Ideal for novices, Creating Web Pages for Dummies starts off with discussion of some key design topics and shows the way to publishing well designed Web sites. The authors have you writing HTML and getting a feel for the basic process by the third chapter. Once you’re hooked, they show you how to build a home page in a single day and offer advice on how to get online with an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

The book gradually gets more serious in scope, presenting sites for business use and implementing graphics and multimedia. It shows you how easy it is to publish photos, to implement sound and video clips, and introduces hot technologies like Java, ActiveX and XML.

Finally, the guide introduces you to various authoring tools, browsers, and the special considerations of publishing for WebTV. In the usual Dummies style, the author offers 10 dos and 10 don’ts for Web publishing. The book wraps up with appendices of ISPs, a guide to HTML tags, and a CD-ROM with tools and an excellent set of links for useful Web resources. --Stephen W. Plain

In Creating Web Pages For Dummies, IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., has produced a Web authoring how-to book for the rest of us. Creating Web Pages For Dummies takes the mystery out of using HTML (HyperText Markup Language), preparing graphics, uploading, and all the other elements of publishing on the Internet’s World Wide Web. Here, in plain English, authors Bud Smith and Arthur Bebak provide a brief Internet primer for those new to the brave new online world. More importantly, they present all the practical, ready-to-use information you need in order to get started as a Web author right away. In Creating Web Pages For Dummies, Smith and Bebak also share their own expert advice on designing attractive pages that don’t take too long to download and on organizing sites in which users won’t get lost.

The authors of Creating Web Pages for Dummies deserve compliments for their refusal to sugarcoat Web page design through reliance upon visual editing tools. They come right out of the gate and teach HTML--a simple, limited subset of the whole language to be sure, but enough of the language of Web publishing to get readers going. Further, this simple but earnest introduction reveals HTML concepts that readers will need to understand before they explore more complicated aspects of the language.

In addition to teaching the fundamentals of page design and creation, Smith and Bebak spend some time explaining how to get pages onto the Web. They detail the mechanics of using no-charge page publishers like GeoCities, then go on to explain how to publish a page on AOL or Prodigy.

One section of this book deals with HTML development tools (the opening chapter is called "Be True to Your Tool"--go figure). The authors cover NaviPress, PageMill, HotDog, and BBEdit in depth, and address a few more development tools briefly. Unfortunately, the reader is left wondering what happened to coverage of FrontPage--a very popular development tool that many people already own.

A companion CD-ROM holds some page-editing tools, including a PageMill demo, a HotDog Demo, BBEdit Lite, and various other software.

If you represent a business, you’ll probably want a more comprehensive text that will enable you to project a more professional image on the Web. But if you’re a person who wants to publish a home page, this book will serve you well. --David Wall

Creating Web pages isn’t just for nerds anymore--far from it. You can’t get far in any hobby without participating in its Web community; even the smallest businesses need good-looking, functional Web sites. Those facts mean you must be able to do your own site-building work, and Creating Web Pages for Dummies exists to share the skills you need to learn. This book goes a long way toward explaining Web publishing to newcomers to the field. It is not, however, much of an introduction to Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) or any other site development language, and you’ll soon find yourself wishing for more information on the low-level code that makes your pages look and act the way they do.

Instead of focusing on HTML (see Elizabeth Castro’s excellent HTML 4 for the World Wide Web for that), this book emphasizes Web services (such as America Online and GeoCities) that will help you publish your pages, as well as page-design software (such as Microsoft FrontPage Express and Netscape Composer). Coverage is generally too basic--the logic is that if you’re thinking about publishing your own Web pages you don’t need step-by-step instructions on how to enter body text into FrontPage Express. General advice is good, however, and prospective page creators can learn a thing or two about good page design from the authors’ advice. --David Wall

Topics covered: The essentials of building a series of Web pages and getting them up for public consumption. Publishing services, page-design software, and the bare essentials of HTML are covered, as are the special considerations of publishing for WebTV and dealing with diverse browser types.

