Once you have found a server, and have started creating your pages, you will want to take a realistic look at the pages you create. While it is almost impossible to get away with a short main page, you should not try to cram everything on this page. I have visited sites that have chosen to put everything on one page. I am not sure if it is because the webmasters are afraid to create links or have a fear of maintaining more than one page. Regardless of the reason behind them, they take about 5 minutes to load and that is longer than anyone is willing to wait even for artistic quality and the convenience of having everything in one spot. Don't be afraid to spread you content through several short pages instead of one massively long one. 

Coding you pages: 

SPELL CHECKING YOUR PAGES:
While it is important to check the performance of your pages and try all the links to make sure they work, it is equally important to run them through a spell checker to make sure you don't have any major (one of my friends calls them boo boos). Even spell checkers are not infallible and it might be nice if you can find someone else to proof read your pages. I find that I am really bad at proof reading my own material. I think it is because once I've typed it my brain refused to see any thing other that what I originally intended. Many of the latest HTML editors including Front Page, Netscape Composer include spell checkers.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all those that pointed our my major blunders so discreetly. 

COLORIZING YOUR TEXT:
The text above and the Header at the top of this page was done with Peter Theill's Font Colorizer. This is a freeware program that is very easy to use, and a useful tool for both the seasoned and novice web page creator. You can down load his program at: HTML Font Colorizer

Meta Tag: Ever wonder why it is so important to add the following lines to your code?
<TITLE> CS Designs/ Simple Tips On Creating Your Own Web Site.</TITLE>
<META NAME="Author" CONTENT="Chris Stern, ">
<META NAME="Keywords" CONTENT="tutorial, copyright, Html Help, Graphics,">
<META NAME="Description" CONTENT="Simple Tips On Creating Your Own Web Site">
<META NAME="RATING" content="General and Kid safe">

The Title: of your page appears at the top of browsers when people visit your site, besides letting visitors know what page they are on, it is also the title that appears and is saved when someone bookmarks your site. The Author is the name of the person who created your web site. 

Keywords:: While not all search engines use them, some use the key words and description when doing a search. The more descriptive and informative you can make these in regard to the content and theme of you site, the better your chances are of being found when someone is looking for specific information, your site may contain. For a genealogy site the best information to put into the key words are your SURNAMES.

Rating: This is the rating you give to you site, and where you would indicate if your pages are save for children to view.

Redirect Meta Tag: There is even a Meta tag that will redirect you to another page or site automatically. You will find a tutorial for this Here

Finding images for your webiste:If you need images to help in the building of your website, please visit my Cherished Memories CS Designs or CS Designs2 after finishing this tutorial. There you will find very large collections of coordinated sets, in country, holiday and genealogy themes as well as decorative lines and buttons. 

Creating your Own iamges: If you are interested in creating your own images you will also find links to available graphic software and filters on my Reflections Resource page. 
Whether you choose to use someone else's images or create your own, the following tutorial will give you additional help in the area of images. Troubleshooting Images and HTML Image Tag contains information on how to download images as well as coding them into your page.

Adding Music and sound to your site: Now that you have all the important stuff out of the way, you might want to add some music to your pages. This is also a matter of personal choice. While some people love music on web sites, others think it is annoying. I happen to be one of those people that love some of the selections on the web and have built the following tutorial to help you add music or sound to your websites.  Adding Music & Sound To Your Site, Remember if you really hate music on websites, you can always turn of your speakers. 
 

GUESTBOOKS:
After you get your site up and running you might want to consider getting a guestbook for visitors to leave comments or suggestions. Since most have a place for a persons URl it's also a great way to find interesting sites, you might have otherwise not known about. There are several free guestbooks available on the net, and there again pick the one that you feel best suites your needs. Some guestbooks let you configure them while some do not. Both of the guestbooks below let you configure them to fit your own needs.

Sign My Guestbook

View My Guestbook

PAGE COUNTERS:
Note: The counters displayed below are only picture clips done from the real counters on some of my main pages. therefore do not be alarmed about the difference in the numbers shown on this page. The real ones on my main pages all work fine and I have not experienced much trouble with any of them. Out of all the counters listed here the one with the most down time has been my Bravenet which is displayed on my Cherished Memories site.

JAVA:
If you are interested in incorporating Java into your site, visit my Resource Page, there you will find some link to sites with some pretty nice Java Applets and scripts that you can use to enhance your web pages. Please be aware that Java may sometimes cause even the more recent versions of browsers to crash, and that not all Java scripts are compatible with all versions of any browser. Don't you hate that warning (This program has performed an illegal function and will be shut down :( Even with all the problems associated with Java and Java script it can be alot of fun and has some pretty useful options. You will find interesting things to do with Java displayed in the Halloween section of my CS Designs.

Everything on the net is not public domain and free as some people may think. The copyright notices on web pages are there to let others know that the contents therein is the property of the creator and protected under international copyright laws. If you are creating a web page, and are thinking of using material created by someone else, you should make sure you have followed the requirements for its use. Beyond the courtesy extended to others, it is also a legal issue. 

Does your site infringe on copyrights? How Take the quiz and see how your site measures up.
What is so bad about Credit Pages.

©The ascii equivalent or HTML code to place the copyright symbol on you page is &copy;
Example: Chris Stern &copy; Copyright All Rights Reserved 1999 in the HTML code of your page.
Would give you: Chris Stern © Copyright All Rights Reserved 1999