Build your own site

Who am I to help?  Let me say who I'm not.  I'm NOT a person who knows anything about html.  I'm NOT a professional web page designer.  I'm NOT the expert by any means.  But I am a regular person who enjoys spending time on the web, and decided to build my own site by trial and error.  So, here's what works for me, and maybe you can avoid some of my errors.

This site was built with Netscape Composer, the free page builder that comes already loaded with Netscape.  So, that is my entire experience.  I can't help you with Frontpage or in using raw html.  That said, you might still find something useful here.

First things First	Find Webspace	Choose a look
Designing	Tips & Tricks	Your Database
Publishing	Bells & Whistles	Links & Tools

Whether you are building a genealogy page or not, Cyndi's List also has some marvelous advice on doing your own page.

  Cyndi's Genealogy Home Page Construction Kit

First things First

Before you start to build, have a plan.  Look around at other sites and decide what you like and what you don't.  So in all the web, how do find good sites to look at?  Of course, there are your basic search engines, including my favorite:

You can also go to the bigger portals and search their "genealogy" listings, or hunt for your own surname.

Lastly, once you find a site you like, go to it's "awards" page and it's "webring" pages.  Click through both sections to find other good pages.

When you are ready to go, take out the old-fashioned pencil and paper!  Write or sketch your ideas for each page, and check them off as you go.
 

Find some webspace

Where are you going to put your page?  Your ISP might have allotted you some space.  If not, look for a free site.  Obviously, my favorite is XOOM.  You can get to the homepage through that grey bar on top.  I like it because it has unlimited space and the grey bar is relatively unobtrusive, as opposed to pop-up windows or watermarks.  When looking for free space, keep the following in mind:

• Grab as much free space as you can.  Graphics and databases will eat up a lot of space, and you don't want to have to worry about moving your site later.
• You will have to deal with some sort of logo from the host.  Some are pop-up windows that can slow the browser down, and lay in front of your information.  Others are watermarks that slide down your page as the viewer scrolls.  Others simply sit at the top of the page.
• Choose a simple interface for building and loading your pages.  Some servers allow you to build right on their pages.  I prefer to build offline on Composer, and then upload.  Composer lets you .ftp (or publish) directly into the free server.

Choose a look

The graphics on your site not only make the site look good, but they determine a theme that your visitors can remember.  Choose something you like, but also be sure it works for your visitors too.  For beginners, here are some basic terms.

backgrounds  images that float behind the information on your page.  Be sure they are colored and designed so as not to distract your visitors.   Most people use a light background and dark text.  Some sites use the reverse.  Remember that often the text loads first, then the background.  So, if you use white text, your guest can't read it until the background loads.

textures  Similar to backgrounds, textures float behind your information.  They give a "feel" to your page, as if it were bumpy, bubbly or rough.  Many can be used in conjunction with your own background.

borders  Small graphics that actually repeat down the left side of your page.  An unobtrusive way to provide color.

theme sets  Graphics that are packaged together so that everything (background, border, buttons, bars) match

buttons  Small graphics, usually dots or very small pictures, that can act as links

bars  Those straight lines that divide sections of a single page.  Composer can give you a simple one by clicking on "H.Line" or you can substitute a graphic.

animations  Just what they sound like, pictures that move.  They also take more time to load.

Where do you find good graphics?  Again, you can go through search engines.  Also, if you see something you like on page, find the link (usually on the bottom of the page) that takes you to the graphics designer.  There are plenty of sites that have specially-designed genealogy graphics.

When you find what you like, save it on your own computer! Hover over it with your mouse, right-click, choose "save image as", and put it on your hard-drive or your zip drive.  Feel free to change the name to something you will recognize.  If you do use graphics designed by someone else, be sure to give them credit.

Designing on "Composer"

Start simply!  Plan on just a couple pages at first to get the hang of it.

First, set the "Page Colors and Properties".  This is where you add your background, and you can set the color of text and links.  There are several default sets of link colors to match the text color.  You can also choose your own.  You can also save this pattern for all new pages.

Type something and save the page.  You can save it to your hard drive, but I prefer it on zip disk.  It keeps everything safe if your system crashes.   This is where you name the page.  Choose something descriptive you will recognize, not "mypage".    Also, set the page heading that will appear in the blue bar at the top of the page.  You can use spaces here and type normally.

Play with all the buttons to see what they do.  One of the most useful is the drop-down menu of font sizes.  It starts with Heading 1, and decreases in size from there, so you don't have to mess with setting font sizes, just pick one.