Bud Smith is a computer book author with more than 12 years of publishing experience. Creating Web Pages For Dummies, 8th Edition, is one of over a dozen books Bud has written; his Wiley Publishing, Inc. titles include Internet Marketing For Dummies and Web Usability For Dummies. In addition to writing books, Bud has been a computer magazine editor and product marketing manager. Bud got his start with computers in 1983, when he left a promising career as a welder for a stint as a data-entry clerk. Bud then moved to the Silicon Valley to join a startup company, followed by work for Intel, IBM, Apple, and AOL. His work and interests led him to acquire a degree in Information Systems Management from the University of San Francisco. Arthur Bebak received a degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois, which he attended on a fencing scholarship. He has designed mainframes, managed large engineering projects, and studied business administration. Arthur is founder of Netsurfer Communications, Inc., a highly successful electronic publishing company, and is an accomplished author. At Netsurfer, Arthur oversees a large staff of people who create Web sites for numerous clients. They also write, edit, and publish several Web-based e-zines.

??bulging compendium of valuable site spinning knowledge?? (PC Home, November 2004)

??a valuable resource addressing all site?crafting competencies?? (Web Pages Made Easy, August 2004)

?bulging compendium of valuable site spinning knowledge?

Chances are, you’re already a Web user and use the Internet on a regular basis. You’ve probably seen a few impressive Web sites and now you’re inspired to create a Web page of your own, but you’re not sure where to start. The answer is: right here! "Creating Web Pages For Dummies" guides you through the process of making your own Web pages without hassle or confusion. This straightforward book shows you just how easy it is to launch a site, specialize a page, making your site interactive, and much more! In no time you will become a pro in: Web publishing basics; Geocities, Google page creator, and AOL Web publishing; using Flickr, creating blogs, and selling products on eBay; HTML and other handy tools to ’beef up’ your site; writing and formatting Web text; creating and adding graphics for your site; adding links, animation, and multimedia; and, designing a great-looking, complete Web site.Besides getting to know the ins and outs of building a Web page, this guide offers suggestions on Web publishing, ranging from testing out your Web site and advertising your site to legal permission and displaying borrowed content.

This resourceful guide also includes Web lingo worth knowing and a quick guide to HTML tags, which points out some lesser known but nevertheless useful tags. Now in its 8th edition, "Creating Web Pages For Dummies" will help make your Web page stand out in the crowd!

Share photos and video online with friends and family

Take advantage of free tools, find out about Web design, and get interactive

Okay, you?ve taken that deep breath and are ready to jump into Web page creation. Before you get hopelessly tangled in all the possibilities, dive into this book! You?ll start with free and easy tools, then meet the text editor, add links, create graphics, use HTML, and publish your stuff. Before you know it, you?ll be online!

Discover how to

• Design personal and professional Web pages
• Add photos, sound,
• and video
• Create your own Web graphics
• Share your thoughts with a Web log
• Get your pages online for free
• Turn your pages into a full Web site

Bud Smith is a computer book author with more than 12 years of publishing experience. Creating Web Pages For Dummies, 8th Edition, is one of over a dozen books Bud has written; his Wiley Publishing, Inc. titles include Internet Marketing For Dummies and Web Usability For Dummies. In addition to writing books, Bud has been a computer magazine editor and product marketing manager.
Bud got his start with computers in 1983, when he left a promising career as a welder for a stint as a data?entry clerk. Bud then moved to the Silicon Valley to join a startup company, followed by work for Intel, IBM, Apple, and AOL. His work and interests led him to acquire a degree in Information Systems Management from the University of San Francisco.

Arthur Bebak received a degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois, which he attended on a fencing scholarship. He has designed mainframes, managed large engineering projects, and studied business administration. Arthur is founder of Netsurfer Communications, Inc., a highly successful electronic publishing company, and is an accomplished author.
At Netsurfer, Arthur oversees a large staff of people who create Web sites for numerous clients. They also write, edit, and publish several Web?based e?zines.

Chances are, you?re already a Web user and use the Internet on a regular basis. You?ve probably seen a few impressive Web sites and now you?re inspired to create a Web page of your own, but you?re not sure where to start. The answer is: right here!

