Building a Better Web Page Isn’t the Chore It Once Was
Before I could build my first Web page back in 1995, I had to read a book on using Hyper Text Markup Language. It got simpler when Web-editing programs became available, including FrontPage (which comes with Microsoft Office), FrontPage Express (free with Windows) and the free Web-page designer that comes with both the Windows and Mac versions of Netscape Communicator.
New software and free services from TrellixWeb (https://www.trellix.com) are making it even easier to design good-looking Web pages without having to read a book, hire a consultant or necessarily buy software. Even if you’re busy, chances are you can build a simple Web page in a matter of minutes. I was able to create several Web sites in under an hour that you can visit at https://www.wiredfamilies.com/test.
TrellixWeb is a Newton, Mass., company that was founded in 1995 by Dan Bricklin, coauthor of VisiCalc, the first PC spreadsheet program launched for Apple II users back in 1978. With TrellixWeb, Bricklin is doing for Web design what he did for financial analysis--making it accessible to the masses.
Trellix offers both a $69 software program that you can use regardless of what Internet service provider (ISP) hosts your Web site and Trellix Express, a Web-based site-creation tool that is offered by some Internet service providers as a free service to their customers.
I used the TrellixWeb software program to design my WiredFamiles.com Web site, which resides at an Internet hosting service that has no affiliation with Trellix. As with most hosting services, I pay a monthly fee and am free to use virtually any Web development tool. I use Microsoft FrontPage to manage my other sites (https://larrysworld.com and https://safekids.com), but this program is much easier and faster to use, and it helped me design my pages by suggesting themes and elements.
You can design your site when you’re off-line and you can post it to the Internet by pressing the software’s publish button. You must first configure the software with information where your site is hosted, but you can get that from your hosting service. The software--which is about as intuitive as it gets, allows you to easily insert text, graphics and links.
Trellix Express isn’t software that you buy; it’s a free service that you use over the Web to create pages that are maintained by companies that specialize in free or low-cost Web site hosting for small businesses and individuals.
Before you can use Trellix Express you must first sign up with one of the Web-hosting services that offer it. There are a number of free services, so you can try it without any financial obligation.
Tripod is the first company to offer the Trellix Web-based design tools, which you can use to create a free Web site. To build your site you go to https://www.tripod.com and click “build.” If you’re not a Tripod member, you’ll have to sign up. Then you click on the type of site you want to create from such options as small business, real estate, restaurant, and a variety of personal sites. If you select small business, the site will give you an instant design with pages for “about us,” “products catalog,” “news and events,” “directions” and other options. You can delete those you don’t need and add new ones. The site will also have graphics that might not be of use, but you can upload your own graphics, logos and photos.
You can also add what are called “Web gems,” powerful little features such as a map and driving directions to your business, a search tool, a guest book, a place that your visitors can use to download files as well as additional services.
When you’re done designing your site, you press the publish button and it is immediately available on the Internet for all to visit. You can go back any time and make changes.
Like most free sites, Tripod will put advertisements for other companies on your page. Trellix Express can also be used at Bizland.com, which offers free or fee-based hosting which, for $15 a month, doesn’t carry ads from other companies. Trellix Express will also be available on ZDNET, Bolt.com and Kiwibox.com. In some cases you won’t even know you’re using Trellix Express. Tripod, for example, simply calls it the Tripod Site Builder.
If you were to set up a free site on Tripod, Bizland or any other free service, you would wind up with an assigned Internet address such as https://larrymagid2.tripod.com/larrytripod.However, the free Web site services all have deals with companies that will sell you your own unique domain name, typically for about $35 a year.
One nice thing about doing your design on the Web is that you can work from anywhere. You could update your site from a cyber cafe in Paris, although you can probably think of better things to do.
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Technology reports by Lawrence J. Magid can be heard at 2:10 p.m. weekdays on the KNX-AM (1070) Technology Hour. He can be reached at larry.magid@latimes.com. His Web site is at https://www.larrysworld.com.
