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Beginner Tip:
Don't Save That File!
by Larisa Thomason,
Senior Web Analyst,
NetMechanic, Inc.
It sounds so easy. Just by saving a document in HTML format, you can assemble an entire Web site without writing a line of code or opening an HTML editor. The HTML files may be simple to create, but be careful how you save them and limit the amount of information they contain. Otherwise, you'll post bloated files full of personal information and proprietary code.
Save As Web Page
Saving files as HTML is easy in most software packages. Just use the File/Save As or the "Save as Web Page" command. The software scans the document's content and then writes the HTML code for you. It's a popular way to generate HTML and is used for everything from personal Web sites to local government and university sites.
Microsoft makes the process quick and easy by integrating the feature into all of its Office products. Just select the option "Save as Web Page" and the software adds HTML tags to the document for you.
Like magic, you get a Web page without writing a line of HTML code.
But is it the document you really want? Word adds more than simple HTML tags. The documents also contain style definitions, Microsoft-specific tags, and Office-specific formatting instructions that allow you to open the Web page as a Word document.
Size Really Does Matter
As a test, we wrote this story in Word first, then saved the document as a Web page. The converted document's size is 19k. The same document coded in Notepad is only 7k.
It's really important to keep Web pages as small as possible. Up to 1/3 of visitors leave Web sites if the pages don't load within 8 seconds. Besides size, here are some other issues to consider:
- MetaData: (not META tags) is information used to enhance the editing, viewing, filing, and retrieval of Office documents. Unless you remove it from the HTML document, visitors can look at your source code and find your name, the name of your computer, document revision, comments, and more.
- Fonts and font sizes may not display properly. Your word processing program often supports many more fonts than a standard Web browser. When visitors' browsers use their default font and font size instead, the change could break your page layout.
- Files and folders: When you save your document as an HTML file, all images go inside an associated folder. Be sure that everything associated with the page also gets saved to the Web server when you publish.
- PowerPoint documents: These documents are often graphic-intensive and may be too large to render quickly in visitors' browsers. Use an image optimization tool to reduce image file size, before you post them to the Web server.
- Interactivity is a cool feature in Excel. When you enable it, visitors can make changes to the spreadsheet and see the results online. But be careful with browser compatibility. Visitors must use the Explorer 5.x browser and have the Excel Web site component installed on their computer.
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Tips For Existing Documents
Quickly scan existing documents before you convert them to HTML and try to eliminate formatting that won't display well on the Web. In particular, be careful about including the following elements. Some may not display at all in HTML format.
- Headers and footers
- Page breaks
- Special paragraph formatting (double spacing, indentation, etc.)
- Tabs
- Special characters
- WordArt images created inside the Word document
- Page numbers
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Microsoft offers several free downloads and online tutorials that help you create better HTML files with Office products.
- Office HTML Filter removes the Office-specific markup from HTML files created in Word. The smaller files take up less space on the server and download faster. However, the filtered files won't load easily back into Word for editing.
Download the filter from the Microsoft Web site.
- MetaData removal: MetaData gets saved in different ways and in different places in your document. This Microsoft article shows you how to delete MetaData from your HTML document.
- Working on the Web: Large collection of articles, tips, and tutorials that discuss converting Microsoft Office documents into Web pages.
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Think Before You Write
You'll get better HTML documents from a word processor if you create them in an HTML-friendly format. In Word, select one of the Web page templates or define your own (File/New/Web Pages) when you open a new document. The templates give you a more consistent browser display and a more attractive layout because they're designed to be Web documents.
This method of Web page creation isn't all bad. People with no knowledge of HTML can use it to quickly create Web pages. If you're an overworked employee of a company whose upper management decided that the organization must have a Web site up next week (it happens!), then you'll really appreciate it.
Just be very careful how you create them and save documents. Keep your personal information private by closely monitoring the personal information saved in the documents.
Whether you hand code in Notepad, use an editor, or use the "Save as Web Page" command, you should always check your page with a good HTML checker. NetMechanic has one of the best: HTML Toolbox received a 4-star rating from PC Magazine and an Editor's Choice award from CNet.
Toolbox will check your site for HTML errors, alert you to browser incompatibility issues, and even repair errors on the page. It's a valuable tool for beginners and experienced coders alike.
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