This chapter provides an introduction to XHTML, including the anatomy of a Web page, formatting text, physical and logical styles, and special characters.

Internet Explorer browsers account for about 95% of the traffic at most web sites. Microsoft's recent agreement with AOL to pay three-quarters of a billion dollars ensures that AOL customers will use Microsoft's web browser and media technologies. Even more definitive is AOL's announcement that it has cut the Netscape development team and is no longer supporting new releases of Netscape.

Improvements in recent browser releases suggest that even though Microsoft won the battle against Netscape, there is still some competition out there. While Internet Explorer hasn't changed much since IE 5, several other browsers are innovative in their use of standards and features: Mozilla and Safari.

Web developers need to create web pages that look good on many different types of browsers. They often write pages that look great on the most popular browser and look good on the rest.

What's your favorite browser? Take the poll and share your opinion.

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Students often ask me how to obtain different versions of the Netscape Navigator browser.

While there are a number of options, one method is to visit a web site such as http://www.download.com.

Search for Netscape, and then select the version you want to install. The most recent version is 7.1

Web development is a field that is ever-changing. What's a web developer to do?

Some web developers consider joining an organization such as the HTML Writer's Guild which recently merged with the International Association of Webmasters. This organization offers online classes in technologies related to web development. It also provides listservs for members to discuss issues related to the web world including HTML, XML, CSS, and the business of web development.

Other professional organizations that target web developers include the Association of Internet Professionals and the World Organization of Webmasters. Visit the web sites of these organizations to find out if there is a local chapter near you. If there are no local chapters, perhaps you can join the national organization and be a founder of a new local chapter right in your area.

Meeting with other information technology students and professionals can help you develop skills and may even open some doors for you when you are ready for your first (or next) job.

The XHTML Web Design for Beginners Tutorial from MIS Web Design offers another look at some of the topics in this chapter. Explore the site and discover other informative articles and tutorials.