Learn How To Build
Your Web Site Using Nvu: |
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Nvu is a tool that you can use to build a great web site. But what exactly is a web site and how does it all work? This document will help to
guide you through the entire process and answer some questions that you may have. The good news is that there are many excellent resources
available on the World Wide Web to help you create a great web site! So, let's start from the very beginning and explain how to build your web site using Nvu.
The first thing you need to understand is how your web site fits within the "big picture" of the Internet. Putting together a web page is only
part of the process. If you look at the image on the right you will see that your computer running Nvu is only one piece of the puzzle. When people browse the World Wide Web they do not connect to your computer to view your web site. In
order to view a site on the World Wide Web you must first put it on a Web Server. You use your computer (running Nvu) to create the web site and then you Publish (or upload) it to a Web Server. The other people who are on the Internet
can then connect to the Web Server to view the site. So, where do you begin?
Steps to Setting Up Your Own Web Site
1.) Purchase a Domain Name:
A "www.somewhere.com" name for your web site is called a domain name. Before you can set up a public web site you have to purchase a unique domain name. These are sold by domain registrars and you typically pay for them by the year. The way that it works is that you
go to an ICANN-approved registrar like Dotster (www.dotster.com).
The first step is to check to see if the name that you want is available. Type the name that you would like to buy in the form below and click on the arrow button to perform a lookup. This will connect to Dotster and check to see if the name is available for purchase:
You can also do this by going directly to the www.dotster.com web site. In the box that says "Enter Up to 50 Domains" you should type the name that you want and click the "Find A Domain" button. This will search the database to check to see if your name is available. When the search results are returned you will see the status of either "Taken" or "Available". You will have to keep searching until you find a domain name that is available for purchase. Remember: If you type in the coupon code: "Nvu" when you check out you will get a 15% discount off your purchase! This is our way of saying "Thank You" for using Nvu.
When you find a domain name that is available click the checkbox next to the name and then click the "Purchase Domain" button to proceed. On the next screen you can choose the length of time that you would like to own your domain name. Your options are 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, or 10 years and you have to continue to renew your domain
name or else you will lose it. Next, you will have to create a new account and click the "Continue" button to proceed.
2.) Sign Up for a Web Hosting Service:
In addition to domain names Dotster also offers web hosting services. In order to run your own web site you need both a domain name and a web hosting service (a web server). After you find the domain name that you want to purchase (see step 1) you should
sign up for web hosting service. At this time, Dotster offers five different web hosting options ranging in price from $5.25/mo. to $21.63/mo. The difference in price depends on the features that are offered. If you are just getting started we recommend that you sign up for the Starter Hosting package for $5.95 a month.
We highly recommend the Linux Hosting Starter which costs $71.40/yr. (or $5.95/mo.). This is the default choice so, to proceed click the "Continue" button on the right-hand side. The next step is to create an account by providing your name, address and billing information. This is our way of saying "Thank You" for using Nvu. After you finish your purchase you will receive an email containing your receipt. All of your settings can be changed and
accessed under your "My Account" settings at Dotster.
At any time you can go to www.dotster.com and click on "My Account" and enter your username and password to log into your account. After you have logged in, you can edit your web hosting account settings by clicking on the domain name you purchased. Then, click on on the "control panel" link located to the right of the "Hosting Account Information" link under Web Hosting. The important information that you
will need to know is the "FTP Settings" of your account — you will have to type this info into Nvu to publish. FTP information is found on the Control Panel page of your domain account. Login to your Domain account, click on the domain in the "Quick List" that has hosting. Now, scroll down to the hosting section and you will see a "Control Panel" link. On this screen it will display FTP information. You can also change your FTP Password here.
If you need additional help with your Dotster account you can visit the Dotster Support web site.
3.) Create Your Web Site
The next step is to actually build your web site using Nvu. Your web site can be basic or complicated and it all depends on what your goals are. We recommend that you start off simple while you are learning how to use Nvu. As your knowledge and skills increase you can start to build more sophisticated web sites. Nvu makes it as easy to build your web site as to use a word processing program. The more complicated
your web site, the more knowledge and understanding of HTML and the Web you will need to have. We recommend the following guidelines when building your web site:
• Store all of your web pages and images in the same directory
• Only images in the format: .gif, .jpg, and .png are usable on the web
• Do not use spaces in your file names
• Do not use capital letters in your file names
• Your web pages can have the extension .htm or .html but you should pick only one
• Learn how to create basic sites before you try more advanced things
There are many great tutorials on the Web that will explain some of the basics of creating web pages. If you are serious about creating a web site we recommend that you spend some time learning the "tricks of the trade" to get a better understanding of how to create great sites.
Nvu User Guide:
Nvu User Guide
EccentricGnat.com >> NVU Tutorials
Web Design Tutorials:
How to Design and Publish Your Website with Nvu
HTML Tutorials, Web Design Tutorials: Beginning HTML and Web Design
ABCs of Building a Web Site
HTML Tutorials in web page design by John C. Gilston
Books:
Web Design for Dummies
Creating Web Graphics for Dummies
Creating Web Pages All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies
Absolute Beginner's Guide to Creating Web Pages (2nd Edition)
4.) Publish (Upload) Your Web Site
Before you (or anyone) can view your web site on the Internet you need to publish (or upload) your pages and images to your web server. In steps 1 and 2 you learned how to sign up for a domain name and a hosting service. Now you will use the settings from your web hosting service to enable Nvu to publish your site to the web server.
To begin, open up Nvu and go to the "Edit" menu and select "Publish Site Settings". You must fill in these values before you will be able to publish your web site to the web server. The screen will look similar to this:
• Site Name: You can type any name you want in this field
• HTTP Address: This is the address that you type into a web browser to get to your web site
• Publishing Address: This is the FTP server information that you get from your web hosting service
• Username: This is the username that you use to connect to your web hosting service
• Password: This is the password that you use to connect to your web hosting service
You should disgregard the "Select Directory" button when setting up your web hosting connection. This only allows you to select local folders on your computer and has nothing to do with your web server. When you are finished setting up all of the settings for your web hosting options click on the "OK" button to save the information. After you set up the "Publish Site Settings" whenever
you click the Publish (or Save) buttons the local changes that you make to your web site will be uploaded to the web hosting service (web server). This is the method by which you make changes to your web site. First, make your changes locally on your computer using Nvu. Then, when you are done you click the "Publish" button to upload the information to your web hosting service. After your site
has been published you should be able to open a web browser and view your changes.
5.) Let People Know About Your Site
After you create your web site you will want to tell others about it. The best way to do this is to open your web browser and type in the address to your web site. After the site loads you can copy and paste the web address (called a URL) to your email program and send the link to friends and colleagues. If you would like to make your site more
accessible to other people on the Internet you will have to get it listed in Search Engines like Google. Here are some search engines that you can publish your new site to. Just follow the links below and submit the URL to your new web site:
• Google - http://www.google.com/addurl/
• The Open Directory Project - http://www.dmoz.org/add.html
• MSN Search - http://search.msn.com/docs/submit.aspx
• Yahoo Search - http://submit.search.yahoo.com/free/request
Places To Find Additional Help
Nvu Support Forums
Nvu Support Web Site
Privacy Policy ... Licensing
Copyright. © 2003-2007 Linspire, Inc. All rights reserved. Nvu is a trademark of Linspire, Inc
All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.