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If you feel comfortable with HTML, all you need is to open a text editor like Notepad for Windows or BBEdit for Mac. You can type out the tags by hand, save the file as .htm or .html, and open it in a web browser to see how it looks. Using a text editor gives you complete control over the look and feel of your web page.

If words like "Hypertext Markup" and "tags" make your palms sweaty, there is another way to build a simple web page. WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors are programs that provide graphical menus and tools to build your web page, eliminating the need to even think about a single line of code. You can find a wide variety of retail and free editors by searching the Internet. It's even likely that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) provides a WYSIWYG "site-builder" for free as part of your account.

WYSIWYG editors often include a selection of design templates you can choose from that will determine the look of your site. You might even be able to choose from a menu of color options and font families within the templates, but the ability to customize your web page beyond that is severely limited. This is one of the disadvantages of using a WYSIWYG editor.

5. BUILD YOUR WEB PAGE
Now there's nothing left but to start building. Remember to save your file with the extension .htm or .html, which web browsers will recognize as a web page. If this is going to be the main page, you'll want to name it "index.htm".

While your web page is finished, there's still more you have to do to get it to the web. You need some web space, which your Internet service provider (ISP) likely provides for free as part of your account. You'll also need to upload it to that space using a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) application. Again, your ISP probably provides a free FTP tool.

A web page doesn't require a degree in Computer Science. Building your own, simple web page can be a fun experience, and gives you the power to connect in a new way with family, friends, and strangers from around the world.

Learn more about this author, Kameron M. Franklin.
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