According to the most recent statistics, there are over 100 million people
surfing the internet from the United States and Canada. There are currently over 4.7 million domains registered
(individual Web sites) with the .com, .org, .net, .edu extension, and this figure is increasing by 83,000 per week.
So if you want to get in on the fun, here's how to get started.
Getting Started:
1. First you need an idea. The Web is a great place to exhibit your ideas, products, or services.
If your goal is to become a millionaire, you better have something unique to offer. Remember, there are 4.7 million
other Web sites, so the competition will be fierce.
2. Now that you have an idea, you need to register and get a domain name. A domain name is your
Web address, Ours is "www.kolias.com." Network Solutions is the only official organization that is responsible for
registering all domain names with the .com, .org, .net, .edu extension. Go to their site and search the database
for the name you want. If it's available, fill out the online form, send them $70, and the name is yours.
3. To be able to publish your site on the internet, you need a server. A server is a computer
that holds the files for your site, and "serves" them to other computers that make a request for those
files. Right now, our server is serving files through the internet to your computer. Servers can be very expensive.
If you don't want to spend several thousand dollars right now, look into "shared hosting". Shared hosting
is space you rent on other companies servers. Places like Geocities offers free personal Web space, or check your
ISP to see if they offer shared hosting for your business. Other companies also offer Web hosting for a very reasonable
fee. You create your site right on your PC, then send those files, through the internet, to the server.
Create Your Site:
1. Web pages are created using a "language" called HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language).
You can create HTML in plain text editors, probably already on your computer, like Notepad.
2. If you want to save a lot of time and frustration, buy software that will write HTML for you.
Software such as Microsoft
FrontPage or Symantec Visual Page, are called WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). You
enter words and graphics directly on a page, and it displays the way a browser would read it. So, you don't have
to learn everything about HTML. However, you will still need to know the basics of HTML, because these WYSIWYG
programs need to be adjusted occasionally.
3. The next thing you'll need is a good graphics design program. This software will generate
everything from colored backgrounds and buttons, to animated images and logos. There are many software titles available,
but for the money, Paint
Shop Pro by Jacs Software is excellent and highly recommended. It also comes with Animation
Shop, so you can create attractive and eye-catching material.
4. Once you create your site on your PC, you upload the files to your server. This is accomplished
using something call "ftp" (file transfer protocol). This is the protocol that allows files to transfer
between computers. Most WYSIWYG programs will have a function to "ftp" your files to the server. The
process is very simple and quick. Normally you just select the file or files you want to upload to the server,
and just click the upload button from the WYSIWYG program.
