17th May 2008

Website design programs, a look at HTML editors and FTP software

Welcome to the second part of our web design tutorial where we look at webdesign programs.

1 - Finding a host	2 - Programs	3 - Designing page layout
4 - Designing part 2	5 - Intro to HTML	6 - Intro to HTML Part 2
7 - Creating the page

Next you need some programs with which to develop your site.

HTML or Text Editor

The first one we will need is a HTML Editor or text editor to allow us to make the code which makes up the website.

There are lots of different options and your choice will depend largely on whether you want to learn HTML or you just want an easy program that will let you create a site graphically instead of coding, for the purpose of this tutorial we will concentrate on the former this will give you a vital insight into how HTML works, so we will need a text editor.

There are a few text editors that are free and make HTML coding that little bit easier, one you should already have Notepad (windows) or Simpletext (Mac) it is one of these we will use in this tutorial.

If you are running something other than Windows or the Mac operating system then you will need to use a standard Text Editor.

FTP program

The next program we need is an FTP program, this allows you to transfer your files from your computer to your host so they are viewable via the internet.

Some hosts also allow you to transfer files directly from your control panel if you find this an easier way then you will have to consult your host, if however, you use a standard FTP program then this will put you in good stead if ever you change your host.

There are a few FREE FTP programs the one you use will be up to you, if you want a more stable FTP program then we recommend CuteFTP which is one of the easiest to start off with, you can download an evaluation copy of CuteFTP by clicking here, you will have 30 days to try it free. We will be using this for this course so if you are unsure it is best to download CuteFTP to make the tutorial easier to follow, and it doesn't cost anything.

Graphics program

Next (optional) we will need a graphics program to create any logos or images you may wish to use, the chances are you already have a basic graphics program on your computer for instance Paint that comes with Windows.

The steps in creating a logo or any images are beyond the scope of this course but we will show you how to place the images into your webpage, we will soon be adding a tutorial for Microsoft Photo draw and Paint Shop Pro to the courses section.

When you have all the above ready you can move onto the next part of the course 'designing page layout'.

Click here to continue the tutorial.