web site) is fully XHTML and XML compatible, so you won't have to relearn anything as XHTML and XML replace old-fashioned HTML.
Note - Do you have existing web pages that you need to bring up-to-date so that they're compatible with the new standards? If so, Appendix D, "Migrating from HTML to XHTML," gives you complete, easy-to-follow instructions for converting HTML pages into XHTML.
At the same time, all the examples you'll learn here have been tested for compatibility with the latest version of every major web browser. That includes Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Safari. You'll learn from the start to be compatible with the past, yet ready for the future.
There is extensive coverage of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), which allow you to carefully control the layout, fonts, colors, and formatting of every aspect of your web pages, including both text and images. When it comes to creating eye-popping web pages, CSS goes far beyond what traditional HTML pages could do by themselves. For example, did you know that CSS allows you to specifically tailor the information on a page just for printing, in addition to normal web viewing?
Hours 7 through 10 teach you to design and create your own web page graphics (including animations) using industry-standard software you can download and try free. Creating graphics is the single most important part of producing a great-looking site—and one that most HTML books leave out.
Along with HTML and CSS, you'll learn how to use JavaScript, Dynamic HTML (DHTML), and embedded multimedia in Hours 17 through 19. Your web pages will be interactive and enchanting, not static and unresponsive.
Have you ever wished you could create a really slick item listing on eBay using HTML? Hour 20 shows you how to use your newfound HTML and CSS knowledge to create visually stunning eBay auction listings that will help you get maximum dollars for your auction sales.
You've probably heard about the blogging craze that has hit the Internet by storm. Hour 21 teaches you how to create your own blog and connect it to your personal web site. You'll be a bona fide blogger in no time!
The technical stuff is not enough, so I also include the advice you need when setting up a web site to achieve your real-world goals. Key details—designing an effective page layout, posting your page to the Internet with FTP software, organizing and managing multiple pages, and getting your pages to appear high on the query lists at all the major Internet search sites—are all covered in enough depth to get you beyond the snags that often trip people up.
You may be aware that graphical web site editors such as Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia DreamWeaver make web design accessible to people who don't know anything about HTML—but these tools also make it more necessary than ever to understand HTML yourself so you can create pages that do exactly what you want and are easy to read and maintain. Throughout the book, I include notes telling you when the what-you-see-is-what-you-get editors are helpful and when you're better off coding the HTML yourself.
Many of these essentials are what made the first six editions of this book nonstop bestsellers. For this edition, I've continued to incorporate the email feedback of thousands of readers to make every lesson easy, fast, and foolproof. I've also revised and updated the hands-on examples for you to experience online and modify to suit your own purposes—nearly 300 sample pages in all. The color quick-reference sheets and updated reference appendixes are sure to keep this volume at your side long after you've become an experienced webmaster.
How to Use This Book
There are several ways to go through this book, and the best way for you depends on your situation. Here are five recommended options. Pick the one that matches your needs:
"I need to get some text on the Internet today. Then I can worry about making it look pretty later."
Read Hour 1, "Understanding HTML and XHTML."
Read Hour 2, "Create a Web Page Right Now."
Read Hour 4, "Publishing Your HTML Pages."
Put your first page on the Internet!
(Total work time: 2–4 hours)
Read the rest of the book, and update your pages as you learn more HTML.
"I need a basic web page with text and graphics on the Internet as soon as possible. Then I can work on improving it and adding more pages."
Read Hour 1, "Understanding HTML and XHTML."
Read Hour 2, "Create a Web Page Right Now."
Read Hour 7, "Creating Your Own Web Page Graphics."
Read Hour 8, "Putting Graphics on a Web Page."
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