Creating Web Pages For Dummies guides you through the process of making your own Web pages without hassle or confusion. This straightforward book shows you just how easy it is to launch a site, specialize a page, making your site interactive, and much more! In no time you will become a pro in:

• Web publishing basics
• Geocities, Google page creator, and AOL Web publishing
• Using Flickr, creating blogs, and selling products on eBay
• HTML and other handy tools to ?beef up? your site
• Writing and formatting Web text
• Creating and adding graphics for your site
• Adding links, animation, and multimedia
• Designing a great-looking, complete Web site

Besides getting to know the ins and outs of building a Web page, this guide offers suggestions on Web publishing, ranging from testing out your Web site and advertising your site to legal permission and displaying borrowed content. This resourceful guide also includes Web lingo worth knowing and a quick guide to HTML tags, which points out some lesser known but nevertheless useful tags. Now in its 8^th edition, Creating Web Pages For Dummies will help make your Web page stand out in the crowd!

Chances are, you’re already a Web user and use the Internet on a regular basis. You’ve probably seen a few impressive Web sites and now you’re inspired to create a Web page of your own, but you’re not sure where to start. The answer is: right here!

Creating Web Pages For Dummies guides you through the process of making your own Web pages without hassle or confusion. This straightforward book shows you just how easy it is to launch a site, specialize a page, making your site interactive, and much more! In no time you will become a pro in:

• Web publishing basics
• Geocities, Google page creator, and AOL Web publishing
• Using Flickr, creating blogs, and selling products on eBay
• HTML and other handy tools to “beef up” your site
• Writing and formatting Web text
• Creating and adding graphics for your site
• Adding links, animation, and multimedia
• Designing a great-looking, complete Web site

Besides getting to know the ins and outs of building a Web page, this guide offers suggestions on Web publishing, ranging from testing out your Web site and advertising your site to legal permission and displaying borrowed content. This resourceful guide also includes Web lingo worth knowing and a quick guide to HTML tags, which points out some lesser known but nevertheless useful tags. Now in its 8^th edition, Creating Web Pages For Dummies will help make your Web page stand out in the crowd!

* Focusing on the needs of the first-time Web page creator, this plain-English guide shows how to build a basic personal site in no time
* Updated to cover the latest trends and tools, including blogs, photo-hosting sites, and Google Page Creator
* Covers super-easy Web creation options (such as MySpace, Flikr, and Blogger), simple Web building alternatives (such as Google Page Creator and Yahoo! SiteBuilder), and more advanced techniques for creating robust, feature-rich pages (such as Dreamweaver and HTML coding)
* The number of personal Web pages is exploding: MySpace has over 50 million registered users, Technorati has registered 23.3 million blogs, and Flickr has 2 million users who have posted more than 100 million photos

• Focusing on the needs of the first-time Web page creator, this plain-English guide shows how to build a basic personal site in no time
• Updated to cover the latest trends and tools, including blogs, photo-hosting sites, and Google Page Creator
• Covers super-easy Web creation options (such as MySpace, Flikr, and Blogger), simple Web building alternatives (such as Google Page Creator and Yahoo! SiteBuilder), and more advanced techniques for creating robust, feature-rich pages (such as Dreamweaver and HTML coding)
• The number of personal Web pages is exploding: MySpace has over 50 million registered users, Technorati has registered 23.3 million blogs, and Flickr has 2 million users who have posted more than 100 million photos

• Focusing on the needs of the first-time Web page creator, this plain-English guide shows how to build a basic personal site in no time
• Updated to cover the latest trends and tools, including blogs, photo-hosting sites, and Google Page Creator
• Covers super-easy Web creation options (such as MySpace, Flikr, and Blogger), simple Web building alternatives (such as Google Page Creator and Yahoo! SiteBuilder), and more advanced techniques for creating robust, feature-rich pages (such as Dreamweaver and HTML coding)
• The number of personal Web pages is exploding: MySpace has over 50 million registered users, Technorati has registered 23.3 million blogs, and Flickr has 2 million users who have posted more than 100 million photos

