This may not be the correct board.If not please let me know. I would like to display and show my photography on the web. I have been told that to build a website would be $500.00 to $1000.00 Is this true? And would I be at the mercy of the programer being as I don't know html? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanx...............John

-- John Carolan (jac@absorb.com), May 04, 1998

Answers

re: Display

Hi John,

$500-$1000 to me is ridiculous. Two years or so ago I wanted a web site for myself and knew absolutely nothing about how to make one or HTML. I am an AOL customer and found out that I had 2 megabytes of space that can be used for a web site(s) per screen name and if you are connected to the net you should find out if you have any space available from your service provider. Most of the time you get "free" space. I then went to a search engine, Yahoo in my case, and typed in "web editors" and found a variety of free web making editors. I downloaded a few of them and tried them out and now usually use World Wide Web Weaver. By using it I have learned enough HTML to make the pages look the way I like and it was for free. I then learned how to upload then to my service provider and they work great. The only cost to me is the regular monthly fee that I would pay, web site or not. Of course you have to get your images scanned and have an image program on your computer for making them into GIF's or JPEG's. Check out my sites as an example of free web sites if you like at: http://members.aol.com/Chuck9toe/index.htm and http://members.aol.com/Chuck02178/brownie.htm

Good Luck!

-- Chuck Baker (cbaker@skypub.com), May 04, 1998.

As with everything in life, you get what you pay for. You can pay thousands of dollars for a real slick website. Or you can do a little reading( and copying, more about this later) and create your own for a fraction of the cost.

Firstly, you need to understand a "little" about HTML. This will make the experience a lot simpler. I would suggest you read literature on basic website design. Netscape Navigator has a" Composer" that enables you to build web pages without knowing html. I use it quite often (www.htodman.com).

I mentioned copying earlier. It is perfectly legal to copy code(and onnly the code) from websites that you like. For instance, if you see a website that is laid out in a way that you like, go to View, Source. You can copy this code to your site, change the names and you're off.

The primary cost of a site is the site host cost. You can download almost everything else.

Good Luck, Harold Todman

-- Harold Todman (harold_todman@dmr.com), May 05, 1998.

Five hundred to $1,000 is not bad if you are using your web site to promote a business. However, you can buy a book on HTML and teach yourself to put together a web site in just a few days. It won't have many bells and whistles, but it will work and will look as good as you are able to make it look. Take the advice given previously and download the source code from a web site you admire, then modify it to meet your needs.

You didn't mention what kind of computer you are using, but if you have a Mac I would recommend BBEdit and Dave Mark's book Learn HTML on the Macintosh. If you are using Windows you can buy Home Site. You might want to consider Claris Home Page and Adobe Page Mill. They both run on Macs and windows, but BBEdit is such an elegant program it deserves your consideration if you own a Mac..

You'll also need a copy of PhotoShop and Adobe Acrobat down the road when you want to get a little fancier. As with any new skill, start with the basics and add the fancy stuff as you learn. HTML is easy by nature, so don't be frightened by all the tags and codes.

-- Darron Spohn (sspohn@concentric.net), May 05, 1998.