i. Introduction

The World Wide Web is the Gutenberg press of our time. Just about anyone can create their own Web site and then present it to the Internet public. Some Web pages belong to businesses with services to sell, others to individuals with information to share. You get to decide what your page will be like.

All Web pages are written with some form of HTML. HTML lets you format text, add graphics, sound, and video, and save it all in a text file that any computer can read.

HTML is not hard to learn or to master. It is much more an exercise in careful typing and consistency than in mind-blowingly complicated procedures. You can have a simple HTML page up and running in just a few minutes. And while there are many software programs that will create HTML code for you, writing HTML yourself means you won't have to study new software nor be limited by its features.

In this book, you'll find clear, easy-to-follow instructions that will take you through the process of creating Web pages step by step. It is ideal for the beginner, with no knowledge of HTML, who wants to begin to create Web pages.

If you're already familiar with HTML, this book is a perfect reference guide. You can look up topics in the hefty index and consult just those subjects about which you need more information.