Design a Web Page Using Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is normally used to create documents such as memos, letters, or reports. However, you can also use Word to create Web pages. A special template, Web Pages, contains the formatting necessary to get you well on your way to completing a Web page. To create a Web page in Word, you simply design the page as a document, using a Web page template if you like, and then save the document as an HTML document. When you save an HTML document, a folder is saved along with it. The folder, containing images and information relevant to the formatting of the Web page, is placed on the same disk and in the same folder location as the HTML document.

Creating a Home Page

A home page is the first page that visitors will see when they access your Web site. In many cases, the home page is the entire Web site, but you have the option of including other pages that can be linked to the home page. To create a home page using Word, you will probably want to use either a Web page template or the Web Page Wizard. Both items are available when you select the Web Page option from the General Templates area.

To create a home page:

Open Word (Click Start, All Programs, Microsoft Word).
Click File, New. In the New Document task pane, click General Templates. Click the Web Pages tab, as shown in Figure C.1.
Figure C.1

A Web Page template provides assistance with developing a Web page.
Choose a Web page style or let the Web Page Wizard guide you through the steps of creating a Web page. The page shown in Figure C.2 was based on the Left Aligned Column style.
Figure C.2

This Web page was developed using Word's Left Aligned Column style.
A Web page structure appears, in which you can click and drag to select a section to change, and then type text to replace the selection. Change the heading, and replace existing text with your own. Delete any existing text that you no longer need as a placeholder.
Change the attributes of any text. You can change text's font size, type, or color, and apply any attributes, such as boldface, italics, or underline.
To add a background color, click Format, Background and choose a color. If you want to include a fill effect instead of a solid-color background, click Format Background, Fill Effects.
Periodically save the page as a Web page. Click File, Save As. Click Web Page, give the page a name, indicate the location (disk and folder) where the file should be saved, and click Save. A Web page filename cannot contain spaces (2004Reunion is OK; 2004 Reunion is not.)

Including Images

Seldom is a Web page entirely text. Most include images and even animation to make the page more appealing and eye-catching. You will most likely want to include one or more images on your page, as well. Web page images can be pictures from your digital camera; clip art that you collect from Word or from other sources, such as the Internet; or scanned pictures. If you are using a Word Web page template that includes an image, you will need to remove the image and replace it with one of your own, or leave the space empty.

To include an image on a Web page (using a Word Web page template):

Click the image to be removed or replaced, and press Delete.
If the image to be placed on the Web page is a picture, it should be saved as a JPEG file. The JPEG file format is best for displaying photographs, whereas the GIF format is more often used for line drawings, large blocks of color, and animation. If you have an image editor, you can open the image in that software and save it as a JPEG file. Your image editor might give you the option of saving a file as a Web-ready picture. When you choose the Web-ready option, the picture is automatically saved as a JPEG file in an appropriate size for display on a Web page. If you don't have an image editor, you can open the picture in Paint (Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, Paint), and change the file type to JPEG, if necessary, before saving it. To change the file type, click File, Save As, and then select JPEG from the drop-down list beside the file type area.
To place the image on the Web page that you are developing, click where you want the picture to go, and click Insert, Picture, From File (or Insert, Picture, Clip Art if you are selecting from Word's clip art inventory). Navigate to the disk and folder containing the picture to be inserted, and double-click the image file.
Resize the image by clicking to select it and then clicking and dragging a corner handle.
If you are using a Word Web page template, you will probably be able to type text beside and beneath the inserted image. If, for some reason, you are not able to type beside the image, you must format the image to allow that to occur. Right-click the image, and select Format Picture from the context menu. Click the Layout tab. Click Square. Click OK. At that point, you can type text beside and beneath the picture.

Linking Web Pages

The next time you are on the Internet, take a careful look at any Web page. More likely than not, you will be able to identify several graphic or text hyperlinks. You can tell that a picture or text is a link because the mouse pointer becomes an arrow or pointing hand when you move over the link. Links connect to other Web pages so that you can easily move among pages without typing new page addresses. When creating a Web page using Word, you can create links to other pages that you plan to create or to other pages already on the Internet.

To link pages (using Word):

Create as many pages as you want to include in your Web site. Each Web page is a Word file.
To link the Web pages that you have created, or to link to another Web page, you must include one or more hyperlinks on your home page.
On the home page, type text for a hyperlink. For example, if you want to include a link on your home page to the Reunions.com page, type some text, such as "For reunion recipe ideas, click here," as shown in Figure C.4a. Then click and drag to select the link text, and click Insert, Hyperlink. At the dialog box, shown in Figure C.3, click Existing File or Web Page. Type the Web address of the Web page to link. Click OK.
Figure C.3

Using the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, you can link text in a Word document to a Web site, so that the text becomes a hyperlink.
If you are linking between two pages that you have created, type text to indicate the link, such as that shown in Figure C.4a. Then, create a hyperlink by selecting the text and clicking Insert, Hyperlink. Click Existing File or Web Page. Navigate to the disk and folder holding the page to be linked, and double-click the page file. The linked page is shown in Figure C.4b.
Figure C.4
Text on one page (a) can be used to link to another page (b).

Previewing Your Web Pages

It is common practice to design a Web page offline, which means that you can spend as much time as necessary perfecting its design before you actually place it on the Internet. If you are using Word to design the page, you will complete the document and save it as an HTML file. At that point, you will certainly want to check on how it will look when displayed online. However, you don't need to be online to check its appearance. You can simply use your browser, even offline, to open and preview the Web page.

To preview a Web page: