This section presumes that you have obtained all web site templates and have completed all the steps in Preparing the Elements.

Step 1: Open the templates.  First, open a text editor such as Notepad or Simple Text. If you wish, you may also use a WYSIWYG editor, such as Netscape Composer, FrontPage, or Dreamweaver. Choose "Save As" from the File menu; save the document with the name you wish it to be called in your site, such as "majors.html" or "faculty.html." Do this with each new document you create so that you do not overwrite the plain template. Keep names simple without spaces.

Step 2: Change sections of code, as instructed.  If you are using a text editor, you will notice that there are "comment tags" throughout the code -- instructions -- which will help you understand the construction of the page and point out areas where temporary placeholders should be replaced with text. Most WYSIWYG editors allow you to view the raw HTML -- you will need to use this feature when creating your initial pages to format them properly for your department.  An instruction looks like this:

<!-- This is an instruction. -->

2a. Change the title of your web page.  Near the top of the page you will find "title" tags, which look like this:

<title>UNC Asheville -- Your Title</title>

Between those tags, type the title of your page. This is the title that will also appear in your users' "Bookmark" or "Favorites" file. Your title might look like this:

<title>UNC Asheville -- History Department</title>

2b. Individualize the header for your web page.  Find

<!-- Change the line below as instructed by the Computer Center -->

and replace the line exactly below this line with the line provided to you by the Computer Center. For example, if you are creating a web page for the history department, the header might read

<!--webbot bot="Include" U-Include="/history/header_include.html"
TAG="BODY" -->

2c. Change the main links on your web page.  Find

<!-- Enter your links below this line -->

You should eliminate everything between this instruction and

<!-- Enter your links above this line -->

and replace the links already there with links to the main content you prepared in "Preparing the Elements" filling in all appropriate links at this time.  Since this section of the web page is blue and the main link color is also blue, you must change the font color to white (color="#FFFFFF") as in the example below:

<a href="faculty.html"><font size="2"
face="arial,geneva,helvetica,verdana,swiss"
color="#FFFFFF">Faculty</font></a>

2d. Change the Quick Links.  Find

<!-- Enter your quick links below this line -->

Adding a list of optional "quick links" provides an easy way for your users to find frequently accessed pages within your site.  You should limit the number of links in this section to three to five.  Since this section of the web page is blue and the main link color is also blue, you must change the font color to white (color="#FFFFFF") as in the example in 2c.  Be sure your entries in this section appear before the following line:

<!-- Enter your quick links above this line -->

NOTE: If you do not plan to use this section, find

<!-- BEGIN QUICK LINKS SECTION -->

and delete everything between this instruction and

<!-- END QUICK LINKS SECTION -->

2e. Change the content of your web page.  Find

<!-- Enter your content below this line -->

You may eliminate everything between this instruction and

<!-- Enter your content above this line -->

and replace the text already there with the introductory paragraph you prepared in "Preparing the Elements". You can also add any appropriate links at this time.

2f. Change current news and announcements.  Find

<!-- Enter your news content below this line -->

Enter your department's current news and announcements here. This section should be no more than two to four sentences in length and may include links to more information.  Be sure your entries in this section appear before the following line:

<!-- Enter your news content above this line -->

NOTE: If you do not plan to use this section, find

<!-- BEGIN NEWS SECTION -->

and delete everything between this instruction and

<!-- END NEWS SECTION -->

2g. Changing contact information.  Find

<b>DEPARTMENT NAME</b><br>

and replace the generic information in this section with your department's specific information.

2h. Change the footer for your web page.  Find

<!-- Change the line below as instructed by the Computer Center -->

at the bottom of the page and replace the line exactly below this line with the line provided to you by the Computer Center. For example, if you are creating a web page for the history department, the footer might read

<!--webbot bot="Include" U-Include="/history/footer_include.html"
TAG="BODY" -->

3. Save your work.

4. View you work in a browser.  Before you actually place your site on the Web, it is possible to view your work as it would appear on a web browser. Launch your web browser, then open the page from the location it is stored on your hard drive. You will notice that the header with images and footer do not appear. This is normal as these files are stored on the server. When you upload your page onto the server, all elements of the page will render themselves correctly. Use this opportunity to change any spelling or content errors and to make sure the layout is generally as you want it to appear.

5. Upload your web pages to the server.  Using WS_FTP (PC) or Fetch (Mac), upload your files to the proper directory in the server. Some HTML editors have a "publish" feature built into them which will allow you to upload your web pages directly.  If you can not remember how or where to upload your web pages or if you are creating a new website, you will need to contact webmaster@unca.edu for more information.

6. Test your web pages in a browser.  Test your pages in a browser (both Netscape and IE, if possible) to make sure all elements appear as they should, and that all links are functioning. You should also view your work on both a PC and a Mac. If you find errors, correct them on the file located on your hard drive, and then repeat steps 3 through 6.

7. Test your web pages for validity and accessibility.  Several recent changes to state and federal laws require that employees and members of the public with disabilities have access to and use of information and data comparable to that of the employees and members of the public without disabilities unless it is an undue burden to do so.  To ensure your web pages are compliant, check them against W3C's HTML Validator and Bobby 3.2.  If you find errors, correct them on the file located on your hard drive, and then repeat steps 3 through 7.

8. Keep your pages current!  A web site is only effective when it is kept current. If you need to make changes to your web site, use WS_FTP or Fetch to download your pages from the server, make changes as necessary and then repeat steps 3 through 7.  If you are using FrontPage, you may open the files directly on the server and edit them "live" -- see the email provided to you when your web space was initially created for instructions or contact webmaster@unca.edu for more information.

More information about working with HTML is available in Other Resources.