Creating the Web Page

Craig Borysowich (Chief Technology Tactician)

Create each individual Web page by incorporating the content, graphics and features required within the layout specified for the page type. Web pages are created by hand using text editors and word processors. There are also a variety of editing tools specifically designed for formatting Web pages.

The most popular format for constructing Web pages is HTML but there are alternate formats to consider for publishing electronic documents.

Dynamic Versus Static Web Pages

When creating HTML documents, you have the option of creating static pages that are stored and viewed in the format created by the author, or creating dynamic pages that change as the information is collected and displayed. Dynamic HTML is gaining popularity due to its support for keeping content more current in real time and for its use in developing interactive, Web-based applications.

Keep in mind the following when deciding what features to implement:

· Web browser versions in use by the target audience,

· browser capabilities,

· support for HTML extensions.

HTML Extensions

The HTML specification focuses on the structure of the HTML document rather than on its presentation. The intention is to permit HTML to be run on many different types of systems. For example, the specification defines tags that label parts of the document as headings, paragraphs or lists. The styles applied to each individual element in the HTML is left to the browser or other programming software used to view the information.

Browser manufacturers, in response to needs of page designers to control the style and formatting more directly, have added extensions to the HTML specification. Additional tags and attributes have been defined that permit the designer to control the style and formatting of the HTML document (e.g., fonts, line breaks, font color, font size and alignment). Some of these extensions are finding their way into the latest version of the HTML specification. Be aware that the extensions used by one browser may not work within another.