HTML Tools

The term "Home Page" is mostly a misnomer. Most "Home Pages" are actually "sites" consisting of multiple pages linked together in some logical fashion depending on the content. There is a BIG difference between building a single page like we did earlier with just a few links and a single image and building an entire site like the North Platte Canteen which has over 80 pages and more than 150 images.

Each page has to be built one at a time. There are numerous HTML editors available that will build very appealing single pages, many of them freeware. Some are nothing more than plain text editors like NotePad or WordPad. Some are simple editors that take some of the pain of HTML coding away. Others like the WYSIWYG editors that come with Netscape (Composer) and Internet Explorer 4.0 (FrontPad) do a splendid job of creating very nice single pages. Even Word '97 does a great job building individual pages.

Most of these programs fall short when it comes to binding an entire site together. Keeping each of the pages linked together and making the site easy to navigate is a matter of style and page management. There is nothing worse than to click on a link and the server returns "file not found". People (namely your students) won't hang around for long if this happens too often. A hodge-podge collection of individual pages with no way to access them other than typing the obscure URL's in the location line is a sure way of keeping people (students) from viewing the content of your pages. Your pages may be the best in the world but if no one can find them they are useless.

Many of the "Web Site Building Tools" listed below are "site managers" as well as having WYSIWYG and/or HTML text editors built into them. If/when you start building "sites" either personally or for your classes, a "site manager" will become a necessity to keep all the pages linked together. All of these "Web Site Building Tools" have "TrialWare" or "ShareWare" versions available to download and install if you are interested in trying them out. I personally use QuickSite. Not the easiest to use but it does a fantastic job of site management.

Not to say that site management can't be done with text editors like NotePad or WordPad. It is just the least desirable of all the options available. Been there! Done that! YUK!!