| |
| Finding a voice, getting organized and creating a webzine |
Questions about design and content are not simple to answer. However, by asking some basic questions you maybe able to find your own path. This is not intended as the one and only way. Nor is there a limit on what you should consider while thinking about your site. This is a starting place, so let us get started.
First, lets ask some questions about you. Consider your interest, hobbies, and pure fascinations. Do you already have content that you want to publish? What about your friends? What websites, webzines, zines, etc. do you find yourself most often reading? What is their content about? Is there something that they do that you think should be done better/differently? Is there something they don't do at all that you would like to see done? What sites do you have listed in your bookmarks? Again, why did you bookmark those? Now repeat some of these questions in regard to other forms of content. What TV shows do you watch? What magazines do you most often read? Radio Stations that you listen to? Keep enlarging this circle of content as much as you can. What out of this list fascinates you?
Before we take the next step with our content, let us consider design. Do you already have a design in mind? Suggestions from friends, cohorts? What website designs do you enjoy? Which do you hate? Is there a site layout that you can work with? What elements (graphics, color scheme, web forms, computer tricks, etc..) do you wish to employ? What about other forms of design ... Do you have some art work that you wish to use? Your own art work? Others? What about magazines and other print designs? Any books? Newspapers? What about elements of building architecture, etc...
Now we need to put together these ideas of content and design. Consider, first, does the content you wish to use already offer a common design use? For example consider The Onion . Since the content on the site is a parody of major news stories, the site design plays along. Notice that the layout invokes a look similar to that of USA Today or CNN . The next step is to start drafting your pages. On paper start marking what elements, logos, links, content, you would like to see where. What must be on the top of the page? What can be place further down? What information goes together? Should the information be on the same page or can it be moved to it's own? How do you want to link the pages together? Do you need a menu bar? Or just text links? Do you want the links on top of the page or on the side? Is each page going to have the same layout or are they going to very based on the content?
Here's your starting place, now go for it.
-Paul Weinstein
http://www.weinstein.org
|
| |
| Tools you'll need for your site |
Not a lot - a computer and some software. Either a Mac or PC will do,
excellent software is available for both, also the Mac may be a
little easier to use for many folks.
There's a wealth of great free software out there. Of course you
can spend a small fortune for professional software, but you'll find a
lot of free or low-cost alternatice that deliver most of the punch of their
upscale neighbors. There is a lot of shareware, which you can check
out for free and make a small donation to the author if it proves useful.
Mac Software
Web Browsers, to view the web
Navigator, Free - Netscape
Explorer, Free- Microsoft
You have the idea, now write the words using the following HTML/Text Editors
SimpleText, Free, Installed on all Macs (aka TeachText)
BBEdit LightFreeware
FrontPage, Commercial - Microsoft
Composer, Free - Netscape (part of Communicator)
Dreamweaver, Commercial - Macromedia
GoLive, Commercial - Adobe
A picture's worth a million words? Take your idea to the next level through these Graphic Programs:
GraphicConverter Shareware
Adobe Photoshop, Commercial - Adobe
Fireworks, Commercial - Macromedia
Post your work online with a FTP Program
Fetch Shareware
Web zines needn't be just flat words and pictures. Make your story come alive with scrolling text, interactive quizzes, whatever you want! Get passionate with these Programming Languages
AppleScript, Free, Installed on all Macs
MacPerl Free
Codewarrior (Java, C, C++) Commercial
Windows Software
View that web with these Web Browsers
Navigator, Free - Netscape
Explorer, Free - Microsoft Opera Browser
Publish your ideas using the following HTML/Text Editors
Notepad, Free, Installed on all Windows machines
Wordpad, Free, Installed on all Windows machines
Homesite an integrated HTML development package similar to BBEdit on the
Mac. Available for purchase at Allaire
Composer, Free - Netscape (part of Communicator)
Word, Commercial - Microsoft
FrontPage, Commercial - Microsoft
CodeWright, Commercial - Microsoft
Dreamweaver, Commercial - Macromedia
GoLive, Commercial - Adobe
Illustrate and elucidate through these Graphic Programs
Paint Shop Pro
Adobe Photoshop, Commercial - Adobe
Fireworks, Commercial - Macromedia
FTP those files online with
WS-FTP Shareware
CuteFTP, Commercial GlobalScape
Pack punch to your zine with the following Programming Languages
Perl Free
PHP server-side scripting language Free
Codewarrior (Java, C, C++) Commercial
- Paul Weinstein
|
| |
| Online Resources |
-Refer to the sites below as Online Resources:
HTML primers - more details on how to get started writing HTML code
webmonkey
pageresource
Graphics Guides - details on the different graphic formats and when to use them:
webtools
builder.com
mardiweb
Color charts - quick reference to web colors and their hexidecimal codes:
Visibone
Hitmill
FMS Color
rgb2hex
color
More on HTML, Java, Javascript:
Project Cool
Netscape DevEdge
Link Exchange
Web Reference
Web Developer's Virtual Library
HTML code validator
CGI:
worldwidemart
extropia
freecode
Search Engines
Yahoo
Lycos
HotBot
AltaVista
tiac.net (List of top Search Engines)
The quickest and easiest way to learn more about HTML is to go to your favorite sites and rip off the code.
"Medicore artists create; great artists steal."
- Picasso
- Paul Weinstein
|
| |
| Tracking visitors on your site |
Solutions for this range from the simple to the complex. The simplest is
to add a counter to your web page(s). You can either add a counter that is
maintained by another site such as LinkExchange or you can add a simple
Perl or Javascript to your site that keeps track for you. This information
only provides how many times your web page has been requested. It doesn't
allow you to track the user, find out where they came from or how they made
it to your site.
But counters are kind of funky - why do users care how many hits you get? If this
is important, include it - but if your count is low, it may give your site an aura
of the unpopular (or the exclusive). But the real value of counting is to give an
idea of your traffic and which pages are popular, so this information is generally kept private.
A more sophisticated, but still free method is something like Webtraker
supplied by fxweb. This
system leaves a cookie with the
visitors' web browser. This allows you to find out how often that specific
person revisits your site, along with information about where in the world
the visitor is located, what web browser and computer platform they use,
what time of day or week they visited and of course how many total hits
you're site has received. This method can also be duplicated on your own
without using FXWeb, buy installing the CGI scripts onto your site.
To see the stats generated for Weinstein.org using Webtracker during a two
year period check out
stats
If you have access to your web server directly or have a system
administrator to assist, you can install and run free or commercial log
analysis software that process the access logs that they web servers
automatically generates. You can then access the stats of who visited,
when, how long they stated, what they viewed, when they viewed, etc. via
your web browser. One free version of this software is
called Webalizer. A
popular commercial version is sold by
Sane Solutions called Netracker.
- Paul Weinstein
|
|
|
| |
How to Leave the Planet
1) Phone NASA. Their phone number is (713) 483-3111. Explain that it's very important that you get away as soon as possible.
2) If they do not cooperate, phone any friend you may have in the White House - (202) 456-1414 - to have a word on your behalf with the guys at NASA.
3) If you don't have any friends in the White House, phone the Kremlin (ask the overseas operator for 0107-095-295-9051). They don't have any friends there either (at least, none to speak of), but they do seem to have a little influence, so you might as well try.
4) If that also fails, phone the Pope for guidance. His telephone number is 011-39-6-6982, and I gather his switchboard is infallible.
5) If all these attempts fail, flag down a passing flying saucer and explain that it's vitally important you get away before your phone bill arrives.
-Douglas Adams
|
|
|
