from where to start
- Thread starter jaipandya
- Start date
Chroder
New Member
I'd suggest taking a look at the HTML Primer from HTML Goodies. Every webmaster needs to know about HTML, even if you end up using a WYSIWYG editor like Dreamweaver.
AainaA
New Member
you could also start by asking yourself, the 5 Ws
1. Why do I need a site
2. When do I need to implement this site
3. Where would I host this site
4. Whom am I going to "rant/rave" about on this site
5. What am I going to do to make it a reality
Of course you could ask other questions as well, and you might even want to consider studying other sites, and see elements of color fusion before coming up with a pseudo-flow of what you're gonna do..
you might also want to consider looking at...
http://www.sitepoint.com/cat/design-and-layout
later,
1. Why do I need a site
2. When do I need to implement this site
3. Where would I host this site
4. Whom am I going to "rant/rave" about on this site
5. What am I going to do to make it a reality
Of course you could ask other questions as well, and you might even want to consider studying other sites, and see elements of color fusion before coming up with a pseudo-flow of what you're gonna do..
you might also want to consider looking at...
http://www.sitepoint.com/cat/design-and-layout
later,
1. Decide what the site will be about and its purpose.
2. Build the site, easier when you use an editor like microsoft frontpage or macromedia dreamweaver.
3. Upload the website to a web hosting server using a FTP program like cuteftp or wsftp.
4. Start promoting your website via search engines and other means.
2. Build the site, easier when you use an editor like microsoft frontpage or macromedia dreamweaver.
3. Upload the website to a web hosting server using a FTP program like cuteftp or wsftp.
4. Start promoting your website via search engines and other means.
SPAM! 
anyways, i agree with a little of all that has been said above. a good place to start would be to get a cheap html book and start learning the basics of it. it's really simple and most any book should do just fine.
then, decide what the topic of your web site will be. a site with any real direction isn't really attractive to most users, but rather confussing.
as far as hosting goes, for starters i would stick with one of the free hosting services, such as freeserver.com. also, i recommend wsftp for uploading your files, but any of the others will work just fine as well.
as far as front page and other such editors go, most are very helpfull tools and will make your day go much smoother, however, i must say.... "stay away from front page!!!". personally i preffer dreamweaver by macromedia, but there are some good free ones out there as well that write good clean code for you.
anyways, i agree with a little of all that has been said above. a good place to start would be to get a cheap html book and start learning the basics of it. it's really simple and most any book should do just fine.
then, decide what the topic of your web site will be. a site with any real direction isn't really attractive to most users, but rather confussing.
as far as hosting goes, for starters i would stick with one of the free hosting services, such as freeserver.com. also, i recommend wsftp for uploading your files, but any of the others will work just fine as well.
as far as front page and other such editors go, most are very helpfull tools and will make your day go much smoother, however, i must say.... "stay away from front page!!!". personally i preffer dreamweaver by macromedia, but there are some good free ones out there as well that write good clean code for you.
javascript almost made me flunk a class once... all my code was fine and neither me nor my professor could figure out why it did not work. anyways, i copied all the code into a new file and it worked fine. *shrug*
that was the last time i ever really used to again (with the exeption of pop-up's on links and the likes of course).
that was the last time i ever really used to again (with the exeption of pop-up's on links and the likes of course).
Ehehe, good luck to u jaipandya. just my 2cents, u might wanna start with html, a site i would like to suggest http://www.w3schools.com very nice tutorials. Then get some photoshop crash course. get familiar with this very famous program. Then hands on urs very own website. for some idea, u might consider to view www.dw.dk .
for some idea, u might consider to view www.dw.dk .If ya need help
We can help you with your needs, visit our website at http://www.IWebmasters.com and you can contact me at [email protected] tnx!
We can help you with your needs, visit our website at http://www.IWebmasters.com and you can contact me at [email protected] tnx!
ldburroughs
New Member
Focus on what you hope to accomplish with the site. Frontpage has come a long way and is the perfect solution for entry to intermediate level web design. There is no reason to "stay away" from it unless you are beyond the intermediate level. For most applications it will provide more than what you need. Additionally, its interface is much more intuitive than Dreamweaver and other more sophisticated programs. I wholeheartedly agree that Dreamweaver is a fantastic product but I vehemently disagree with the "stay away from" stance mounted against Frontpage.
I must say I am by no means an advanced webmaster. I'm in law school and do it as a hobby mostly to communicate with my friends and family. Assess your needs, then determine what tools are required. You may not need the power of Dreamweaver. You may end up equiping a metaphorical pizza delivery shop with a fleet of Ferraris.
I must say I am by no means an advanced webmaster. I'm in law school and do it as a hobby mostly to communicate with my friends and family. Assess your needs, then determine what tools are required. You may not need the power of Dreamweaver. You may end up equiping a metaphorical pizza delivery shop with a fleet of Ferraris.
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it's not really about the power of dreamweaver, frontpage or even notpad! it's about the quality of the code. there is a reason dreamweaver has a function specifically to clean code.ldburroughs said:
just open frontpage and start a new page and then without making any changes to this new blank page, go and look at the amount of code you already have. that's what makes frontpage so undesirable.
on the other hand, most of us started out with frontpage and eventually moved on as we learned how to write actual code.
all i am saying is, if you can, try and avoide frontpage and word for your web design needs. there are lots of free html and WYSIWYG editors out there, that may not look as fancy or have as many features, but will still do a much better job IMHO.
ldburroughs
New Member
That makes a lot of sense. I would agree that one should avoid Frontpage over a free or less expensive web authoring program if cost is an issue. I also agree that Frontpage is not as clean (although I never really looked into that before I read this thread.) The people who view my site, mostly friends and family, know even less than I about this sort of thing (that's really scary.) They just visit on occassion to see pictures of my daughter. The site suits my current needs. If I were doing this for a corporation or for others I would certainly look at other programs. In fact, I'd probably hire someone to do it because it would consume too much of my time creating and maintaining the site. Especially since it can be so easily scrutinized.