Creating Web pages isn’t just for nerds anymore--far from it. You can’t get far in any hobby without participating in its Web community, and even the smallest businesses need good-looking, functional Web sites. Those facts mean that you need to be able to do your own site-building work, and Creating Web Pages for Dummies exists to share the skills you need to learn. This book goes a long way toward explaining Web publishing to newcomers to the field. It is not, however, much of an introduction to hypertext markup language (HTML) or any other site development language, and you’ll soon find yourself wishing for more information on the low-level code that makes your pages look and act the way they do.

Instead of focusing on HTML (look at Elizabeth Castro’s excellent HTML 4 Visual QuickStart Guide for that), this book emphasises Web services (such as America Online and GeoCities) that will help you publish your pages, as well as page-design software (like Microsoft FrontPage Express and Netscape Composer). Coverage is generally too basic, on the logic that if you’re thinking about publishing your own Web pages, you don’t need step-by-step instructions on how to enter body text into FrontPage Express. General advice is good, though, and prospective page authors can learn a thing or two about good page design from the author’s advice. --David Wall, Amazon.com

Topics covered: The essentials of building a series of Web pages and getting them up for public consumption. Publishing services, page-design software, and the bare essentials of HTML are covered, as are the special considerations of publishing for Web TV and dealing with diverse browser types.

Creating Web pages isn’t just for nerds anymore--far from it. You can’t get far in any hobby without participating in its Web community; even the smallest businesses need good-looking, functional Web sites. Those facts mean you must be able to do your own site-building work, and Creating Web Pages for Dummies exists to share the skills you need to learn. This book goes a long way toward explaining Web publishing to newcomers to the field. It is not, however, much of an introduction to Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) or any other site development language, and you’ll soon find yourself wishing for more information on the low-level code that makes your pages look and act the way they do.

Instead of focusing on HTML (see Elizabeth Castro’s excellent HTML 4 for the World Wide Web for that), this book emphasizes Web services (such as America Online and GeoCities) that will help you publish your pages, as well as page-design software (such as Microsoft FrontPage Express and Netscape Composer). Coverage is generally too basic--the logic is that if you’re thinking about publishing your own Web pages you don’t need step-by-step instructions on how to enter body text into FrontPage Express. General advice is good, however, and prospective page creators can learn a thing or two about good page design from the authors’ advice. --David Wall

Topics covered: The essentials of building a series of Web pages and getting them up for public consumption. Publishing services, page-design software, and the bare essentials of HTML are covered, as are the special considerations of publishing for WebTV and dealing with diverse browser types.

This book continues to focus on beginning and casual page builders primarily creating Web properties for personal uses. As the Web has evolved, so has this book. It’s gone from focusing exclusively on HTML to covering simple tools like FrontPage to, now, covering online services for getting content up quickly and easily. Topics covered include:

• Really easy Web pages - use Web services like MySpace, Flickr, Blogger, and others to get photos, video, and blogs up with little effort.
• Easy Web pages - use basic WYSIWYG tools like Google Page Creator and Yahoo! SiteBuilder to personalize your Web pages
• Pages for the brave of heart - use top level design tools like Dreamweaver and technologies like HTML to build robust pages

Now updated to cover the latest tools and techniques, this perennial bestseller shows people how to create their first Web page, from using simple HTML techniques to adding images to create a look and feel
* Forty percent revised material includes updates on using free tools such as Netscape Composer, creating better Web graphics, and harnessing broadband connections for Web publishing
* The book now covers using Weblog technology to enhance and update a site, as well as working with GeoCities as a free Web space provider
* The only book written for the absolute Web page beginner-it assumes no HTML knowledge or design background-and one of the few books that shows how to build a simple site without focusing on a specific tool
* The CD-ROM includes tryout versions of software covered in the book so readers can get started right away

At Least The Title Is Right!
This was my first "for Dummies" book purchase and it will be the last (unfortunately, I also purchased "Web Sites for Dummies" at the same time. A How-To book this not....you get no step-by-step instructions, what you do get is a lot of information that is generally available on the internet with a dose of new-age you can do anything you want if you try.........well, at least the title is right..........only a DUMMY would buy this book.

