HTML and JavaScript

After mastering the website editor such as DreamWeaver or Front Page, it is natural to want to take the next step and experiment programming a little. This in fact may be required if you are wanting to add outside applications onto your website which may require cutting, pasting and adjusting code.

The first step in learning how to program program your website is to learn how web pages are created and how they are read by your web browser. To do this, you need to use HTML.

An HTML file is just a page of text, like an email message or a word processor document. In fact, you can use a word processor to write HTML code. Or you can use pretty much anything that allows you to type something in and save it as a text document. Web browsers want only text, that's it. They can't deal with anything else.

An HTML file contains all the writing that will appear on your page, plus instructions to the browser about where that writing should go and how it should look. And if you have any pictures or animations or sounds or whatever that you want to include, the HTML file will tell the browser where to find them and where to put them on your page. HTML does this by using things called tags.

Some of the best resources to learn all about HTML and other programming languages like JavaScript are presented below:

HTML Tutorials

WebMonkey
(http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey)

WebMonkey is a great resource for everyone, starting with the beginner webmaster that wants to learn how to program to the advanced user. WebMonkey is full of tutorials, tips and articles on how to program almost anything you want to do on your website.

HTML Cheat sheet: http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/reference/html_cheatsheet/

HTML Goodies
(http://www.htmlgoodies.com/)

HTML Goodies is another great resource for new webmasters. It contains easy tutorials, examples and walk throughs.

HTML Editors

There are a number of HTML editors that help you program and organize your code. You can spend hundreds of dollars on sophisticated editors like DreamWeaver or use one of the many free editors available online.

Below are two links to the leading software download sites where you can review and pick the best editor that fits your needs (use search term "HTML Editor"):

Download.com
(http://www.download.com)

Tucows
(http://www.tucows.com)

JavaScript

Javascript can be thought of as an extension to HTML which allows authors to incorporate some additional functionality in their web pages. Below are some good sources of JavaScript code that you can simply cut and paste into your website.

The JavaScript Source
(http://javascript.internet.com/)

JavaScriptKit
(http://www.javascriptkit.com/)

Pop Up Window Generator
(http://javascript.internet.com/generators/popup-window.html)

Don't worry any more about editing the code by hand, use this code generator! Fill out the specifications of the popup window you would like to use, including the URL and the various options such as menu bars, toolbars, scrollbars, etc, and click the generate button. Just add this generated code to your site, or even have it mail it to you!