Web builder help round two.

[Ray Cover]

Hey all,

I need a good recommendation for a website building program for a PC. Holly's schedule has become so busy the past couple years that she does not have time to keep my website updated anymore. So I need to do it myself.

Therefore, I need a very user friendly retarded bonehead proof website builder for a PC. I originally was going to replace my computer with another Mac but I just cant' justify the cost. I bought a PC with more hard drive space, more ram and a very fast processor for less than a third of what a comparable Mac cost. So I'm a PC user again I guess.

I don't need the most expensive program or the most bells and whistles. User friendly and ease of use is the Most important thing to me.

You guys got any suggestions a a web building program?

Thanks in advance
Ray

 

[sam]

Dreamweaver for website building. Easy and the best there is.
Lynda.com for great tutorials to get you up to speed very quickly.

 

[rmgreen]

Don't really think I am knowlegable to make much of a comment here "But" since you asked. My wife and I use Dreamweaver and agree with everything Sam has said except one thing "Easy" is a highly qualitative and quantitative word to use describing the authoring of a web site with any program. I would be fully supportive of Sam in his statement "if" you are/were starting from scratch. I make the assumption that you will take what you have and use what is already there and try to intergrate and maintain this web site that is operational. Here in lies the difficulties or at least where I found the difficulties in doing the same. If your current web site was developed using Dreamweaver then it will be less of a problem and may even be "easy". If it was some other web authoring program it could be very frustrating with intergration of a different web authoring program. I'am just a gun mechanic and certainly challegened by PC's and especially Mac's. I am begining to look at turning my site to a company whose business is authoring and maintaining web sites. I use a lot of my time doing this work and think that I could use my time more wisely in my shop doing the things that I know better than web site maintenance.

Another Roger

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi Ray

Web sites aren't that difficult to construct and even easier to maintain. The biggest pitfall that many people get into is that they try to over do it and cram in every graphic and special effect possible. Like all computer programs you will find that they are bigger than Texas and you can build a spaceship with them........however, to build a good web site you only really need to know a few basic functions that are at the beginner level. I would suggest that you buy Dreamweaver and a good reference book for beginners and that will get you up and running. Don't buy an encyclopedia on the subject because it's more than you ever want to know. Most software today is point and click so you don't need to know anything about programming.

Start with a pencil and design it first on paper like a family tree. Home page first and underneath that all the other pages. That gives you a plan/structure and a clear idea of what you are doing. Then draw each page with how you want it to look. Consistancey is the big thing so every page must look the same as far as the "look" goes. For this you can make a single page and that becomes your template for every other page.

Keep your backgrounds plain and if in doubt, make it white. Every colour works with white so you have instantly eliminated and colour problems. Choose plain text like the Verdana font and make it black. Choose another colour for headings.................there is a very good reason that books and magazines are published in black and white. It's easy to read.

Keep your layout simple and clean. Headings centered and text margined to the left of the page. Photos that are crisp and clear.

Keep all links to other pages margined to the left or placed at the top of the page, not all over the place.

Once you can do all of that.....................then it's a piece of cake. The other 99% of the software you will probably never use.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Ray Cover]

Does Dreamweaver work on PCs? I thought it was a mac program.

Ray

 

[Ray Cover]

Ok Guys I looked the Dreamweaver up and its $1,400 for the program. Uh No. Common guys I was too cheap to buy a mac.

I need something that is a few hundred bucks. I can't justify $1,400 for such a program.

Ray

 

[sam]

Dreamweaver CS 5.5 full version/Windows is $399, Ray.

 

[Ray Cover]

Where? I went to Adobe's website and they had it listed as $1,399

IF you already had the old version you could upgrade for $199 I think it was but they had the program listed at $1399

$399 I can do. Where can I get it for that price?

Ray

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Ray, Ray Ray......................

I believe there is a certain forum member whose daughter is about to go to university.......................I'm sure she really, really needs Dreamweaver for her studies and therefore will be eligible to purchase a student copy for a significantly cheaper price.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[sam]

http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver.html

Click BUY then click UPGRADE and choose FULL. It's $399.

