Web Page Design and Publishing with HTML

This course introduces you to the process of creating and publishing your own personal Web pages using HTML, the "lingua franca" of the World Wide Web. During the course, you learn how to design, develop, test, and publish a simple personal Web Site consisting of a home page and one or more supportive or associative web pages. This course is by no means an intensive and exhaustive study of HTML and its application to Web publishing. Rather it simply lays the foundation for the student to build on with self study and by taking more advanced courses. Essentially, it is a "HOW TO - BY THE NUMBERS" course designed to get you started.

The course begins with a brief discussion of the history of the World Wide Web that includes a functional description of how the Web works to identify all the major hardware and software components that comprise the Web, their functions, and how they interact within the context of Web Site design and publishing. Next, comes an overview of the Web page design and publishing process identifying each step of the process and the purpose of each step.

Most of the course focuses on HTML and how to use the most common tags to "markup" Web page documents to be displayed by a Web browser. This includes displaying formatted text, inserting graphics and sound files embedded within the text, lists, tables, and "links" that allow users to navigate within the document or display information from other documents located at remote sites on the World Wide Web. Most of the common software tools required to develop Web pages are identified and discussed, including links (URLs) to locations on the Web for additional information.

The method of instruction is varied and includes both classroom lecture/discussion followed by on-hands laboratory exercises where the student works on his/her Web Site design project. You will spend more than 60% of the course time actually working with a PC connected to the Internet to analyze the structure and design of existing Web pages and working on designing and developing your own personal Web pages.

Prerequisites

You must have experience surfing the World Wide Web to access information using one of several available Browsers (Internet Explorer, Netscape Communicator, Mosaic, ...etc.) You must also be proficient at using a PC to access local and remote files using the Windows, Mac OS, or UNIX operating systems. This includes using a text editor like NotePad, WordPad, SimpleText, vi, emacs,..etc.. to create and edit text files.

Since course time is limited to 18 hours, both theory and lab, spread out over six weeks, the student should have access to a PC at home or at their jobs to work on their individual course project.

Goals

The short range goal is to provide you with the knowledge and skills needed to design, develop, test, and publish a small (3-4 pages), limited scope personal web site on any subject you choose. You will be given a written mini-specification that describes the general criteria your site must meet for successful completion of the course goals.

The long range goal is to provide you with information, ideas, and pointers to help you in your continued study of Web site design and publishing in more advanced courses.

Objective

To successfully complete this course you must be able to design, develop, and publish a small personal web site consisting of a home page and at least two additional supportive or associative pages. Your web site must meet the criteria specified in a written design specification. The publishing step is optional depending upon student access to an ISP server. If no server is available, you must provide the instructor with a diskette containing all the files necessary to install and test the site.

Schedule and Outline of Instruction

Session 1

1. Course Overview
2. Brief history of the World Wide Web
1. Before the Web
2. Web Infrastructure
3. Introduction to Web Page Design
   1. A Basic Web Page Development System
   2. Web Page Design Methods
   3. Web Page Design Process
4. Lab Exercise 1
1. Equipment Familiarization
2. Browse Class Web Site
3. Analyze Existing Sites
4. Creating Simple HTML File with Notepad

Session 2

1. Introduction to Hypertext
1. Brief History
2. Evolution of Markup Languages
2. HTML Overview
1. Basic Building Blocks
2. Starting Your Web Page
3. Text Formatting
4. Lab Exercise 2
1. Design, Develop. & Test Simple Web Page using Notepad
2. Modify Markup of Simple Page to Change Formatting
3. Start work on Design of Personal Web Pages

Session 3

1. Images
1. Types of Images
2. Creating Web Images
3. Using Images - The IMG Tag
2. Page Layout
3. Links
1. Creating Links & Anchors - Anatomy of a Link
2. Types of Links - Local/Remote
4. Lab Exercise 3

Session 4

1. Lists
1. Ordered Lists
2. Unordered Lists
3. Definition Lists
4. Nested Lists
2. Tables
1. Structures
2. Tags and Attributes
3. Lab Exercise 4

Session 5

1. Frames
1. Simple Frameset Structure
2. In line Frames
2. Forms
1. Overview/Purpose
2. Analysis of a Sample Form
3. Lab Exercise 5

Session 6

1. DHTML Overview
1. Cascading Style Sheets
2. Applets
3. Scripts
2. Publishing Overview
1. Testing & Troubleshooting
2. Publishing on the Web
3. Getting Visitors
3. Lab Exercise 6

Course Length

Text

Although there is no required text for this course, the instructor strongly recommends that you acquire some introductory HTML text. The following book is highly recommended if you intend to purchase a book. HTML for the World Wide Web, Fourth Edition, by Elizabeth Castro (Visual Quickstart Guide IBSN 0-201-35493-4)

Instructor

Ed Crowley has over 30 years experience in the computer industry as an instructor, diagnostic programmer, software engineer, technical writer, course developer, and customer service engineer. He retired as a Sr Educational Consultant from Digital Equipment Corporation after 21 years service. Ed has designed, developed, and published two Web Sites; one for the Marlborough Shamrocks and a second for the USS Charles P. Cecil DDR-835.

Dates/Times