Web Site Builder

Rocket

Rocket

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Name
Tony
Edit My Images
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Hi all readers.
edit; Looking to build web site to display my photography.

I was wondering what software people use today for a building there web sites, I beleive Dreamweaver is one but have had nothing to do with it, is there anyone using this particular software?.
I have two websites running on Local History which were built back in 1999 using frontpage, although they work ok , i feel frontpage is a little dated unless anyone feels different.

Any guidence?.
Have you a web site running using dreamweaver?.

Thanks
 
I have created several sites in Dreamweaver and one using Joomla (CSM). I guess it all depends on what you want to do and the way you go about it.
 
Dreamweaver is overkill! I've only ever used it through work as it's pretty expensive to buy. I just go for a decent notepad/ftp client/web browser combo.

What sort of site do you want to build, as with all the CMS/blog systems freely available these days it is rare you need to start from scratch. I would have a look at something like Wordpress as there is loads of info available.
 
Just trying to check out various ways that would suit my needs, a simple web site with a menu to navigate various pages such as landscapes, portraits etc.
Thinking perhaps frontpage still might be an option.

Had a look at Spanglefish, but this type of site only have a center option, i like the site to fill the screen.....
 
I use pspad for writing php and html. It's a free text editor, like notepad but with more functionality.

Because its a text editor you have to understand html (anyone building a website should understand html in any case)
 
I use Notepad++ , hand coding may be offputting at first but it makes a huge difference, dreamweaver produces functional but invalid code.

Once you get past the initial learning curve, it's significantly faster and you get far more control (think raw vs jpeg, but that's another kettle of fish). It really depends on how much time and effort you're willing to invest. If getting into the guts of a website and hacking about isn't your thing, you can find lots of free and simple templates which with a small bit of HTML knowledge can be customised loads. Wordpress is a good example of this, very powerful and relatively simple to get to grips with.
 
I learnt some HTML when building my web sites with frontpage, but as things have advanced with such codes as CSS, i get a little lost and have become quite rusty..

Thanks for the replies
 
Rocket said:
Thanks Martin, "Coffee Cup" This is what your web site www.mhillaryphotography.co.uk is based on ?.
Click to expand...

Yes, it was all built with coffee cup however the slide show is a different product, but you can cut and paste the html from the slide show and put it into coffee cup. Sounds more complicated than it is!
 
Nvu is pretty good. It gives you a reasonable WYSIWYG interface, plus easy access to the HTML to tweak it.

You should also take a look at the w3schools tutorials for HTML and CSS if you don't know much about hand coding a site.

I'd stay away from the likes of Frontpage as the code generates tends to be rather messy.
 
neil_g said:
you can edit the code it includes
Click to expand...

Yes but why bother when I can hand code from the off and not waste money on Dreamweaver and then have to re-code it anyway.

And the learning code on Dreamweaver is as long as learning XHTML from the off.
 
You are looking at this the wrong way around

Its like saying what spanners & diagnostic tools do mechanics use to build a car. A finished car is the combination of science, tooling, design, craft and labour

Creating successful websites is a combination of skill, design, knowledge, and using the right tools at the right time
 
Richard King said:
You are looking at this the wrong way around

Its like saying what spanners & diagnostic tools do mechanics use to build a car. A finished car is the combination of science, tooling, design, craft and labour

Creating successful websites is a combination of skill, design, knowledge, and using the right tools at the right time
Click to expand...

Spot On! and if you don't get SEO sorted out no one will see it anyway - but thats a whole new conversation.
 
Let me just qualify my comments, and try to help with the semantics...

Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal etc. are all open source platforms, that are designed, and already coded. You can take one of these packages, install it in your webspace, and add your own code, or integrate it with your own site. On their own, they are just frameworks, empty vessels. You can design a template, or have one designed for you, or buy one or grab a free one - Essentially the template allows you to give that framework a general look and feel. At this point, you just have a pretty, but empty framework. You can extend these packages with modules, and components and plugins - you now will have some useful functionality, but it is predefined by the peopel that coded the add-on or base package

You then add your content

If you (or a designer/developer) has the skill, and tools, you can either start with a totally clean slate and code the thing from the ground up (static/dynamic/or what ever sort of site) , you can use a framework and design your own template, modify an existing one, and design/implement/modify add-ons

The tools in the box a designer uses will vary from esoteric to mainstream, and include WYSIWYG editors like Dreamweaver, to basic software like Notepad through to specially set up programming environments (such as servers set up locally and software that creates a programming-friendly environment). Of course there is the extensive use of image editing/creation packages

Once you cross the line of producing new code, or graphics, typography specifically for a site, the learning curve is pretty steep. If you are prepared to go there, or pay to go there, then you can have the site you wanted, instead of the site that was pre-determined elsewhere

As mentioned, SEO, content, conversion are all important aspects that need addressing if you want a sucsessful site
 
Do you run windows or mac ?

On mac I use rapidweaver which is quite easy to get to grips with has a lot of CSS sheets you can use or download. Not expensive (about £30 if I recall correctly)

Dreamweaver is ott except for some top end sites.
 
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