WEB Help -- Q & A

Okay, you've read through all of the pages. You think you have a handle on it. The computer is on, and you freeze. If only you could ask that one question that keeps lingering in your mind...if it could be answered, THEN you could begin! Go ahead, ask! We'll even hold your hand!
My question is... If there is an answer, it will be posted here!

Questions with Answers

Is there a way to list Library info. (book titles Authors, subjects) without just listing them? And i DO NOT want to by expensive software ( i'm on a budget)

Sounds like you're needing a "flat database" that is searchable. I did a quick search on the internet and came up with the following helpful links. Many of these links provide tutorials as well as scripts/software.

You'll need to talk with your provider to first ask their suggestions as they will host it... but then search to find the best solution for your needs. Don't be afraid to ask your provider to consider something new or more customized to fit your needs. Resources range from free to expensive. Try searching on Google.com
Happy hunting!

I can't find a simple definition for 'anti site'. You know, those sites dedicated to the opposite of a subject. Has there ever been a discussion on this matter? Where can I find the document? Or...could you make up a definition for me... please?

The word "anti" means "one that is opposed " according to Webster's definition. I looked at various web authoring sites and never came across this term. Perhaps you've stumbled onto something that you could create a buzzword! ;?)
I've also heard "anti-anything" which may be helpful for your purposes.

I have a question, can you help me? I already write a code to produce the interface of the map. Now I just want to choose the colors and fill it in different states. The problem that I have is how to write a code that when you click anywhere on the map, it will recognize what state that coordinate is.

Don't forget to use the "alt=" option! When the vistor roles the mouse over that portion of the image... your "alt=" message will appear on the screen! You'll want to use a product such as Map-edit (there are others) to help you write the coordinates corresponding to the image. You can find mapping programs at a shareware site such as

I poured over with great interest your article in the August issue of Forward/NL on developing a web site for church. Having just finished a webmaster certification program at FSU, I published the beginning framework of a site for my congregation (Faith, Tallahassee, FL http://members.spree.com/family/faith93/) and am interested in what the WELS webmaster considers to be effective pages for churches.

The tips in the article are right on the money for webmasters (although 100 bytes is really too small and probably meant to say 100 Kilobytes). Some specific discussion of effective content ("about us", "contact us", ministry philosophy, etc.), good hosts (especially free ones like Spree, Xoom, Hypermart or Geocities), effective graphics (inviting images like a huggable Jesus, a lamb, children with Jesus) and how to find someone to design it would be very helpful. Especially as these items apply to a church site.

The web presents a powerful means of reaching out and we need to be prepared to take full advantage of it. Thanks for your help! I can't wait for our first visitor to give us a try because they saw our web site.

Thank you for reading the Forward/NL article "Webs of Intriguing Possibilities". I do apologize for the oversight when referring to "bytes" instead of "kilobytes".

I must also congratulate you on your recent certificate earned at FSU. May I invite you to our online WELS Web Helps presentation on the http://www.wels.net/sab/webhelp/web-home.html web site.

You are about to embark on a very exciting and rewarding adventure. Your church site has the "intriguing possibility" of approaching new members... but more importantly to be a tool in spreading the Word of God.

The printed article in Forward/NL was a joint effort between Pastor Baumler, editor of Forward/NL & WELS Director of Communications and myself. The space limitations dissallowed further detailed discussions on:

"Some specific discussion of effective content ("about us", "contact us", ministry philosophy, etc.), good hosts (especially free ones like Spree, Xoom, Hypermart or Geocities), effective graphics (inviting images like a huggable Jesus, a lamb, children with Jesus) and how to find someone to design it would be very helpful. Especially as these items apply to a church site."

So let me try to address your concerns:

1-about us", "contact us", ministry philosophy, etc.

From early on we had decided to put WELS second and God first. Spreading the Word was more important than an ego trip for WELS. We wanted folks to visit because of the Bible Studies, Prayers, Q&A with biblical answers, Devotions, and even fun. Because of limited staff (3 fulltime), we have kept things as simple as possible, behind the leading edge, trying to keep content refreshed.

Along the way... 30,000 pages later, you learn that your early pages aren't the masterpieces you once thought to be... regret earlier decisions when based on your "greenness" and try to keep pace with the new demands and the old "clean up" or "updated versions". To complicate matters... your visitor base grows and time spent on answering e-mail, meeting daily/weekly/monthly/project deadlines becomes overwhelming. Even a vacation or two becomes a nuisance. Staff and commitment are the bottom line of how effective and fresh your web presence, continual support, and new development will fare on the web.

2-good hosts (especially free ones like Spree, Xoom, Hypermart or Geocities)

Free is good. Right? Well not always! Say you present Christ's resurrection on a gorgeous presentation... and then the "free advertising" is plastered all over your page with gambling, 1-900, alternative lifestyles, and child porn a click away. You've just paid a higher price than a monthly fee. We are trying our best to come up with a solution for our WELS churches, schools, organizations, and yes even members. Please hang in there... early this fall we should be able to give you better options.

