Infotech

You Have Passed!
Congratulations! You have gone through 4 lessons familiarizing yourself with HTML Basics. It would have hopefully sparked off the desire in most of you to learn more about HTML, which really is an ever growing and ever evolving art. It’s literally impossible to know everything about HTML because of the fact that it is continuously expanding and growing. But if you are interested, then with the help of some keen self-study you can come pretty close to mastering it. I would recommend that you look up your local library or buy a handy reference guide to start off with. “HTML For Dummies” wouldn’t be a bad choice either. If you have

steady access to the Internet there are tons of online HTML tutorials to help you. All you have to do is go to a search engine like http://www.google.com or http://www.yahoo.com and key in your search which cud be ‘HTML Tutorials’ or ‘HTML Basics’ or ‘Guide to HTML’ etc.

Software - HTML Assistants and Editors
This is the age where everyone wants it easy and keeping that in mind there is no shortage of HTML editors and assistants such as HotMetal, Microsoft FrontPage, and HotDog etc. They do a good bit, actually. The help programs are usually set up like a word processor with a whole lot of little buttons to push. Those buttons give you the tags. For instance, you'd click on the B button and get the Begin and End tags to make something bold. They also save the files in the text format required. You can use the buttons or not. Assistants are helpful, but don't get too involved in using one. Remember, this is your page. You do the writing. What fun is using a program that does half the work for you? (For more information and free/shareware versions of HTML assistants and editors you could visit http://www.download.com and browse through their selection and reviews.)

Hosting Your Home Page
If you were keen on hosting your homepage on a domain owned by you then you would have to get in touch with a company that provides hosting services and domain registrations. For example you could visit http://www.indialinks.com or http://www.net4domains.com to get a feel of the packages currently on offer and the price tags attached to them.

Free Hosting Sites
If you would rather not pay anything to host your homepage then I would advise you to visit one of the many free hosting sites on the Internet. These sites also guide you step by step to making a basic homepage. But if you have already created your own homepage, all you have to do is simply create an account for yourself and upload your work to their servers. Through all this you will be guided every step of the way with clear and precise instructions. It’s a great way to learn although free sites have their own rules and you will have to play by their rules. If you take a free page you'll have to show their banner ads. You will have limited abilities to do anything other than post pages and images. It's their server, you're a guest. And since what you are getting is free, you don't have much of a leg to stand on to complain.
Plus, as I noted above, they are not completely free. Geocities and others make their money by selling ad banners. Every time someone pops into your page, an ad banner pops up. If ad banners bug you, then free sites are not for you.
Where to post your pages is a tough choice. Weigh all your options before jumping on a service provider. Don't make cost your only factor. I cannot recommend or downplay any provider. I think getting a connection to the Net should be a personal choice.

May The Force Be With You!
Well, now you are on your own. I hope you take full advantage of all the free resources that the Internet has to offer. It’s all about practice and as you know only practice makes perfect. So don’t ever feel shy to start Notepad or whichever HTML pad you decide to use and try out something new or go over code you have learnt. I am sure that with a little bit of dedication you will have your first homepage up and running. That will be satisfying indeed. For you and for me! All the best!