By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

Creating a Web Page

There are two ways to create a Web page, either by modifying an existing page, or by creating a new page. And although there are many tools you might use to create a Web page, this lesson concentrates on using one of the more common and freely available tools, Netscape Composer. This is typically bundled with Netscape Navigator for both the PC and Mac in a parent product called Netscape Communicator. You do not have to use Netscape Composer, however, and if you are already adept at Web page creation, you may wish just to skim this lesson.

If you wish to use Netscape Composer, but it is not installed, you can download it free from Netscape and install it. Netscape Composer used to have a handy "Publish" feature that allowed authors to rather easily publish their Web pages to the Internet. This was included in version 4.8, but omitted from the early releases of version 6. Fortunately, it is included in version 7. So, while you can use any of these versions to create a Web page, actually getting one uploaded to the Internet for everyone to see can be easier with version 4.8 or version 7. Netscape 7 can be downloaded here:
channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/7/

You can download Netscape Communicator 4.8 at the following address:
home.netscape.com/download/archive/client_archive47x.html

Opening Netscape Composer

The Web page creation tool, Netscape Composer, is bundled with the Web browser, Netscape Navigator, when you download the package, Netscape Communicator (which also includes an Email client, instant messaging, and other features.)

You can start Composer by selecting it from the Start menu, or from within Netscape Navigator by clicking File, New, Composer Page.

Netscape Composer Tutorials

Most of this lesson's content is contained in an external site. There are dozens of tutorials on how to use Netscape 7 Composer, some of which can be found at the following links (which are only listed here as supplemental resources):

http://courses.aims.edu/~composer/index.htm
http://www.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/composer.html
http://www.valsvisions.com/html/index.html
 

Netscape has a good beginner's guide, but it is for  Composer 4.5 (optional visit):

home.netscape.com/browsers/using/newusers/composer/index.html

If you intend to use Netscape Composer 4.x to create Web pages, please click on the above link now, and proceed through the tutorial pages now, unless you are already skilled at Web page creation. Proceed through all lessons from "Creating a New Web Page" to "Publishing Your Page." Refer back to this module  as needed. If you have never created a Web page before, please actually create and publish a Web page as you proceed through this tutorial, rather than just reading it.

If you are using Netscape 7, you may wish to use one of the Netscape 7 Composer tutorials listed earlier, or the help feature to assist you in creating a Web page. Click "Help," "Help and Support Center." Then choose "Creating Web Pages" from the Contents, as shown below, and proceed through the help screens.

(Barbara Wills from Ball State has a guide for getting started with Webpage creation using Netscape on a Mac.)

Why Composer?

Although the use of Netscape Composer is referred to in this module, there are distinct disadvantages in using this product. It can add an extra line space at the beginning of a document, add unwanted code in the head, or reformat previously formatted script. Composer does not easily support frames or a variety of advanced or interactive features. However, for the beginner it is hoped that Composer will provide the cheapest and most direct route to Web page creation and publishing.

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FrontPage

The page you are now reading was created using FrontPage 2003. However, this is not free and many people do not wish to purchase it. (My personal recommendation would be that you purchase the latest version of FrontPage, but if you want a free tool, I'd recommend Netscape Composer version 7.)

If you are interested in learning to use any other tool to create Web pages, I suggest you perform a search with the term "tutorial" in the phrase. For example, searching for "FrontPage Tutorial" may turn up sites like the following:
www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/online/website/

If you use Microsoft FrontPage 2003, check out Microsoft's interactive tutorial (with a sound track) here.

If you are using Microsoft FrontPage 2002 (XP) and you would like to have a tutorial, you can download one from Microsoft here:
office.microsoft.com/downloads/2002/FPT2002.aspx