the web (properly, the world
wide web or WWW) is the name of the global network of interconnected
sites showing pages of information. You are on the web now (also known
as browsing or surfing). Most people think of this when they think of
the internet though it's a comparatively recent development in internet
history.
browsing
a good web browser is fast, doesn't get in the way, and helps keep you
safe online from spyware and adware (software that monitors you
activity online, or places adverts on your screen). Most Windows
computers come with Microsoft Internet Explorer, but for a better
experience and compliance with new internet standards, try one of
these...
- Firefox
- acknowledged as the
best browser on Windows, and also available for MacOS X and most types
of Linux, Mozilla Firefox is fast, secure and compliant with the latest
internet standards
- Konqueror
- for computers
running Linux, Konqueror is fast and flexible (for Macs, see Safari)
- Mozilla
Application Suite -
while not containing the latest in browsing technology, Mozilla is a
great integrated application suite with email, internet newsgroups,
chat and web page composing, plus an optional calendaring system
- Apple Safari
- only available
for MacOS X, Safari is based on Konqueror, fast and with arguably the
best user
interface of any browser
- Mozilla Camino - the essence of Firefox, packaged in a neat, MacOS X friendly package
We recommend Firefox. Don't ditch Internet Explorer completely, you may
need it for the irritating 10% of sites which do not work on
standards compliant browsers. Anybrowser campaigns for a non browser specific web.
building
putting a website together is
easy with the great free tools and services available online. Bramley
Apple Centre offers (hopefully) everything you need to get your website
started.
We'll be offering a "first homepage" tutorial in the future, please
check back here.
website building tools
N|VU
(new view) is the latest incarnation of Composer, the web page
authoring tool bundled with Netscape and Mozilla, which we've been
using since 1997. N|VU delivers a large number of new features and aims
to compete with commercial web design packages.
Macromedia Dreamweaver is what professional websites are built
with. It is also available as part of Macromedia Studio. It is a
powerful package that allows easy integration between web design, Flash
content and scripting (such as JavaScript and PHP for database
connections)
webspace
not only do you need to design
your site, but you also need somewhere to host it. If you have your own
ISP (internet service provider) account, you most likely have space
with them, typically somewhere between 5Mb and 50Mb, depending on your
package.
If not, why not choose a free
internet service provider such as Wanadoo,
which will allow you to host a site for free provided you dial into
their network at least once every 3 months.
If this isn't an option, tripod
and Geocities are two of many providers who provide free space, provided you can live
with pop up advert banners.
Alternatively, .Mac for Mac users (£69 a year) offers a range of tools including an online photo album, calendars and system backup utilities.
The next step up is to get
managed hosting, which we can offer from just £4.99
a month.
Better Webhosting
offer packages from £1 a month, with profits supporting the
macTALK mailing list (which helps us out when we can't solve a
technical support issue)
domains
Wouldn't you like to have
something.co.uk or something.com as your address, rather than the
longer and more unwieldy address your ISP gives you? Now you can buy
domains
through us, at some of
the
cheapest prices in the UK, from just £1.99 a year. These can come
with webspace and mailboxes, or just redirect to what you already have.
Once you have your domain name, you will need to set it up.
© bramley apple, 25-Oct-05, r1.4
