The following skills are necessary to create an effective web page. The intention here is to give an overview of the primary options that are available. Several WYSIWYG (what you is what you get) software packages allow for web page construction without requiring the student to know HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) tags. Of course for the purist, the latest specs for HTML programming are available from the World Wide Web Consortium site.1
Working with Text
HTML, the tag language web browsers decode, has the ability to display rich text. Rich text includes such features as bold, italics, underlining, and colors. In addition, web pages support various text sizes and typefaces as well. Paragraph formatting like left and right justified and indenting is also available. It is important for a web page author to get to know the features available for displaying text.
Inserting Links & Targets
One of the major highlights of the world wide web is the hyperlink. An author can create hyperlinks from page to page as well as within a page. Hyperlinks within pages are called targets. It is imperative that a web page author know how to create links.
Inserting Images and other media
Another highlight of the world wide web is the ability to easily add images or other media to a page. It is important to understand that the image is separate from the html file that accesses it.
Using Tables as Layout Controls
A web
page author needs to learn how to create tables in order to place the various
elements of the page in appropriate locations. Tables allow an author to
create columns of text or images, to limit the text width of a paragraph,
to create blocks of information on the screen, to put space between the
elements on a page, and other design features. Tables are essential to
creating good web page design.2