|
TOOLS and TIPS
Creating quality web pages is an exciting, challenging,
and demanding profession. Fortunately there are a number of excellent tools
and resources available. The purpose of this page is to provide novice
web developers with a brief, but fairly inclusive body of practical information
and links to all aspects of web creation.
There are a lot of links
on this page, and I do not have time to ensure that they are all current.
In the same manner, some products which were free when listed here may
not be free any longer. If you find any of these kinds of errors, please
take a moment to let me know so that
I can make the correction on this page. Thank you.
Here you will find:
Our Top Picks for Web Page Creation
TOP INFO SITE Top
  The
Web Developer's Virtual Library
This is just an absolutely excellent general reference
site for web site development. You will find a number of articles about
all aspects of HTML coding and links to other good sites.
HTML EDITOR Top
  Netscape
Communicator
For overall ease of use, this is our top choice.
This is a true WYSIWIG editor that lets you quickly preview your pages
in Netscape's browser. If you are not going to do any forms, Java applets,
or Javascript, you can create excellent web pages without writing a single
line of code. You can publish the page directly to an internet site from
the editor. The learning curve is relatively short compared to many other
products. You can still download this from Netscape for no cost (If you
want the manuals though you will have to purchase them, but they aren't
really necessary).
Learning curve - 1 week minimum.
Links to more HTML tools and tips
COMPLETE SITE CREATION TOOL
 
DreamWeaver
Dreamweaver 2 is the solution for professional Web site design and
production. It is the only tool to offer Roundtrip HTML between visual
and source editing for fast creation of great looking, cross browser Web
sites. Dreamweaver 2 takes productivity to a higher level with advanced
table editing, deluxe site management tools, Dream Templates, and extensibility
beyond your wildest dreams. Dreamweaver smoothly integrates with the dynamic
publishing and e-commerce solutions you use. It offers unparalleled support
for third-party tags, including ASP, Apache, BroadVision, Cold Fusion,
iCat, Tango, and custom applications. Not cheap, but a superb tool.
GRAPHICS EDITOR Top
  Adobe
Photoshop
If you are going to do Web Pages you will need to
be able to create graphics. As a general purpose Graphics tool Adobe is
excellent - but it is not cheap. It has a host of built-in image manipulation
tools, special filters, excellent text creation, and many other special
features. There are cheaper graphics editors available - but Adobe offers
so much that if you are serious about creating web pages, this is a must
have.
Learning curve - 1 week minimum.
Links to more Graphics tools and tips
ANIMATION Top
  Microsoft
Animator
For creating basic animations this is an excellent,
easy to learn and easy to use tool. You can download it free.
Learning curve - 2 hours.
  Mind
Alchemy's Gif Construction Set
For creating special effects animations this is the
best product I have found. It costs $29.95 and will take a little longer
to learn how to use, but it offers some terrific special effects. You can
download a trail version for free. For a good laugh, visit their 100
More Commandments.
Learning curve - 1 day.
SCANNER Top
  Microtek
ScanMaker E6
If you are going to do web pages that include
photos or original art, you are going to need a good scanner. Places such
as Kinkos typically charge $10 to scan a single image. Sixty images at
that price will purchase this top of the line scanner. If you need to scan
slides, you will need to also purchase the slide scanning adapter (about
anoother $600.00). ScanMaker includes Ulead PhotoImpact which is a pretty
good graphics editor (though not as sophisticated as Adobe Photoshop).
ScanMaker also comes with Caere Omni Page Reader which will scan text.
Learning curve - 2 to 3 days.
IMAGE MAPPING Top
  LiveImage
You have probably seen pages that allow you to
click different places on an image to go to different pages. This is done
via "image mapping" and is pretty difficult (but not impossible)
without the aid of a software utility. LiveImage is very nicely done -
easy to learn and easy to use. I personally tend to avoid Image Mapping
because the size of the graphic tends to be large, but there are times
when it is advantageous (maps are a good example).
Learning curve - 2 hours.
UTILITIES Top
  ZIFF
DAVIS
This is a terrific site for finding free or inexpensive
Internet Publishing Software Utilities. They have software available for
many other things as well.