This is for someone who does not want to purchase any software over 20 bucks. It leans heavily on Yahoo.
I was hoping for something that would help me get started on building my own site. This book is for someone who just wants any site, and is looking for someone else to do for them.

Book is up to date, reviews aren’t
I’m the lead author, responding to the comments below; I gave my book 3 stars so as to not change the star rating inappropriately.

There is a good and a bad review below, but both are out of date. The book is in its Eighth Edition now, two editions beyond what was out in 2005. Just as an example of the changes, we no longer include a CD, as increased use of broadband has made downloading a better alternative for getting new versions of programs.

I think the one-star review is due to a common problem: an expert reading the book as if it were for an expert. This book is to help people get started, and it’s been brilliantly successful at that. (See the 38 reviews at amazon.com for proof - just change ".co.uk" to ".com" in the URL above to go there.)

Experts and people doing Web pages for money will, of course, use other resources, including the dozens of books on this in the For Dummies line alone - several of which I’ve written, also to good reviews. But this book is for getting started.

Great reference book
Thanks for the quick responce in the product, received what I needed for less

A Good Place to Start
This is a great book for the person just getting started in thinking about putting up a web site.



The basic concept here is to use a fairly minimal amount of HTML, which he teaches you, and then one of the hosting services such as GeoCities, Google or AOL to get your site up and running. All in all, he presents an excellent description of what you need to think about, what technologies you need to understand, and the various tools that are available to assist in the construction of the site.



The intent of this book is to enable to get a site up and running, fairly quickly (He says in a day, I think he is a bit optimistic, plan on a weekend, maybe even a three day weekend.) but only after having thought a lot about the various aspects.



Then in chapter 18 he talks just aenough about things like JavaScript, database connectivity, cascading style sheets and more to let you know that you’ve barely scratched the surface.



An excellent place to get started.

A Good Place to Start
This is a great book for the person just getting started in thinking about putting up a web site.

The basic concept here is to use a fairly minimal amount of HTML, which he teaches you, and then one of the hosting services such as GeoCities, Google or AOL to get your site up and running. All in all, he presents an excellent description of what you need to think about, what technologies you need to understand, and the various tools that are available to assist in the construction of the site.

The intent of this book is to enable to get a site up and running, fairly quickly (He says in a day, I think he is a bit optimistic, plan on a weekend, maybe even a three day weekend.) but only after having thought a lot about the various aspects.

Then in chapter 18 he talks just aenough about things like JavaScript, database connectivity, cascading style sheets and more to let you know that you’ve barely scratched the surface.

An excellent place to get started.

After you create your web page, then what?
This is a great starter book, but once you get your web site designed, then what? I wanted to know more about hosting services and costs, etc. Then found another title on here called "The Complete Web Hosting Kit Pro." This is a complete kit that lets you host your web site on your own PC for free. Comes with everything you need... instructions and software to host your site on your PC at home or at work. I recommend both this book and the web hosting kit.

Bad advice given, very out of date
I have been creating web sites for a while now and recently took it upon myself to find out what was being taught in these books (as I wanted to advise my sister who is a newcomer). These books (the Dummies series) seem like a good option. However ...

The advice contained in this particular book appears to be from some kind of time capsule. At almost every page turn I would uncover some piece of advice that may have been acceptable in 1998 but is, frankly, very bad advice in the year 2005. The things that this book teach will get you a website that works and that might be enough for many. However, if you want to learn web design for a longer term future, all you will learn from this book is how to do things badly, and you will later have to unlearn these bad practices.

If you want to learn how to build pages that don’t work on different browsers, that are not very quick to download and will take you longer to redesign in future, then this is the book for you. If you want to have a longer career in web design, then look elsewhere

Bad advice given, very out of date
I have been creating web sites for a while now and recently took it upon myself to find out what was being taught in these books (as I wanted to advise my sister who is a newcomer). These books (the Dummies series) seem like a good option. However ...

