How do I make a webpage?

The Basics

You have to write the web pages
You have to transfer the pages to the web server
The web server needs to serve the pages to users

Write the web pages

I'm not talking about what to write here (which actually is more important), but about how to write...
Web pages are written in a code called HTML. You can write your web pages directly in HTML or you can use any of a large number of word processors which have a feature to output HTML automatically.

Photos and graphics are encodes as JPEG or GIF images.

Transfering web pages to the server (uploading)

This is probably the most confusing of the basic steps. This step can be wildly different depending on what provider you use for serving the pages.

Most providers use one of these methods:
   - FTP (File Transfer Protocol) which can be either used directly, or is built-in by a most web page editors.
   - Microsoft Frontpage private. Good for Microsoft shops. (Frontpage works as well with FTP)
   - "Easy-use", special-purpose tools, prepared by the ISP.

For our old server: We have developed our own file transfer tools. Our tools may not be perfect (limited time to develop) but they do the job. Our tools (on the old server) allow compartmentalizing different directories for different units.
We now have a new server which supports multiple FTP accounts and standard tools.

Serving the web pages to the user

Some people call this "hosting" the web pages. There is not much to that. Not many people own a web server. Most people pay an ISP (Internet Service Provider) to "host" the pages for them. There are totally free servers, no-frill servers (about $20 a month) and there is no upper limit on the price tag if they sell you more feature (There are many useful, as well as many more totally useless features. For a troop web page I cannot imagine why you would need non basic features)

The browser and the server communicate with each other in a code called "HTTP". You don't need to know HTTP to write web pages.

A few more advanced questions

Do I need a domain name like www.Troop999.com

For reasons unknown to the author this is an important question to many troops. I believe that this is an unnecessary expense. People in your troop will bookmark your troop; other people might follow a link but who types it in? A domain name's real costs are $35 per year (pay two years in advance) paid to the Internic. Your ISP may add other charges to that.

This has changed: Domain names are now available for $15 and less.

How do I password protect my pages

(Computer security is enormously complex, but password protecting a web page for a troop can be simplified to these statements:)

This can not be done safely on the web page itself. Password protection is done by the server which then either delivers or doesn't deliver the web page. The communication between the server and the browser is done in the HTTP code, without any involvement of the unit webmaster.

However, the way you as a webmaster tell the server to use password protection is done differently for different servers. You really have to ask your ISP. We have our own tool to do this (on the old server). The new server uses standard apache .htaccess

How secure is password protection

Not very, but certainly enough for your troops address list. It actually depends on how the web server is handled.

The worst (In my opinion) mistake a user can make is to use the same password on a web page and on his real computer accounts. Because it is rather easy to get your web password, you don't want that to give access to other data. The risk is less the inapropriate access to the troops data but the access of a users password to access the users other accounts.

What about CGI, Java, Frames, cookies, Javascript, VRML, SSL, SSI

Forget it. If you want to make a professional web page it is advantageous if you are not intimidated by such computer-eese. For a troop web page use only what you are already familiar with.
Look at the buzzwords if you must know.

Does it matter if my web site has advertising?

I personally wouldn't care for a troop web page. However for a council web page we think this is a no-no. (People may think the council endorses advertized products).

Use only those free providers which guarantee their advertisments to be in good taste and not inappropriate for children.

Can a youth be webmaster?

A youth may have all the required expertise and might design the pages. However we don't recommend that a youth should put pages out without adult supervision. For an account on scoutway adult responibility is required.

More on our guidelines page