Web Development Resources

HTML Guides and Tutorials for Beginners

There are many HTML references and training sites on the Web. These few have been chosen due to their format and simplicity. You won't need them all, so use the one or two that fits your learning style.

• HTML Goodies' HTML Primer
  Seven-part tutorial covering the basics of HTML.

• W3schools HTML Tutorial
  One of W3School's excellent tutorials.

• Webmonkey Authoring HTML Basics
  Information and links to Webmonkey's introductory HTML articles and resources.

• Jay Boersma's Web Work
  Brief introduction to HTML and other web design-related topics such as graphics, style sheets, and scripting languages.

MS FrontPage Resources

These resources are for web developers using Microsoft FrontPage.

• Using FP 2002 to Create Web Pages
  Tutorials, tips, and tricks for using FrontPage.

• Changing your FrontPage Password
  How to change you web account password on the main ISU web server (www.indstate.edu).

• Working with FrontPage from Off-Campus
  How to access and edit your pages on select ISU web servers (www, sapphire, ISU) through FrontPage from off-campus.

• FrontPage 2002 Forms with Multiple E-mail Addresses
  Creating an e-mail form that will e-mail more than one recipient.

• Password Protecting Your Webpage Using FP 2002 on Unix web servers with Full FP 2002 Extensions
  How to create a password protected directory in your web account using FrontPage 2002 on ISU Unix web servers with full FrontPage 2002 Extensions (www, isu, sapphire).

• FrontPage Tips
  A collection of useful FrontPage tips.

• Steps to Create a Backup of Your Draft Web on Your Hard Drive
  How to create a backup of your draft web on your hard drive.

• Creating Hotspots to Your Images in FrontPage
  How to create hyperlinks to different locations by clicking different areas of a picture.

Graphics

• Using Images in Web Pages
  Which image formats you should use on web pages and how to determine which format you should use for a particular image. Includes links to further resources.

• Using Images in FrontPage
  How to import, resize, and convert images from within FrontPage.

• Creating Hotspots to Your Images in FrontPage
  How to create hyperlinks to different locations by clicking different areas of a picture.

Sites with free graphics
ISU-specific and generally available graphics for websites. NOTE: Please copy graphics from off-campus sites into your web account and reference them there. Do not reference them from their original off-campus sites.

• ISU website templates, graphics, and logos
  

• Barry's Clipart Server
  

• IconBAZAAR
  

• Cool Archive Free Clip Art and Fonts
  

• Absolute Web Graphics Archive
  

Content Accessibility, Usability, and Information Architecture

These resources focus on how to make the content of your website easier to understand, navigate, and access by all viewers.

• ISU Web Accessibility Checklist
  ISU Web Style Guide chapter on federal Section 508 requirements for making web content available to those with physical challenges.

• useit.com
  Jakob Nielsen's site on usability and web design.

• Usability.gov
  National Cancer Institute's excellent usability portal for any web developer.

• WebAIM - Web Accessibility in Mind
  Accessibility portal containing general accessibility information and tutorials on how to make your site more accessible.

• AnyBrowser.org - Accessible Site Design Guide
  Brief accessibility tutorial containing a large number of links to outside resources.

• Webmonkey Information Architecture Tutorial
  How to define site goals, collect information about your users, collect and structure content, and visually layout your site.

Technical Resources

Use these ISU created documents to add additional functionality to your website.

• FTP Help Guide
  How to transfer pages to and from your web account using an FTP client. Specific instructions are given for WS_FTP, Cute FTP, and Fetch.

• Creating Web Forms Using Cgiemail
  Instructions for creating e-mail forms using a cgi script that is installed on the main ISU web sever (www.indstate.edu).

• Building a Web Form and a Script to Process It
  Brief, advanced tutorial for creating a custom e-mail form. Programming knowledge required.

• Page Counters
  How to create a page counter on the main ISU web sever (www.indstate.edu).

• Unix/Linux File Permissions and the chmod Command
  How to grant and restrict access to files on your website.

• Password Protecting Your Webpage
  How to password protect a directory in your web account (without using FrontPage).

• Password Protecting Your Webpage Using FP 2002 on Unix web servers with Full FP 2002 Extensions
  How to create a password protected directory in your web account using FrontPage 2002 on ISU Unix web servers with full FrontPage 2002 Extensions (www, isu, sapphire).

• Server Side Includes (SSIs)
  SSIs can greatly ease site maintenance by allowing you to store common site elements in one place instead of on each page separately.

• Steps to Create a Backup of Your Draft Web on Your Hard Drive
  How to create a backup of your draft web on your hard drive.

• Steps to Fix the Errors Processing Directives
  How to fix the errors caused by the 'include file' directives on webpages.

Advanced Web Development References

These websites contain content for the more advanced web developer.

• Yale C/AIM Web Style Guide, 2nd Edition
  Although named a style guide, this is more of a reference which covers a wide range of web design-related topics.

• Webmonkey
  A popular general web development site which includes a wide array of articles and tutorials.

• Index DOT HTML and Index DOT CSS
  Excellent HTML and CSS references.

• HTML Help by The Web Design Group
  A collection of FAQs, links, and validators.

• NetMechanic's Webmaster Tips Newsletter
  Archives of bi-monthly newsletter of web development tips.

• Web Developer's Virtual Library
  Encyclopedia of Web Design Tutorials, Articles and Discussions.

• Unix Help and DOS to Unix Translation for popular commands.