The advice contained in this particular book appears to be from some kind of time capsule. At almost every page turn I would uncover some piece of advice that may have been acceptable in 1998 but is, frankly, very bad advice in the year 2005. The things that this book teach will get you a website that works and that might be enough for many. However, if you want to learn web design for a longer term future, all you will learn from this book is how to do things badly, and you will later have to unlearn these bad practices.

If you want to learn how to build pages that don’t work on different browsers, that are not very quick to download and will take you longer to redesign in future, then this is the book for you. If you want to have a longer career in web design, then look elsewhere

Dissapointed
If you are looking to obtain a basic knowlege of web programming, then this is not the book for you. I wanted a basic guide, but the author managed to create a book that is TOO basic. Yes, I was able to get my first website up on the internet, but it doesn’t DO anything. For that, I’ll need to buy another book.

Ok if considered in the big picture
As those of us in the web design business know, creating a successful website is 10% web page creation and 90% business smarts. It’s often misunderstood that making web pages is the hard work. This book is really well written, but must be considered in the big picture of web commerce.

I hate nothing more than to see busy business folks spending valuable days struggling with how to make their website actually work for them. So buy this book, if not for anything but to know what your web designer is talking about.

But remember that it takes more to succeed on-line.

Excellent Book
I had no knowledge and little confidence about my ability to create a web page. Just a desire. This broke down the ends and outs of creating a web page and showed me just how easy it is. Unfortunately, it has my confidence soaring right now and now I believe I can get a job in the web page creation business but I know where my talents lie.

Definitely worth the cash, but...
A great starter book that will get you up and running with a good personal web page or site (multiple connected pages) in a short time, or even a basic business site.

One staggeringly DUMB thing is that the first reference to a web SITE rather than merely a page is on page 11. No mention on the cover either. Most people are more familiar with the term web site than web page, so this is a very questionable omission, which may have cost them book sales.

If the book has a weakness, it is that it places too much emphasis on catering for older generation browsers, suggesting that Netscape Composer will build pages that older browsers will usually be able to read. Although, even here, I’m not so sure they are correct.

I created a basic read-only multi-page site in Composer under Netscape 7.1 and when I looked at the HTML source code, it was using HTML 4.1, (i.e. current HTML) and by the fact that it mentioned DTD’s (Document Type Definitions), it must be leaning in an XML direction. However, by the fact that it did not generate an end slash after the (empty) "br" (line break) tag, for example, it does not go all the way to being XHTML compatible.

One problem here is that 95-97% of surfers will not have older generation browsers, and to compromise going ahead with XML and ultimately, XHTML standards (the ONLY way to go for the future) will not be helpful to you or your web host.

Many web hosts wince if you say you have built a web site in Composer, and whine about ’inelegant code’. What they are really talking about is forward compatability i.e. dragging web design and Net standards out of the stone age.

It is definitely advisable to manually convert any generated code to XHTML format and use a checking tool such as WC3 Validator, which I don’t think this book even mentions.

It also fails to adequately distinguish between the nature of a read-only website and a fully interactive one, with a MYSQL database. It does mention that any add-on such as forms necessarily includes data storage and it does mention CGI and Perl (server-end software), but the detail in this area is somewhat lacking.

These are not heavy criticisms on my part. I love the For Dummies series, and this is a very good basic book. It will certainly suffice for most people, in that many of the explanations of the basics are excellent. Just a few tweaks and it would have been perfect.

Oh, what the heck, give ’em a seegar anyway.

It’s a good title ....
... but I wanted a book that would let me create web pages for smart people!

Good even for web dev companies
I work for a web dev company in the North of england and I must say that I found this book very informative. Plenty of suprises about this html lark! As a goth i also enjoyed the use of black in the layout :-)

Good even for web dev companies
I work for a web dev company in the North of england and I must say that I found this book very informative. Plenty of suprises about this html lark! As a goth i also enjoyed the use of black in the layout :-)