Creating a Page on the World Wide Web

1. Do you have the resources?

Recommended:

• an Internet connection (duh)
• a good knowledge of Dragonball
• an image editing program (ie, Adobe Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro)
• a few good pictures of Trunks lying around ^_^
• scanner

2. Familiarize yourself with HTML (Hyper-Text Markup Language).

Although programs like Microsoft FrontPage and Netscape's Page Composer (called What You See Is What You Get programs) can make pages without forcing you to learn HTML, a basic knowledge of it is recommended. WYSIWYG programs are easy to use, but lack the power to make more advanced pages. In short, the time you take to learn HTML will save you tons of time down the road. Your knowledge and appreciation of the web will grow as well.

There are many sites on the web as well as bookstores that carry literature on HTML. Unless you are incredibly serious about making a page, I do not recommend buying a book. There are so many sites out there that offer excellent tutorials. I have listed several tutorial sites that I have used in the past and in some cases, STILL continue to use.

	Helpful HTML Sites
	NCSA--A Beginner's Guide to HTML		The Bare Bones Guide to HTML
	best place to get started definitions of terms to know thorough description of tags troubleshooting guide links to other HTML sites available in full-length, 3-part, or PDF versions		list of all tags for current HTML specification syntax for tags available in 22 different languages print this out and refer back to it when writing your page

Other great sites:

The World Wide Web Consortium: For site maintainers who want to be up to date, W3C is the group that hands out recommendations for each new version of HTML. Version 4.0 has just been recently approved.

ZSPC Super Color Chart: Don't know what color text or background to use? This page makes it easy. Just pick the colors you want and it will give you the exact code to use.

3. Plan Out Your Site

Now that you know how to write a page, planning a page comes next. What are you going to write about? What are you going to put up? These are the types of questions you will need to answer. In essence, writing a web page is very much like being an editor of a newspaper or magazine. This part is all up to you, but keep these pointers in mind:

Keep it Simple
A simple design is often a good design. Java, huge graphics and other multimedia can slow down loading times and make the page distracting. Besides, keeping it simple will make it easier to write. You're just beginning, take it easy.

Content is Paramount
I can not stress this enough: content is the most important thing in a web page. Most new Dragonball web site maintainers these days decide to post up a few pics and think its good. Add something new and original for people to see.

Keep the Images Small
Just because you have a top-of-the-line computer with a cable modem doesn't mean everyone else does. Try to keep each page under 50 kb

Stealing = BAD
This one is pretty much common sense. Don't take things from other web sites unless you have the maintainer's permission to do so. Email them and ask. Most of the time they will let you, but if they say no, live with it. Another thing, I don't know about other web communities, but the Dragonball web community can get pretty vicious when it comes to revenge.

4. Finding a Server

When you're all done, you'll need to upload everything to a server to show off your new work. Finding a server can vary from one person to another. There are many servers that offer free space, but these are often slow and have annoying advertisements. For now, these are probably your best bet. If you want servers that are fast and reliable, you'll probably have to pay for space. If you're really lucky, you might know someone that owns a server or know a friend who knows how to get access. Search hard and you might strike gold.

Free Servers

Paying Servers

• Tierranet
• Simplenet
• Bayside
• Netme.com

Each of the paying servers are pretty much equal in reliablility and speed. If you are interested in a paying server, check out each one's pricing plan and see which one suits you the best.

5. Updating

Often the Achille's Heel for web site maintainer, updating can be painless if you haven't made the task impossible. For example, on Paco's Page, there used to be a section called DBZ eps where I would list summaries of each new North American DragonballZ episode. This meant watching DragonballZ every morning and writing two new summaries. This was fine until I started having Speech & Debate tournaments every other Saturday. Soon, I was so behind, I axed the section. With this lesson learned, I have sections that don't require strenuous maintenence. If you don't have a lot of time, you shouldn't either.

6. Good Luck!

Above all, I wish you the best of luck in your web page venture. I'll be updating this file frequently as I am still learning more about the web. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me. I might even post up a FAQ in the future. I'll be looking foward to posting your link to Paco's Page.