Astro Lesson #8 : give.it.a.whirl.dervish!

Now that you have the basics, why not give it a whirl and get that page out there? Designing a web page is a never ending task - you will need to keep on updating it and, as you learn more, you will want to try out your new tricks. So why not practice while the project is still small - less chance to really stuff it up!:

the.abc.of.ftp

Provided that you have a providing provider, you will already have some space allocated with them for your page. This varies with ISPs (Internet Service Provider). Check out their homepage and look for any special instructions on uploading via FTP. This simply stands for File Transfer Protocol - think of it as a courier service taking your documents to the big city... tell them what to take and where to go and voila!

Any decent ISP worth its cybersalt will have a link on their homepage to the FTP program they recommend - download this (It won't be very big), and pay attention to any other instructions they wave at you... for instance, host name (this is not the person throwing you a party! It's the name of the computer that will store your goodies). We prefer AceFTP 'cos it's so easy to use and is free for 30 days.

If you are using the marvellous Macromedia Dreamweaver take advantage of it's built-in ftp facility, under Site Files.

movin.&.groovin!

Once connected to the ISP, fire up the FTP program you have chosen. Select the bit about managing sites - and add the details of your particular ISP - host name, the URL of where the particular page is to live (ie http://www.users.bigpond.com/retrographix), and where on your own computer the files that will be transferred live (ie c:\html\mypage). You will probably have to put in your login name and password - but in all events check with the ISP and the help files within the FTP program itself.

Ready? Okay connect to the ISP via the FTP program - if all goes well you will receive a welcome message and you're cooking with gas! On the left hand side of the FTP window you should see the files in your home directory - while on the right won't be very much at all.

The aim of this game, therefore is to get a copy of each file to jump across the void and land correctly on the other side. Simply select the file of your choice - preferably the index first - right click it and choose 'upload' (or something similar). This sends it on its way and soon you should receive some more nice messages. Now a copy of that file will appear in the right hand window. If it does not - you have stuffed up and should start again...

attending.the.birth

Congratulations! It's a web page! As the new proud parent you will be extremely impressed with yourself and will want to shout to the world all about your darlin' creation. However, there are a few things you should know about this baby in order not to turn it into frankenstein's monster ...

Firstly, remember that this is like a first draft - it ain't finished yet and probably never will be completely set in astroconcrete. The world is changing ever so quickly these days and you have to be prepared to also.

• Kickstart the old browser and have a good look at the new 'baby'. Does it meet with your approval now that its out there in the big wide world?
  
  
• Double check all the links to make sure they actually do take you where they are supposed to and not to Timbuctoo.
  
  
• If you are really happy, well done! But,unless you are a freak of nature, you will have a little more tweaking to do.
  
  
• Go away and leave it for a day or two - a week if you can stand it. Visit it again and see if you still feel the same. Do you really need 34 blinking neon christmas trees? Is puce really the best color for a background? Is 'How to shell peanuts with your toes' the only fascinating subject you can think of?
  
  

knitting.the.gritty

Here are some things you probably don't want to know, but need to.

• Did you use Microsoft Internet Explorer when designing your web page? Did you know that lots of people also use Netscape Navigator, and other assorted browsers? Just like all airlines eventually get you to the same destination, the way you get there can involve quite a a different experience along the way. Aeroflot vs British Airways. All browsers are not the same - test your page on any you can find. You will be surprised at the differences.
  
  
• What screen resolution do you normally run on? Most people use 800 x 600 (thats how many pixels fit on the screen). Design with this in mind, but make sure you have a look at other resolutions - is it still decent?
  
  
• What fonts did you use? 'Supercurlyfontnumber5' might look absolutely spiffing, but 98% of the web world will never have heard of it and will see your carefully planned text in plain old Times Roman. If you really need to use such a font - use it sparingly as a graphic gif or jpeg, and specify the rest of the text as "font face="verdana,arial,helvetica". This way, you have more control in a very uncontrollable market place, by selecting either of these very common and nice looking fonts.
  
  
• What size screen do you have? If, like us, you use a 17inch monitor at home, please remember that the plebs generally only have access to a measly 14 or 15 inch... reduce the size of your page to a smaller size and see what it looks like - it may end up very squishy indeed, particularly if frames are involved.
  
  
• What color palette have you been using for your text and graphics? 16 million colors can provide you with rembrandt quality pictures - but, let's face it - if the viewing public can only see 256/216 of them - hey, what's the diff? The majority of older machines ou there fall into this category. Best to stick with the 'browser-safe palette' which contains 216 colors - enough for you surely? We'll be pointing out other reasons for this along the way.
  
  
• Best of all - land unexpectedly on your best friend's doorstep and demand to use their computer - dial up your page and cringe in horror at the travesty that greets you... or smile in the knowledge that your good sense has avoided these pitiful pitfalls.

  So you see - there can be a great deal of fiddling and fussing before you can make the grand announcement regarding the birth of the new arrival! Go away now and mull over these musings - and look forward to next time when we discuss search engines and the metaphorical meta tag!

  next.pod
  copyright.wendy.phillips.1998-2000