Home PageA home page is the top-level document that you see on a Website for a person or a company. At a home page, you'll find a full graphical index or directory that will provide you with information about the Web site's subject and will often give you links to other information or sites. Home pages are written in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) which is fairly simple to use, especially with the help of a text editor.
All home pages are written in HTML which is built "on top" of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language). SGML is a text formatting language that can be used to describe a large variety of markup languages. HTML is a specific application of SGML that uses its formats to allow you to separate information from the presentation of a document. When you create a home page with HTML, you're simply using the language to code the contents of your page and make it readable for the Web. HTML enables you to put a variety of things in your home page, including graphics, links to other sites, and text (although it's important to remember that people will sometimes turn off their graphics to save time). It also lets you change document elements such as font, paragraph spacing, and font size without having to change the document itself. It is possible to translate documents of other types, such as WordPerfect or FrameMaker, into HTML through the use of conversion software.
You can see what a home page written in HTML looks like by examining the source code of any Web page through a browser like Mosaic or Netscape. If you're using Mosaic, this feature is under the File menu; if you're using Netscape, it's under View. Even though people don't always use HTML correctly in writing home pages, this is still a very good way to examine the HTML of a page.
For those who are uninterested, it's possible to avoid learning the inner workings of HTML by using a text editor, a program used for creating and editing text files. A text editor makes it easier to author something in HTML, since you don't have to worry about HTML markup--the program takes care of it for you. You simply decide what you want to do in your document and choose the corresponding element. For example, with many text editors, if you want to include a URL, you simply paste the URL into your document and the editor takes care of the requisite formatting--you're not required to know anything about URL syntax. A WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor will give you a graphic interface; it can add a color toolbar to your word processing program that will allow you to perform HTML commands just as you perform normal word processing commands. With WYSIWYG, you never have to deal with HTML tags if you don't want to--you just need to use the pull-down and pop-up menus. Some editors include extensions to deal with the capabilities of specific Web browsers, such as Netscape, and they will often let you add commands of your own choosing. Editors may also include spell check, cut and paste capacity, tools for creating tables, and "help" assistance. Examples of editors include BBEdit, Web Warrior, HoTMetaL, ANT HTML, HTML Assistant, and Live Markup.
There is a wide variety in the types of information that home pages contain. Business home pages may include detailed information about the company, listings of past projects, copies of reports or papers, video clips, information about employees, photos, sound clips to welcome you to the page, and links to sites of interest. Companies often allow employees to create individual home pages, which can be accessed through the company's site. A home page can be a very useful resource for a company. Through the homepage, customers or clients can independently obtain a lot of information without having to contact the company directly. A company that sends out product information, for example, can save postage and printing costs by making the information available online. An increasing number of consumers expect companies to have on-line customer support, and a home page can contain valuable information in this area--it can even provide an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for common customer queries. In addition, the fact that a company increases its "presence" on the Web by having a home page is usually good for business.
Individuals create home pages for the same reason as businesses: to disseminate information. Home pages can be very useful for making professional contacts. Many people post resumes on home pages, and it's not unusual to see a blurb soliciting employment. Many people also view home pages as a forum for creative expression, and they can be fascinatingly (or strangely) intimate. Home pages created in this vein may represent an enormous range of content: photos of recent trips, lists of favorite recipes, resumes, self- created art or poetry, and music clips are all possible content. You may find a live camera shot of an apartment, or a lava lamp, or a fish tank; archives of comic strips, nude photos of movie stars, or a Ph.D. dissertation. Links to preferred Net hangouts are de rigeur for such pages as well. University students often have the facilities to make quite stellar pages (see the link to MIT student pages), and including grades, schedules, and papers in a home page is not rare.
Creating your own home page gives you control over its appearance. You are able to determine the background, select graphics, fonts, and colors, and organize the information in the manner that you find ideal (the links above contain useful information regarding home page design). It's a good idea to look at a home page in a variety of formats when you're finished creating it. A page that looks amazing in full-blown Netscape may look less than impressive if the graphics are turned off, or if someone is using Lynx (which shows text only).