StephanieCordray
New Member
I can see both sides of this argument of frontpage vs dreamweaver, having used both and at times still use frontpage. At my level, I would vote hands down for Dreamweaver but I know it's not everybody's choicenor should it be for true beginners since it has a much steeper learning curve than many others. Frontpage may not be very clean code but it is easy to use. Depending on your needs for your site as ldburroughs stated earlier you may opt for that editor over others. If you buy the microsoft office suite for your business or whatever, it comes in some of the more complete packages without the cost of buying it separately. If such is the case, it's a good place to start. If not, and there are good alternatives for you that are free or at a much lower cost, that's the route I would take.
However, no wysiwig editor will ever replace html code knowledge. You can learn a lot by looking at how it's coded in your editor but there are also loads of sites on the internet with tutorials about HTML. It's something you can learn as you go, using an editor and tutorials.
However, no wysiwig editor will ever replace html code knowledge. You can learn a lot by looking at how it's coded in your editor but there are also loads of sites on the internet with tutorials about HTML. It's something you can learn as you go, using an editor and tutorials.
Vaelor
New Member
Speaking as an obsessed anal retentive hand-coder, I can't endorse with any level of enthusiasm any WYSIWYG package, because I know the nightmare of trying to manual tidy up the digusting mess of code they inevitably produce.
If you know nothing about HTML, and getting your first site online is more of a hobby than a critically urgent priority, I'd strongly suggest skipping right to learning the HTML language yourself. You'll appreciate it in the long run rather than messing around with editors, and you'll have cut out the middle man and saved yourself a lot of time. If you're willing and able to do this, I strongly recommend a free tutorial site such as www.htmlgoodies.com (by far the best I've ever personally come across - has ever level of tutorial, from "What the heck is HTML?!", to more complex frames, tables, Javascript, style sheets, and so on... I still occasionally refer back to it myself when I forget how to do some little things, and I've been designed websites for over six years!) to guide you along the way.
If, however, you have zero interest in learning how to actually code properly and just want to bang a website together as quickly and simply as possible without learning the mechanics of it, the best WYSIWYG editor I ever came across was Allaire HomeSite (possibly since bought out by Macromedia, if it still exists at all..?). Failing that, I didn't mind DreamWeaver so much for functionality, and if I HAD to use a package now for god knows what reason, it would probably be that. Personally, I wouldn't touch Frontpage with a thousand foot pole, but that's just me.
Just my two cents worth anyway, hope it helps.
If you know nothing about HTML, and getting your first site online is more of a hobby than a critically urgent priority, I'd strongly suggest skipping right to learning the HTML language yourself. You'll appreciate it in the long run rather than messing around with editors, and you'll have cut out the middle man and saved yourself a lot of time. If you're willing and able to do this, I strongly recommend a free tutorial site such as www.htmlgoodies.com (by far the best I've ever personally come across - has ever level of tutorial, from "What the heck is HTML?!", to more complex frames, tables, Javascript, style sheets, and so on... I still occasionally refer back to it myself when I forget how to do some little things, and I've been designed websites for over six years!) to guide you along the way.
If, however, you have zero interest in learning how to actually code properly and just want to bang a website together as quickly and simply as possible without learning the mechanics of it, the best WYSIWYG editor I ever came across was Allaire HomeSite (possibly since bought out by Macromedia, if it still exists at all..?). Failing that, I didn't mind DreamWeaver so much for functionality, and if I HAD to use a package now for god knows what reason, it would probably be that. Personally, I wouldn't touch Frontpage with a thousand foot pole, but that's just me.
Just my two cents worth anyway, hope it helps.
StephanieCordray
New Member
zkiller said:very well put, vaelor!
that's me, too, although i don't do much designing except for my own site... but i do everything inside of dreamweaver, lots of time just from the code view tho because of php.. which still hates me most of the time, hehe.
Vaelor
New Member
Well, I've got nothing but spare time these days, but I'm lazy, unmotivated, and unskilled, so generally I either outsource things, or they just don't get done (see www.undiscoveredlore.com for a prime example - that site has been around half a decade or so now!!).
But still, am too fussy/control freakish to ever use code from a WYSIWYG editor, it just gets under my skin. Every time I've tried, I'll make some tiny little change, like adding a Javascript hit counter, or some small insignificant thing like that, and the whole page layout will go out of whack. So these days, it's hand coding, or no coding. =)
Mind you, I can bang out a basic HTML page in 5-20 minutes max now depending on length, so it's no huge deal. Getting the motivation to sit down and do it, now that's another matter. =P
But still, am too fussy/control freakish to ever use code from a WYSIWYG editor, it just gets under my skin. Every time I've tried, I'll make some tiny little change, like adding a Javascript hit counter, or some small insignificant thing like that, and the whole page layout will go out of whack. So these days, it's hand coding, or no coding. =)
Mind you, I can bang out a basic HTML page in 5-20 minutes max now depending on length, so it's no huge deal. Getting the motivation to sit down and do it, now that's another matter. =P