FAQ: Part One

Frequently Asked Questions

Web Development

I must warn you - I don't do this for living. However, I have not found a good quick and dirty source for this information. You may be able to prove me otherwise, if so, good for you!

Do you really have that much time on my hands?

No I don't, This sure looks like it though..

In fact - I could not even make this page have three columns - it looked horrible in a web browser!

Can I make a Web site like this? How?

These pages were created on a 6-7 year-old Macintosh Quadra 660av with 40 Megs of RAM and an Extra 2 Gig APS external hard drive along side it using (cheater me) Claris Home Page2.0. There are web authoring applications that are fancier and can do more, but let's back up here - this is my first set of web pages. I will do more and learn more as time goes on, maybe with each extra page I link to this site.. You don't need a degree to make web pages for the Internet. You do need a degree to make seemless - flowing pages that dazzle your senses...or a boat-load of experience. The only way you are going to learn is by making mistakes... Come on now, times a wasting...!

What do I need to get going?

You will need:

A half-way decent computer - not the latest and greatest.
Software to create pages or a page
A Host to place your page(s) on their Server - ask about restrictions before you go making pages which are way too big.
A bit of Patience and Time - Think of this as learning a new hobby!

If you were a pioneer of a Web Page or think helper programs are junk, then you could learn HTML - which stands for Hypertext Mark-up Language. Personally, I like helper GUI - Graphical User Interface (Goo-ey ) programs which give instant gratification, but can get you into deep trouble if you have a huge web site or change things on the site around a lot. In short, it's better to learn the language, than to fake it for very sophisticated web sites.

What's GUI?

- Graphical User Interface - It's the reason why something looks like something and not like nothing. Examples: Windows95 -it sure doesn't look like the IBM PCjr. The look and feel of a Macintosh OS - click here, drag there, is an excellent example of a GUI - you do not see the underpinnings that are going on...yet the hard drive whirls and applications mysteriously open on your desktop. You can create web pages and not even see the HTML language the web page actually is made of - The GUI is for you, like a computer monitor is for you. The computer doesn't care if a monitor is attached or not, it's for your ease of use.

O.K. Wise one, I have made the pages or another person created for me, dumped all this money in getting the website up and running and nobody, I mean NOBODY is hitting up my page(s)? Why?

How hard is it to get to your web page? Then three other things come to mind:
How deeply is your page buried in the WWW?
Have you made your web page explore-able by search engines?
Who have you told about your web pages? - don't depend on search engines alone..

One of my favorite sites is www.calvert.com/sfdt/sfdt.html - which is not buried too deep. I have seen worse, like this set of webpages. I am hoping that this will be moved or people will find out by word of mouth. However, the search engines will have found this site in time.

What you want to pay for is the pleasure of an easy name, like www.webspagesthatsuck.com (a real site or should look at) - you need a webpage that is easy to remember and to get to. There are companies that will give you a decent site host name for a decent price. Now, I just saved your career and you owe me big bucks, but instead, go to Cape Cod, buy lots of Pottery from my father, Mike Carstanjen Pottery. He may even give you a discount if you mention my website!