Brief Discussion of common methods of creating special effects
JAVA Top
if you are not an experienced software programmer,
I suggest you stay away from Java. If you are experienced in programming,
but not in C, C++ or some other true object oriented language (Visual Basic
and Delphi are NOT object oriented in this case) you will find a pretty
steep learning curve for very little payoff. Currently JAVA will allow
some unusual special effects on a web page and it can be somewhat useful
for database applications, but otherwise it may not be the best place to
invest your time.
  Symantec
Visual Cafe
If you still want to explore Java, then Symantec
is perhaps the best place to start. It is (in a limited sense) a WYSIWIG
editor but you will be able to learn Java more quickly simply by using
it and then studying the code it creates.
Links to more JAVA tools and tips.
JAVASCRIPT Top
Again, if you are not an experienced software
programmer, I suggest you stay away from Javascript. The learning curve
to payoff ratio is poor. Yes you can do some neat special effects, but
how many web pages really need them? There are a few utilites out there
that will create Javascript code for some special effects.
  Web
Genie
This is free and might be useful. It creates the
Javascript code for a dropdown menu of URLs. This lets users select the
next page they want to go to from a menu list.
Links to more Javascript tools and tips.
  ANIMATED
BUTTONS Top
This is the Javascript
code that I use most often since it allows you to display 2 different
versions of a graphic image button. One image displays when the users mouse
is positioned ON the button, and one image displays when the mouse is OFF
the button. Unfortunately it doesn't work in Microsoft browsers because
Microsoft does not support the Javascript Mouseover event.
FRAMES Top
Frames are, generally speaking, a waste
of time. They have so many serious drawbacks. If you are insistent about
using them, then be sure to check out the Virtual Library's problems.
Dreamweaver makes it pretty easy to create them.
FORMS Top
Forms allow your web page to accept data
input from the user and then to send that information somewhere. Currently
there are no real good solutions for sending form data other than the use
of a CGI script. It is possible to send data input by the user in a pretty
simple fashion IF the user is using the Netscape browser. Unfortunately
this simple solution does not work with all browsers. The best solution
is to make sure that the server on which your pages are published has a
CGI script available for your free use for extracting form data and sending
it somewhere. Check out Virtual Library's Forms
Info to get started.
  Perl
Builder
This is a terrific utility for learning some CGI basics and for easily
creating basic forms. Best of all, it includes a PERL environment so you
can easily test a script right on your system without having to first install
it on the server. Not cheap - but worth it.
CGI Top
CGI stands for Common Gateway Interface
and is essentially a scripting language. A CGI script resides on the server
and handles data which is posted via the HTML FORM ACTION TAG. It is commonly
used to email information entered into an HTML form (comments, guestbooks,
shopping carts, etc.) back to the creator of the form. For many applications,
it is still the best overall method for handling a form, and you should
be able to find a free or inexpensive form handling script for any platform.
Best 1st stop is to check with your server administrator.
Links to more CGI information
Links to Resources - Last Verified
11/09/97
HTML AUTHORING LINKS Back
to HTML Editor Info
The Web Developer's
Virtual Library
Elsop Webmaster
Resource
How
Do They do That With HTML
Non-Dithering Colors
by Hue
Netscape
Page Starter Site
WWW
Help Page
NCSA--A
Beginner's Guide to HTML
LiveImage Client Side
Image Mapping Program for Windows95
Step-by-Step
Tutorial
HTML
Web Magic
LiveImage Client Side
Image Mapping Program for Windows95 &
GRAPHICS FOR
THE WEB Back
to Graphics Editors Info
Introduction
to Cool Kids Gif Animation Art Gallery
Gif Wizard
Graphics
Viewers
HandiLinks
to Graphics
Microsoft
free Gif Animator
Mind
Alchemy's Gif Construction Set
desktopPublishing
Softseek
JAVA Back
to Java Info
JavaSoft Home Page
Java
Resources
Java Shareware
Essential
Links For Learning Java
JAVA SCRIPT Back
to Javascript Info
Languages:Java:Guides,
Tutorials and Documentation
Timothy's
JavaScript Examples
CGI Back
to CGI Info
CGI
Made Really Easy
PERL
for Win95
Cabernet's
CGI Cellar
TOP
|