Free Resources to Help You Design Your Web Page

Designing a simple Web page is not a difficult endeavor, and there are many tools and toys around to make it easier to design fancier Web pages.  Since there are enough places out on the Web that will list hundreds of different tools, trying to build a comprehensive list would be fruitless. We can, however, let you know of some of the software and free resources that we have found useful or fun.
 
 

Creating a Site
 
For pure simplicity, there are not too many programs that can rival the ease and flexibility of the Web editor that is built into the newer versions of Netscape.  If you have no desire to learn how to code html, this is quite possibly the best way for you to go.  It has its limitations, and we don't advise using it if you are joining a banner exchange program, or adding a free counter (see below) because although it's possible, we've seen far too many demolished links and banners because of people using a program that changes page code arbitrarily, like Netscape does.  For those who are willing to brave the HTML code jungle, the HotDog Web editor from Sausage Software often gets rave reviews, but if this humble Webmaster had to choose, HomeSite 2.5 or the latest version of Webmania would get my vote. It's all a matter of preference, after all.
 
Love Those Graphics
 
If you don't have a fancy graphics creation program on your computer already, you may have to make do with a shareware or freeware program to create graphics. One of the best downloadable image editors around is Paint Shop Pro. It's shareware, so you'll have to spend a bit of cash if you want to use it past the trial period, but many folks think it's worth it.

While the freeware version of Xara Webster is limited, we've gotten a lot of mileage out of this little graphics program. It's fun, it comes with a bundle of buttons, backgrounds and dividers you can play with, and it has some neat features we never tire of experimenting with. All that, and it's free.

Add some fancy functions:

We have a built in statistics package to tell us who has visited our pages and when, so we don't really need a counter on our pages, but for those who don't, or for those folks who want a page counter for fun and quick reference, you can get one free at: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/2765/. All you have to do is add the little graphic linking back to their home page, and it's yours free to use and abuse as you see fit.

If you're looking for something bolder, brighter, with more information, you may want to give PageCount a try. Their counter is inside an advertising banner (a bit garish for some), and in exchange for letting them make advertising revenues off of your site, their counter service will give you statistics like : how many people viewed your page, a breakdown of page views by date, day, and time,  a list of where the requests for your page originated and, the hostnames of the visitors.
 

Have you ever been impressed by the message boards on people's Web sites? Having a message board on your pages seems like an impossible dream if you either don't have CGI directory access, or if you haven't a clue what a CGI is. Thankfully, a kind soul has made free message boards available to the less fortunate. Just fill in the forms, add a link from your pages, and VOILA, you're talking to the world! Of course, it's not exactly on your site, but who's going to notice?
 

If you're not sure you're awake enough to monitor a whole message board, perhaps a free guestbook would be more up your alley.  LPage has been giving out free guestbooks since the dawn of (Web) time, so they ought to know what they're doing.  If you're more experimental, you could always try installing a java based guestbook on your pages.  Although Guestbook* Star isn't a program we've tried, it does seem like something we would have fun playing with for a while.