University Computing Services

Build the Web!

HTML - The Language of the Web

"In 1990, the World Wide Web, a multimedia branch of the Internet, was created by a researcher at the CERN physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. In late 1993, [...] a couple of computer science students at the University of Illinois were busy making the Web easier to use with a graphics program they called Mosaic. The Mosaic browser, forerunner of the Netscape web browser, made using the Internet as easy as pointing a mouse and clicking on pictures and words."

The web has changed considerably over the past 5 years, to build a site, all you really need to build the Web is a basic understanding of Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML) and a text editor. But if you want a site with consistent design, you may want to learn a bit more about , Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Check out the Beginning HTML section of the Web References Masterlist for a couple of leads to get you going down the road to Webmaster.

On the other hand, everyone could use a time-saver. Here's CNet's guide to WYSIWYG HTML Editors. Take a look and see if one is right for you.

If you have absolutely no idea how to begin:
Basically, creating a webpage means creating a file -- a document -- with a word processing program or text editor. This document must contain special markup language (HTML is an acronym for Hypertext Markup Language) that web browsers (such as Netscape or Internet Explorer) use to render a web page. (You can see the markup for this page, for example, by selecting VIEW> Source within your typical webbrowser).

You can create a web document on your desktop and then upload it to your account on Mailer or Garnet using a secured file transfer program or sFTP . Many HTML editors (like Macromedia's Dreamweaver, for example) have an FTP function built right into the application -- so you don't have to invoke a separate piece of software to transfer your files. See tunneling.

If you put your new web page in the appropriate directory in your account space (within a directory called public_html) and give it with the appropriate permissions, the web server that is running on Mailer and Garnet will be able to find it and display it to a web browser. Alternately you can log in to your account on Garnet or Mailer (using some form of terminal emulation software) and create your webpage directly within your account using one of the text editors available in the UNIX environment, like pico. UNIX text editors are old-fashioned, though, and can be difficult to use, so most people create their webpage files on their desktop and transfer it to their Garnet or Mailer accounts.

Departmental websites operate a bit differently than individual sites at FSU. See Help for FSU departments for more information.

Remember to check Frequently Asked Questions about building a website at FSU for further info on constructing your FSU website.

***** If you need additional help, please see our list of help resources. Please NOTE: The Technology Services Help Desk will NOT help students with websites related to coursework.

Good luck!