Take a look at the two headings above. The style of the first one was made by using the H1 header tag. The second was made by setting the font size as 6 and then making the text bold. They look the same! The only difference is the spacing around the text (headers have more, like double spacing) and the fact that you don't need a line break tag (BR) after text in a header tag.
This is a useful aspect of the BODY tag, which is found close to the beginning of the file of HTML code. (It's where you make changes to the background color and link colors.) This webpage has a background color set, as well as a background image. The image takes precedence, but the background color will appear while the image is loading. It's a good idea to set a background color that is complimentary or similar to the image, in case it has a problem loading the image or whanot. It also looks nice while they're waiting for the image to load, especially if they have a slow connection or machine. It also means you can be sure your text and link colors will show up on a matching background color in case the image won't load.
You'll also see in the body tag that I've changed the color for all the text on the webpage. You can set it there in the body tag for the entire page, or you can change text just for one word or phrase--an example of this is the list I had on the first webpage. You will find that webpage here.
Using different fonts is a good change of pace and can make your webpage catch someone's eye! I personally get tired of the usual Times New Roman face. You can use any font that you have on your computer and it will show up when *you* load it, but keep in mind that others may not have the same fonts as you. It is safe to assume that most people have the standard font set, like Courier, Courier New, Comic Sans MS, Helvetica, or Arial. Playing with these fonts in different sizes should give you enough versatility for what you want to do.
If you want to use a different font face, you should set it at the beginning of the code (right after the body tag is a good place) and keep the end tag at the end of the code (just before the ending /BODY tag is fine). Something to note: if you are using a table, you'll have to set the font again within each cell of the table if you want the font changed from the default there too. Otherwise, you'll just have Times text in the cells of your table. You can add several things to a font tag, as I have for this paragraph if you check out the code. To close it, just end with /FONT. To close or change the size but not the face, you still have to begin a brand new font tag...I closed the font tag just before this sentence, and it returned it to the default, even though I ended it as /FONT SIZE.
You've got the files on a disk or on your Home Directory (your own folder on the network, on one of the student servers) or perhaps temporarily saved in the Documents folder on the desktop. You can view it on that computer with Pagespinner and Netscape, but no one else can see it because it's not yet "on the web." To put it "up," you need to transfer all the files you're using to the web account where they will be stored. This is a special account that allows it to be viewable on the web. For a student trying to put up an organization or team webpage, you need a sophia account. For a department or administrative webpage, there is other server space available.When you're ready, you need to transfer the files with WS-FTP (for Windows machines) or Fetch (for Macs). WS-FTP should be under Start: Programs: Internet Tools: WS-FTP. Fetch is found through the Launcher, under "Internet." If you don't have it on your own Mac, you can download it for free.
There is online documentation for using FTP! Give it a try, and then ask for help if you get stuck.
"Using Fetch to Upload and Download Files" is found here: http://www.smith.edu/its/documents/Internet/FTP/inft089801.htm
"Using FTP to Transfer Files" is found here: http://www.smith.edu/its/documents/Internet/FTP/inft089803.htm
These are both on the ITS Documents Server. You can find hard copies in the computer labs and also from the User Support Center on the 2nd floor of Stoddard Hall.
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