Pre-HTML Period

I first got interested in building websites when my older brother had one. His couldn't do much, it was just a black page with white text and some links, but I didn't care because I had to get whatever my brother had. I instantly got in account and was completely lost. I started filling in those text boxes that help you out on free hosts. A few weeks later I figured out how to link to pages together. The funny part is that I didn't know what HTML was, let alone how to use it until much later. Mind you, this was all in 5th grade.

During this time, I also began to join many site forums of large Nintendo fansites which was an alright experience. The forums I never liked were the ones where the staff members' giant egos ran into each other all the time. Being a member was never enough although which is really why I kept pushing trying to build my own website and simply because I thought stranding codes together was kind of fun.

Early Websites-Koopa Castle

I haven't any classes in HTML, so I had to learn it myself. This isn't all that amazing, but it was hard trying to figure out what the Internet guides were trying to say. Even though I liked HTML, I couldn't help but become frustrated with it which is why I gave up on it for a period of time. I went to Geocities, an easy way to build a website, in which you can just drag pictures and text where ever you want them. Geocities did not look nearly as good as HTML can and required no skill, so I basically learned nothing during that period.

Content as well as layout did not have much to it in my first couple of websites. My first website did not even have a name; I just stuck a few things that I felt like putting up. My next website was Mario based and I had few bios on some of the major characters. My next website actually had a name, the Koopa Castle. That website was also Mario themed, but had a lot more content than my other two sites.

Toad Towers-Kinopio's World

These websites never got very big. Toad Towers, a Toad (from Mario) themed website, was born when I started to use HTML again and I learned a lot such as tables, CSS, and more tables. Toad Towers wasn't continued and I lost interest in website building because of it. Just to have some website to call home, I made Kinopio's World, which had almost nothing on it because again, I was tired with website building.

Beyond the Lost Woods (December 26, 2007)

After a few months of not doing anything with my websites, I finally got an idea for a new website: BLW. This time, I thought I would do a Zelda theme, but after discussing with some friends, we decided on Mario and Zelda fansite. The hardest part of that was coming up with a name that fit both Mario and Zelda. After tossing out "Zario" and other equally bad names, Beyond the Lost Woods decided. Doing dual series is not a thing many other fansites do, but they are our favorite series and we hope to act as a bridge between Zelda and Mario series and sites. I decided that this website wouldn't be a flop then since I had more interest in it and much more experience under my belt than previous attempts. After a few months of planning and preparation, I was finally ready to launch BLW, which is what you see today.

I am looking forward to many years of life from BLW and its members. While getting 1,000 hits is nice, I don't really care if we aren't the most popular site on the Internet, because I made this site for fun and because I like the series so much. I hope if you join, you have the same attitude, because I'm not one of those webmaster who likes to invoke fear upon newbies even if they don't do anything wrong. If you have any questions about building a website, feel free to contact me and I'll try to help you the best as I can.