3-effective graphics (inviting images like a huggable Jesus, a lamb, children with Jesus) and how to find someone to design it would be very helpful

I do believe that images are important. Some argue that the images are clutter and are in the way of the real message. Perhaps they are right to a point. If the message is written in a way that "captures an audience" your need for imagery is less. When the image invites, creates a curiosity, asks questions or intrigues... Your image draws the visitor into the written presentation. In a way it becomes an interactive tool.

There are many clipart sites available as well as image creation programs. A combination of the two usually works best. There are times when you'll be looking for a specific style or image... and after 20 minutes of unsuccessful searching you decide to draw it on your own to create the perfect graphic. Many clipart sites will take requests for images for a small fee. Your search engine (I like Infoseek.com) will become your best friend. Enter the topic and eliminate further by searching within your results to find and exact match. Look for photographers, artists, graphic designers, cartoonist with in your own congregation. You may be surprised to find many are happy to volunteer their work for exposure.

4-Especially as these items apply to a church site."

Here's where we may disagree. I prefer to appeal to people...not to the church. Ever wonder why Jesus fed the 5000 first before preaching? People would rather sit in an overstuffed couch than a pew. Try not to intimidate your visitors with formality. Sit back and listen to your "church words" that are not simple to understand... and rewrite them in everyday language. It's a "car" not an "automobile". There are times (constitution, doctrinal statements...) you may not be able to make it more friendly. But when you can... go for it! Spread the Word in a language people can understand. Use the web as a tool in our Carpenter's hand!

I am desperately trying to get our web page for our church. WE already have the Domain name registered and I have an idea of the design but, I cannot for whatever reason transfer my pages to my web host. I am using the FTP program that came with the install CD. I am stuck and could use your help.

Your FTP program may be configured incorrectly. A web host usually provides informational pages to set up the FTP program options correctly. It is much like dialing a proper phone number to connect with the desired party. Once your settings are correct... you should be able to connect with your web host provider.

I am wanting to add wav. files to my webpage, so that others may download them to their computer, I am useing Front page express to construct my page but can not get it to link my page with the wav. What am i doing wrong?

Dear "wav" less,
Although I am not familar with "Front page express", you can simply add a wav file with the following code:

<A HREF="http://www.idontknow.com/xxxx.wav">click here</A>

Where xxxx.wav is your wav file name, www.idontknow.com is your website address (add folder name if necessary) and click here is the text you'd like the view to see on your page.

HTML is worth knowing where other programs come up short!


I need help with graphics from time to time. What are some resources that can help?

The best resource I've found so far is an FAQ link page by WebReference.com: http://www.webreference.com/authoring/graphics/faqs.html

Can you tell me where I can get a free counter for our church's web site?I have checked out some sites on the net but I do not think it is to wise to give out passwords. If you can please help. Thanks!

Here's what I found when I searched Infoseek using keywords: counter and then free:

Web Counter Information about an easy way to add a usage counter to web pages.

Free Web Page Hit Counter #3 Millions of TradeBanners Served! SmartClicks: Target Advertising For Free FREE Webpage Hit Counter This counter is designed to help you easily track hits on a single webpage or multiple webpages.

JCount Counters home page. JCount stands for Java counter, because the first one was written in Sun's Java programming language. There may be others coming in the future. The current JCount counter is the one that you see above. It scrolls the count...

Web Development at Atwill productions I am sorry, but Atwill Productions Free Hit Counter is no more. Sorry I could not warn you but the site just took up too much disk space and bandwidth.

Aaddzz - FREE Counters Aaddzz provides FREE counters & trackers with reporting for Web pages.

Internet Total Solution - LinKo FREE counters for your web page.

GeoCities Free personal home pages (2 MB) in over 35 themed communities to anyone with access to the Web. Also, free GeoCities e-mail account to anyone that signs up for a free home page.

Rapid Axcess Web Site Design - Domain Hosting Provider Rapid Axcess, The premier Internet Solution Provider. Making the connection . . . between Your business and the rest of the world through rich professional site development and domain hosting services.

The Ultimate Counter - Free statistics for your web page! Developed by QPT Networks in partnership with Merlin Media, Inc. The Ultimate Counter Since March 23rd, 1998, there have been: Visits to this page and Total counters served.

Some of my image links appear with an annoying underscore. How do I make it go away?

The annoyance looks like this:
Note the underscore to the right of the image?

You have included an unnecessary space after the image tag causing the underscore.

Images on my page have a box around them when I use the image as a link. Why?

Within your image tag include border=0 to make the box disappear. Many HTML text books insist on including that box to clue the visitor in that it is a link. Most people like to explore the site and automatically glide the mouse over images to see if it is clickable. In fact, most visitors EXPECT an image to be a clickable link. The border=0 option unclutters the page.

My images look beautiful on my computer screen, but when my friend displays the same page the images appear gray and blotchy on her screen. Did I do something wrong?

This is always painful to the designer. You are dealing with a multitude of variants: video cards, resolution, platforms, dithering and palates.

