• A functional computer with internet access (the one you are using to read this will do just fine).
• A web browser (the one you are using to view this page will do
• An FTP client, as you can recall from the introduction FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, this tool is needed to transfer the website you are going to make to the web server where you will have your website hosted (uploaded for others to see)
• An application to make HTML code for you (for example Microsoft FrontPage and hundreds of other alternatives) and A text editor like notepad for example to edit HTML code (and other code if you plan to make a dynamic website)

You will learn how to use each as we go, Just take a look at them and see the options you have concerning every one below

A functional computer with internet access is obviously needed to create the website and upload it to the web server you are having your website hosted on, The web browser is needed to see it online, now lets get to the less obvious things

An FTP client is used to upload your files to the internet, The server you are uploading your files to on the internet is just another computer that saves your files in directories similar to the ones you have on your computer, the FTP client opens those files on your computer (you should then point it to your website's files) and in an opposing window opens the files on the server, you can typically drag the files from the window showing your files to the file directory you have access to on the server, after doing this your website is online, But you don't have a website to upload yet so read on.

There are many many FTP clients on the internet, some of them are free and some are not, the ones that are free are usually ok, You can always obtain the free version of WS_FTP from an internet software library

Once you have your website made, you may want to alter the HTML code (HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language) in a small application that launches fast, Most web editors offer you means of editing the HTML without an external application, For example if you use Microsoft front page, you will see three buttons on the bottom of the page resembling the three views you may have, the first (normal) shows you how your pages look like and you can use your mouse and keyboard to edit that page, The second is HTML view where you can see and edit the HTML generated by FrontPage in Normal View, the last is preview and it allows you to see how exactly the page will come up in internet explorer web browser (Not exactly but close since it uses IE technology).

You will be better introduced to HTML in the following section, right now you have been introduced to the tools you will need to make a website for the purpose of getting you familiar with how websites are made, you will probably need more tools depending on what you are planning to make.

Next Step: Building your first website and putting it online