Posted: 10/17/2004 12:17:12 PM EDT
| I have a website and I recently bought a new domain and bought space with a hosting company so i am having to commute my files to this new server. However, I was wondering what any of you "professional" or advanced website designers use to build your sites? Do you just code in HTML or do you use some kind of web editor? |
I don't agree with the Frontpage advice. There are a lot better products out there. If you must use a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) try Dreamweaver. I personally use Photoshop/Illustrator for my graphics and buttons and notepad for my HTML editor. |
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Whatever you do, don't use FrontPage. I learned with it and still use it on one of our sites. It is very easy to learn as a beginner but you'll pick up some remarkably bad habits particularly if you use the 'server extensions'. If you want to go WYSIWYG, buy Dreamweaver. If you think you'll ever get a site that's bigger than a couple of pages and more than 80-100mb in size you'll be *very* glad you did. Trust me on this. If all you're doing is a family page, or small business info page it doesn't really matter. All I'm saying is to be aware...it's just weird how things have a tendency to grow beyond your initial expectations so plan for it. |
Is the Photoshop Illustrator included in the "Adobe Photoshop CS" package? This is what I have been wondering about: how to create icons and stuff without using a picture. I have only been able to put text over pictures because I don't know how to just pull up a new blank file. |
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Also.. what is "vi"?? This is my webpage so far, that is, at my old domain and without using CSS which I am trying to get into Summer of 76 However, I'm going to change the layout and the scope of the sight so that it's not based around a forum, I'm going to integrate the forum using my hosting company's options, and make it a more politically motivated site with a forum add on. |
+Eleventy Hundred bazillion Front Page is the WORST program for building a website. If you want to guarantee a site full of holes, and guarantee that if something goes wrong it will be impossible to fix (and anyone that you call for help won't want to touch it because it's built in Front Page) then do it. No professional (or knowledgeable amateur) worth his salt will use this dog crap program. I use Dreamweaver primarily. A lot of people like Adobe GoLive too.
Photoshop and Illustrator are separate programs, if you need both programs AND a web editor, it might be worth it to look into the Adobe Creative Suite which is going to give you Photoshop, Illustrator, Go Live and InDesign for about $1200 ... that seems steep, but purchased individually 3 of those programs would run you around $1500, so it's like getting a discount pplus some extra features ... If you have any way of getting Academic Pricing you can save HUGE money and get the whol package for less than $400. If you know anybody that's a teacher, or a student (heck you could even enroll in your local community college and take a basic HTML course just to get the student ID) all you need is usually a student or faculty ID. |
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I'm no pro, and I usually just hack other peoples scripts (from HotScripts usually) into something I want, but I use. Magum studio light for PHP Here Top Style for CSS Here And Dreamweaver sometime just for editing, not creating. I've learned to use use CSS for everything, for a much faster loading site. |
| That's another question I have. Isn't PHP just another language like HTML or Java? I mean, it's just some other way of creating the same thing? I'm relatively new to site editing and creating (like <2 mos.) so I'm wondering what I should settle with. I want to get into CSS to develop more orderly sites and make it easier to quickly edit styles. |
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I would suggest Eighther Dreamweaver, or IBM Homepage Builder, out of the 2 I would suggest homepage builder, I find it vertually idiot proof, and even easier then dream weaver it's what I'm useing now.... If you want to try Dream Weaver you can get a free 30 day trial at: http://www.macromedia.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=dreamweaver |
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HTML will suffice for static pages, if you gonna have some programming involved, you have some options, perl, asp, php, etc. You can also go with DHTML for other kind of dinamic pages. There's a TO of options, key is wht you wanna do so you don't complicate yourself innecesarily |
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Don't use DHTML, Java, Javascript, Flash, ActiveX, audio, video, etc needlessly. Use it only if it provides useful or interesting content. Useful or interesting content is not: Java Buttons DHTML menus Flash Menus Java Applets that display images 99% of Javascripts you will find on Javascript pages. It makes your site more readable and usable. And it makes you look like a better web designer. |
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