Video cards are usually the worst culprit. An older video card can usually display 8 or 16 bit color. That means it has to dither (automatically select like colors) to display the image. You're likely to lose all of the charm and clarity of an image now displaying as jagged and grayed. In this case, there is really nothing you can do except ask your friend to upgrade, or offer a "text only" version of your site.

Resolution, platforms (computer types), and palates are areas you can do something about. This requires you to test your pages on other computers/resolutions in the designing phase. If another computer type is not available to you, post a notice on your site asking for feedback as to how your page looks. Visit local universities or libraries where computers are available to the public or purchase a used computer at a lower cost. It is always best to save your images with the least amount of colors yet not to lessen the quality. There are many books, magazines, and courses that teach web graphic techniques. If you plan to create your own graphics, it is well worth your effort to check them out!

I don't like my provider's browser. Am I stuck with it?

Most internet providers offer the popular browsers as well. Netscape, Internet Explorer and Mosaic are the most commonly used browser programs. You should contact your provider's tech support service and ask how to download other browser programs, or find another provider with such offerings. Make sure your e-mail settings are not disrupted with the newer program installation.

Some of my visitors complain that they can't read the type against the background color. I can. So can others. What's going on?

Two possibilities:
  • Some of your visitors can't see background colors when using the option within a table tag. They are using an older browser version. Therefore, if you have a black page background, a white table background and are using black text within the table, the visitor sees black text on a black background! They see nothing!

    Use a text color that contrasts both black and white. A bright text color will show on either a black or white background.

  • Your visitor may have chosen font color options in his browser program to override your HTML tags. The only solution is for the visitor to change his options on his browser program.

When compressing a JPEG with a predominantly red color, the red progressively blends in the colors around it as the compression increases. Where a "normal" image can be compressed to a level of, say, 75 (for a 30-45K file size), a predominantly red image requires a setting of 90 or higher. Sometimes I have to save the image as a GIF to get the color right, and the resulting file size is over 100K.

How can I compress a predomninantly red image as a JPEG and keep the color red true?

The jpg format is meant for those images with a subtle color change or a blend of tones such as the way skin color fades and blends tones, or a sunset as another example. Areas of color that remain constant or true are then compromised... jpg tries to dither between the background or edge where the color changes, thus causing it to blur the clean contrast between the different colored areas. Even if the jpg format has a smaller file size, the time for it to download may be longer than that of a larger sized gif file in many instances.

Your best bet is to always test the file in both formats and choose the best quality at the smallest file size.

So why would only a red area have this problem? Not true. I changed the hue of the plane's red area to powder blue and came up with the same results... a blotchy broken line between the plane and the background, as well as the blue was blotchy unless saved at the maximum compression rate. By then, the file size was greater than that of saving it as a gif file.

So the rule of thumb (almost always true) about photos should always be a jpg format, just "ain't" so! The balance between quality and size is the deciding factor when choosing a file format.

What host provider do you recommend. Is there one that is advertisement free and still is free of cost?

There are positive and negative aspects of most ISP "freebies". Some host their church web site on xoom.com .... but "nanny" programs will filter out the entire xoom.com domain because it allows perverse content. The plus side of Xoom vs Geocities is that Xoom gives you more space, and no advertisements. They do e-mail you occasionally however. Shop around for an ISP... you'll find many more of the freebies listed in the Resource section of the WELS WEB HELP.

We have four churches in our area. Do you recommend that I build four separate webs and use a separate page with links to all of them. Or should I build one single web incorporating all four churches?

WELS directory and maps requires a single home page per church. The structure of the directory is based on state and then sorted by city. So even if you create on page linking individual churches to that page... the WELS presentation would only link to the individual church page.

This page has a black background. Personally, I find it hard to read darker backgrounds. Many others say a white background is too bright. I guess it's hard to please everyone. But how can I print this page?

You have two options. Notice if you drag your mouse across the page (highlight the text), it provides a white background with dark text. Those who prefer a white background can easily read it. If you prefer a hardcopy to read from, simply cut and paste the text of this page into a new text file (or word processing document), then print it.

I have a few questions regarding our church web site:
Is it possible that we could "attach" to your domain name with a url such as ourchurch.wels.net that would point to our server?

Your web host provider can handle this request for you. There is usually a fee involved. WELS is not able to handle (at this point) serving as a physical host for all church web pages. But your domain name may be named anything you'd like that isn't already in use. So the answer is "YES" but you need to speak with your web host provider.

... I'm assuming that there is not a problem providing a link to www.wels.net from our site, which we will do upon confirmation from you.

You are correct. You may link to any of the WELS pages, or any other page on the internet. Thank you for asking permission, but it isn't necessary. As a WELS church, the WELS logo is also available to you for downloading. Please make our logo clickable as a link to the WELS web site!

... we are looking for any internet based services that we can include on our web site for our members or anyone who may benenfit.

Here are a few ideas: An online Bible, Postal Service Zip code lookup, an online dictionary, language translation, tv guide, news media, weather guides, maps or any other web site that offers a service for daily use.

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