From The Beginning

[jordan]

If I wanted to write a cool webpage, what would be the steps I would need to take?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

1. Learn HTML.
2. Get a web host.
3. Write.

Really it's like saying, "If I wanted to make a good book, what would I have to do?" You can't define how to make it "good," so it's nearly impossible to tell you how to do it.

[jordan]

Why HTML? Aren't there many others? Could I write all of this forum script in HTML?

[MolecularMan14]

There are, but HTML is the most widely recognized, and may be the easiest to work with. My knowledge is limmited, but I've found that the code is somewhat universal. I've noticed pattern between HTML and other codes. So learning it could be very useful :-)

[jordan]

If everything is based on binary, wouldn't it be easier to have just made one code from the beginning? Now there are .jpg vs .gif and one can't be used in place of the other despite the fact that the picture is exactly the same. And there's html and all the other scripting languages that all do the same thing but all need to be different and incompatable for some reason. It seems this has all been overcomplicated a bit.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

HTML is for a different purpose then ASP or PHP. HTML is static, so it can't be changed dynamically. PHP, like this page, changes always depending on if there are new posts, etc. Also some work on the server side, some work on the client side. They all have different purposes.