What You Need in a Computer System (Mac or PC)

A start-up Web publisher faces many computing hardware choices. You could buy a single powerful computer to handle your writing, coding and designing needs, but it probably makes more sense to have several computers. Each can serve different functions as your site grows.

Basic HTML

HTML is the language that Web browsers and Web servers use to display Web pages. HTML “tags,” when added to a plain text document, instruct Web browsers how to display that content on a Web page. If a Web page is a house, its HTML code is its blueprint. 

Web Standards for Publishing Ventures

After more than a decade’s experience and several significant studies about how people read Web pages, Web designers have developed several tips for good site design. Here are some basic elements you should consider when creating a page.

Introducing Databases

Part of what has unbottled community publishing is the use of databases to store and deliver content. It becomes clear to anyone working for an extended period on a Web site that there’s a lot of repetitive work. Unless you have some way to manage your content, a large site quickly becomes unmanageable. Databases are key to managing that growth.

Keeping Track of Files

As your site matures, the amount of content will grow. And grow. And grow even more. You’ll have to consider how you’ll archive your material and how to best organize your long-term production to maximize efficiency. Here are a few tips on how to keep track of this ever-increasing sand pile of material.

Using Macromedia Dreamweaver

Many different programs let you create and edit Web pages. They offer some advantages over coding pages in HTML:

• They let you place photos and text exactly where you want them to go.
• They let you see what your pages will look like as you edit them.
• They apply a uniform look to all your site’s pages.

Can You Upgrade or Do You Need a New Machine?

For less computer-intensive tasks, consider upgrading an older machine. 

Choosing Colors

The roots of a successful Web design come from the color choices you make. Color is crucial in creating an optimal user experience. Proper use of colors can even be required under some accessibility guidelines for the visually impaired.

Planning Your Database Tables

As a news site, you might want to keep a database of past stories for your readers.

Creating an HTML page

Now that you have defined a site, you should create a Web page to upload as a test.

Making Backups

It’s easy to overlook the task of regularly backing up your data. But all it takes is one crash of your hard drive, a fire, a flood, a power surge, or the theft of your computer and you can spend a lifetime regretting it. 

CSS: Cascading Style Sheets

Cascading Style Sheets — even the name sounds a little intimidating, like perhaps you’re falling down a steep slope.  But the name is just an accurate description of what CSS is — "sheets" (pages or chunks) of code that describe the style of a document in such a way that multiple commands "cascade" — in other words, they’re applied in a certain order that ensures that both the user and the page designer get as close to the same effect as they possibly can.

Creating Forms

If you want to give your readers the ability to interact with your site – to send information to it rather than simply receive information from it – you’ll need to move beyond basic HTML. Forms are used to gather data from your users. When you use a search engine or enter a login name and password, you’ve seen a form in action.

Logos

Logo design is critical for more than just your Web site.  It will be used on business cards and promotional material, in presentations, in newspaper articles and videos.  You want something that remains recognizable even at a distance or at a small size.

Database Applications

If your site runs on open-source software, it’s likely to have one of two database applications available: MySQL or PostgreSQL.