Academic versions are excellent as Andrew pointed out, but can't be upgraded.

 

[Chujybear]

Upgrade only works if you have a previous version

 

[tsterling]

Hi Ray,

Have you thought about converting your web site to a blog format? I built my original site with Dreamweaver (very capable software) and lately I've been fooling around with Wordpress blog software on my website, considering changing some or all of the whole thing over to blog. As an example, here's what I've come up with so far: http://sterlingsculptures.com/wp/

Plus, Wordpress is pretty easy to learn and use, and it's FREE! http://wordpress.org/

I think the blog format would work fine for your needs, and is really easy and quick to add a new posting that then occupies the top billing until your next update - like your class announcements.

Good Luck!

Tom Sterling

 

[sam]

Nice looking site, Tom.

 

[GTJC460]

I don't see $1400 for what sam posted. It's $399 for the full version.

I used a program by Xara to create the site for our store. I think it was $99. It's called Xara extreme web developer. Pretty easy to use and has many templates to use to work from.

If I redo it I will probably go with dreamweaver. One good thing is if you get stuck you can turn your files over to a pro and let them finish it. Just about every pro web developer uses it so they will be able to use what you've done already.

 

[tsterling]

Nice looking site, Tom.

Thanks, Sam!

 

[diandwill]

My current site was done through Qwest, now century link, and the basic program is included in our business phone package. When you develop a site with dreamweaver, or another program, what do you use for the server?, or host?
Thanks, Will

 

[maplesm]

I have looked at your site and it can be done with Site Spinner. Go to http://www.virtualmechanics.com/ and download the trial version and see. Also much cheaper. It works I used it to buind the site I have had for several years.

 

[Mario Sarto]

There are some ways to create a website. I have tried many, when starting this adventure. In the beginning i have learned, how to write valid documents by using (X)HTML and CSS with a simple text-editor. I can remember, often i thought, how common this authoring-language is and how easy it must be, if my native language would be English. This was twelve years ago and today i am able, to write these documents with closed eyes. Why do i tell you this - it helped me a lot! Of course i have tried Content-Management-Systems and other Web-Builders (I own DW, too). But all of them do have their limitations when it comes to clean and semantic source code. He is important today than ever. Think of Google. They changed their algorithm one year ago and a lot of pages slipped to the basement. I bet, some of you have read about!

So, why do this whole work, if it doesn't pay off? If you be not on page one or at least two of the search results? Does this make sense? I don't think so. If you don’t want to use your homepage as a business card on the web only, if you want to get new customers with new orders, then you have to go deeper into this material.

It is a great pity that many of the great craftsmen are not findable on the web. The reason is simple: either they don’t have their own website or if they have one, it is written so bad, that no searchbot is able to find expedient information in the source code.

There are a lot of possible mistakes – two classics:
The important information (text) is hidden in a picture - only a human eye is able to see and read them – no bot will find them ever
a lot of pictures are really great, but they will never be seen – the customer doesn't search “dsg00123.jpgâ€! It is important to use talking names like “hand_engraved_ruger.jpg†for example. Further use the attribute “alt†and “title†like <img alt=â€hand engraved ruger†title=â€In 1976 hand engraved Ruger by Name of the engraver†src=â€../picture/hand_engraved_ruger.jpgâ€> These micro-information are relevant when it comes to findable or not.

Please don’t get me wrong. I don't want to be snotnosed and teach you something. But again, it is a bummer that a lot of the good ones are arranged on the backseat of the search engines...

 

[Ray Cover]

Wow! Thanks everyone for all the info. Its almost overload.:biggrin:

I have a lot to wade through and check out now.

 

[ChrisB]

Hi Ray,
Are U Running Microsoft on Your PC,?
I Used There FrontPage 2003 which comes with Microsoft XP Professional. And A Book, "FrontPage 2000 for Dummies":banana:
I Did My Website with it.
Even I managed to do it.