Ever wanted to create a family website but you weren’t sure where to get started? Creating a Family Web Site Can Be Fun & Easy, by Marian Press, can help. This primer was designed to help any genealogist create their first website.
This book starts with the most basic skills of the Internet. Beginning with key terms and tools necessary to build a website, then moving on to the basics of HMTL. Followed by a chapter on additional features and options for websites, the reader will be well prepared to get their first website up and going.
This second edition was published in May 2005 and revised in March 2007. As the Internet changes rapidly, there seems to always be new features and services available. Thus, it would be impossible to keep a book in print that covers every option and feature a genealogist may use. However, for those just getting started with their first website, little as changed. HTML is still the core language of webpages. Even when using visual design tools, knowing the basics will help the newbie create a better design with the correct features, even when the tools do most of the work. Creating a Family Web Site Can Be Fun & Easy can provide the first time web builder with the understanding they need to better appreciate and create their first site, regardless of new tools and feature they may wish to add at a later time.
Table of Contents
Reasons to Choose the Web
- Internet & Genealogy Timeline
What You Will Need to Build Web Pages on the Internet
- A Computer & an Internet Connection
- An Internet Service Provider (ISP)
- Text Editing Software
- Family Tree Software
- File Transfer Software
- Web Space
How the Internet & the World Wide Web Works
- Components of a URL
The Language of the Web: Hypertext Markup Language
- The Basics of HTML
- Essential Tags on a Web Page
- Figure 1: At this Stage this is all that would be in the body of the web page
- HTML Tabs for Presentation
- HTML Tags for Dividing or Placing Elements on a Page
- Figure 2: A Simple Web Page is now Beginning to Emerge
- Lists of Items
- Figure 3: Lists are Useful for Outlining Family Information in Different Ways
- Links to Other Pages or Resources
- Hyperlinking to an Email Address
- Special Characters in HTML
- Backgrounds & Colours
Planning Your Web Site
What Kind of Content is Useful on a Genealogical Web Site?
Storyboarding Your Web Site
- Figure 4: A simple Linear Path Web Site would follow this Pattern
- Figure 5: A Site with a Central Page & Links Radiating Out to a Number of Separate Pages
- Figure 6: A Hierarchical Web Site would follow this Pattern
National Genealogical Society Genealogical Standards
- Standards for Sharing Information with Others Guidelines for Publishing Web Pages on the Internet
Producing HTML
Building A Page “By Hand”
- Word Processing Software
- HTML Editors
- More Advanced Web Authoring Tools
Principles of Good Web Design
- A Consistent Look
- Navigation
- How Long Should Your Web Pages Be?
- Design Your Pages for Usability
Design Your Pages for Search Engines
- The Title of your Web Page
- The First Sentences of a Page
- The Entire Page
- Meta Tags
- Some Combinations of the Above
Writing for the Web
Images in a Web Document
Graphic File Formats
Producing Your Own Images
Using Images Others Have Created
Controlling the Placement of Text & Images
- Tables
- Figure 7: The Coding Displays in this Way
- Figure 8: At the Top of the Page is the Default Placement of Text; Below is the Text Confined Within a Table with One Cell 550 Pixels Wide
- Figure 9: The Toronto Branch, OGS Web Site uses Tables for the Layout of the Page
- Nonbreaking Spaces
- Frames
More Advanced Web Pages Construction
- Cascading Style Sheets
- Dynamic Web Pages
- Forms
- JavaScript
- Java
Putting Genealogical Data on the Web
- HTML Output from Your Family Tree Program
GEDCOM to HTML Converters
- Figure 10: An Index Page generated by GED2HTML
- Figure 11: A Family Group Sheet generated by GEDPAGE
The WorldConnect Project
- Exporting in Other Formats from Your Family Tree Program
- Coding Your Own Family Tree Data
- Figure 12: A Pedigree Chart using Elaine Johnson’s HTML code
Additional Options for Your Web Site
- Web Page Counters
- Guestbooks
- Mailing Lists
- Web Page Tracking Service
- A Search Engine
Getting Your Site Ready for the Web
Uploading Your Site
Getting Yourself Noticed on the Web
Maintaining & Updating Your Web Site
A Step-by Step Guide for Building a Web Site: Using Rootsweb & the WorldConnect Project
- Plan your Site
- Set up your Web Server Space
- Gather Together all the Information
- Begin the HTML Coding of your Pages
- Check Your Web Pages
- Uploading Your Files
- Test Your Site Immediately
- Sending your GEDCOM files to the WorldConnect Project
- Advertise Your Site
Selected Books & Web Sites
- Learning About the Internet
- Finding Software
- General Resources for Web Page Developers
- Learning HTML
- Tools for Creating HTML
- Tools for Validating & Checking HTML
- Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
- Image & Colour for Genealogy Web Pages
- Build Your Own Graphics
- GEDCOM
- GEDCOM to HTML Convertors
- GEDCOM Privacy Tools
- Family Tree Programs
- Family Tree Tools
- Web Design
- Additions to Your Web Site
- Advertising Your Web Site
Glossary
Order Creating a Family Web Site Can Be Fun & Easy from Family Roots Publishing; Item #: HBBook13, Price: $13.72.