Tips and tricks

• Images  Be sure you have saved the image you want on the same zip disk as the page you are working on.  To move an image on the page, just drag it around.  To move an image connected with a link, however, right-click, cut, move the curser, right-click, paste.
• Alt. Text  Stands for "alternate text" or the words which will appear when an image is loading or the curser hovers over it.  This is a handy thing for your visitors.
• Email  To make a link that pops open an email window, select the link button, and link to  " mailto:[email protected]", of course, using your own email address.  That is only html I know.
• Tables  I just discovered how to use tables (a big "duh!" to me), but they are marvelous!  They keep things nice and neat, and you don't have to show the lines between the cells.  Since Composer doesn't like to let images sit side by side, you can put them in an invisible table.  Also, you can have a table of just one row.  Once you have a table, you can drag the sides to change the size, and you can right-click to get "table properties" and make all sorts of adjustments.
• Targets  This page uses targets.  A target lets you link directly to a lower portion of the page, and is especially handy for long pages like this one.  Put the curser on the spot you want to link to and hit the "Target" button.  Then, when you create a link at the top, you will see a list of your page's targets to choose from.
• HTML  Sometimes you want to put in someone else's raw html, to add an award, or a webring for instance.  To do that, pull down the "insert" menu, choose "html tag", and paste the code in the little box.  You will see a big yellow arrow on your page.  After you have saved the page, you will see the image.  If not, go to "preview" and you will see it there.  Occasionally, Composer will tell you "premature end of tag".  I have no idea what to do with that.  I've tried many suggestions, and I can't figure it out.  At that point, I give up on that particular code.
• Can't get the spacing right?  Sometimes, you just want to move that image just over there, but it won't stay put.  I have sometimes resorted to typing periods to hold the space, selecting all the periods, and then turning them the same color as the background.  It might be cheating, but it works.
• Blank lines?  Every so often, just for the fun of it, Composer inserts empty blank lines into your page, like a hiccup.  Just backspace to get rid of them, and save your page.  This usually happens after you have uploaded a page.

Your database

Most genealogy sites include a database of ancesters.  There are tons of ways to do that, more than I want to go into here.  See the toolbox on Cyndi's List for more detailed information on choosing a "gedcom to html" converter.

• Don't include any living generations, or their parents and grandparents, without permission.  Some unscrupulous web dwellers might be able to use that information for credit ratings and other devious purposes.

Publishing

To actually get your page on the web, it couldn't be much simpler.  Go to your web server and get the .ftp address, click "Publish" and fill in the info.  One drawback is that to make any changes, you have to reload the new page over the old.  Also, Composer won't let you delete any pages from your site.  To do that, see what the server provides, or find yourself an additional .ftp program.

Bells & Whistles

Once your site is up, you want to do all the fun things.  There are lots of free things to put on your site.  However, don't overload your page with goodies so that it annoys your visitors.  Try to keep non-essential information out of the way, on the bottom of a page, or on a separate page (such as awards and webrings).

• Counters  A counter is essential!  You will want to know how many people have viewed your hard work.  There are plenty of free ones out there.  You will have to add them as a html tag.  I have counters in several different places, but the opening page is the most common place for a counter.
• Guestbook  The easiest way to add a guestbook is to let someone else deal with it.  Find a service that you can link to.  Many will even accept your background so that it appears to be a part of your site.  Do make sure that the final page includes a link back to your site.
• Webrings  These are collections of similar webpages.  Once you join, you put the tag on your site, and visitors can click through the ring.  If you haven't found any that you want to join by just surfing, go to the webring site.
• Awards  Similar to webrings, awards are generally linked to one page that lists the winners of the awards, allowing visitors to find similar sites.  Usually, sites that give awards ask for a description of your site, your email address, and that you have no broken links on your site.  Don't be shy about applying for an award for your own site, that's how things are done.
• Other stuff  Every day the web has new toys to play with.  Once again, strive for a balance between having cool stuff and not annoying your visitors with useless information and long loading times.  You can find all sorts of fun things, such as web searches, weather tags, quizzes, message boards, and chat rooms to add if you so desire.

Links and Webmaster Tools

Here's where I found everything you see on this site, plus a few extra goodies.
 

A great place for everything imaginable for webpages and other things too.    They also give you a handy review of every service they link to.

 

This is the site where I found my borders, buttons, and bars, a small but quality collection aimed at genealogy sites.

 

This is the counter for this page, and a link to thecounter.com for simple reliable counters.

 

Please sign my guestbook and let me know if I've been of any help.  I'd like to know.  From there, you can link to the main site to get your own guestbook.

 

A server that lets you customize forms on their site, with minimal advertising.  After a visitor fills in the form, it is emailed to you as a regular message.

 

High Power Graphics will custom design banners and awards for free.  Be as specific as possible when making your request.  It will take a few days to receive your graphic.

 
 

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