Web Site 101 Beginner Training

build a web site

Web Site 101 Publishing your first Web page can be a little scary. All those cryptic terms and technical specifications!

In this 3-lesson course, Web design instructor Margaret Penney will demystify the process of Web publishing and help you build a web site and get it up and running fast. You'll learn how to obtain Web space, create and structure your site and post pages and graphics. We'll even help you choose and register your domain name and establish a host account. Students will learn the technical fundamentals that beginning Web site builders need to know.

Important: In your first lesson of this course, you will need to purchase Web hosting service. There are many inexpensive hosts available and this course will help you choose and sign up for one in the first exercise.

On this page: enrollment details | instructor | class projects and objectives | prerequisites

Class Title: Web Site 101 Start Date: Classes start daily. Enroll today and gain immediate access. Class Length: Three months of access to class materials and instructor feedback. Instructor: Margaret Penney Other details: Self-paced, online, 24 access to online learning environment
	Tuition: $252

TOP: Image from Website 101 with Margaret Penney. Margaret will help you register a domain name and get online with a provided template site.

Class Instructor Bio: Margaret Penney is a teacher, designer, writer and media artist. Margaret teaches Web, print and motion graphic design, multimedia, and JAVA programming at an independent school outside New York City where she designs the Computer Science department curriculum. As a Web designer and developer, Margaret has created a multi-channel community portal for Hong Kong teenagers; commerce for Delias.com girls' clothing; a flash promotional for Nike; and currently she is working on a site for artist Sol Lewitt. As a new media artist, she has exhibited at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London ; the Museo Tamayo in Mexico City ; and around NYC. Her artwork has been reviewed globally online, in print magazines, and included in the book Eye Candy from the Underground: Fresh Styles for Web Designers. She has lectured on new media art at Purchase College , the School of Visual Arts Annual Conference for Educators, and the Pratt Institute. As a writer, she has been published in New York Arts magazine, Rhizome.org, and the Baltimore City paper. Margaret has a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and M.F.A. from Columbia University.

Class Projects and Objectives:

This online class is packed with projects and tips. Students can expect to: 

• Learn the three steps for setting up a site.
  
• Learn how the domain name system works.
  
• Explore several approaches to choosing a domain name.
  
• Learn rules of thumb for choosing a domain name.
• Visit a Web Domain Registry and identify some available domains.
  
• Learn about the features in Web hosting packages and read three Web hosting case studies.
  
• Get a general grasp of the issues involved in choosing a Web hosting provider.
  
• Select a domain name and Web hosting provider that meets individual needs.
  
• Write a report on the selection of a domain name and Web hosting package.
  
• Study the design and functionality of a sample site.
  
• Learn how to use browser functions to analyze two critical components of a basic Web site: HTML pages and graphics.
  
• Study the process of creating a Web site directory structure.
  
• Download a sample site and test it on the computer.
  
• Download all Web pages and graphics for a starter site.
  
• Test a starter site on a PC hard drive.
  
• Write a short analysis of the design and structure of a favorite site.
• Use a text editor to make site customizations.
  
• Add new text, images, and links to starter site pages.
  
• Learn tips for submitting sites to search directories.
  
• Learn how to best optimize a site to get noticed by "crawler" search engines.
  
• Install and set up an FTP application.
  
• Publish pages to a server using FTP.
  
• Test a published site and troubleshoot any problems.