Building website

[chise1]

Hello, I am seriously considering getting hosting with bluehost, and therefore getting a domain name to start building a website. I was just wondering what kind of programs that you guys use to build nice and professional websites. How good is the free site builder, or would you use programs such as Frontpage or Dreamweaver or something of that nature?

I am a bit of a noob to the whole site-building field, and any responses would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a bunch,
Chris

[Nick Manley]

You need to use Dreamweaver or Frontpage. I personally would recommend Dreamweaver. Frontpage has a lot of problems because it outputs really bad code. Websites are created in a language called HTML. Infact, right click a blank area on this page and select "view source". Thats the HTML source to the page you are viewing now. Knowing this you have 3 options you can choose.

1.) WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get. Pronounced (wizzy-wig) is the style that Dreamweaver uses. You use a "point and click" interface to create a website and it generates the code for you.

2.) HTML - Dreamweaver also lets you type the code yourself. This approach is used by almost everyone for making webpages. It doesn't take too long to learn and isn't very hard but it does required some time and a learning curve. This is the best option though if you are willing to put in the time. Your pages will have very clean code and it will be easier for you to update. Once you understand HTML you can expand in other areas as well like PHP. This will let you create dynamic content for your pages. PHP is the reason I can hit the "post" button on this forum and have this text appear instantly.

3.) CMS - Content Management System uses a web-based application typically programmed in PHP for your website. PHP-Nuke and Drupal are common ones that can be installed. They basically provide a site where you simply pick a design and colors that you like and you can then add content through the web based interface. It works a lot like these forums. I can go in and edit my profile and add an avatar and such through the website. Updating content using a CMS is a similar approach.

There is a basic description of each. Really quick, lets go through the pros and cons of each.

1.) WYSIWYG
Pros:
- easy to use
- produce custom sites in a short amount of time
Cons:
- produces messy code
- can be hard to update if you update your site frequently

2.) HTML
Pros:
- customize almost every last detail of your site so its 100% yours
- learn how the pros do it and it will help you expand into dynamic content later down the road
Cons:
- requires the most time of the 3 choices to learn
- pages typically take longer to make

CMS
Pros:
- your site is up almost instantly and you can start adding content
- your site is pretty much built for you and only asks for a few choices to change the design
- very easy to update
Cons:
- lack of originality. If it lacks a feature you want your mostly out of luck
- adds a lot of overhead if all you want is a very simple page or site with out much content or features required

[fougere]

Hi Chris
I use an online editor with my existing site,but wanted something a bit more versitile and independent of the webhost.
I tried a few wysiwyg editors (any that would offer a free trial) and settled on SITESPINNER.I found relatively easy to learn and it appears to do just about anything you would like it to.
It has the odd glitch (what doesn't) but they can be overcome.It has good help files and an excellent online forum for additional help.
The best bit for me was that you are allowed a 15 day fully functional trial before paying for it.More than enough time to see if its what you want,and its not expensive!
Regards
Clive

[TK_Killer]

In my opinion Microsoft Frontpage would be the best and most professional way.

-TK_Killer

[troy]

Hello Chris,
I had posted a small thread a few days ago that may help you.It's really not that hard to build a website.You would have help here on the forums as well.
here is the thread
http://www.bluehostforum.com/showthread.php?t=1181

[Nick Manley]

In my opinion Microsoft Frontpage would be the best and most professional way.

You're kidding right? I don't care how pro-Microsoft you are, Frontpage sucks plain and simple. Frontpage is probebly the worst way and I have never heard of a professional that uses Frontpage. Most professionals won't even touch Dreamweaver's WYSIWYG editor because it frankly doesn't produce the best code either. I think it is pretty standard for people to code their own. Now if you are just starting out then I suppose WYSIWYG wouldn't be all that bad for very simple pages although I would personally recommend learning HTML if you plan on doing web development long term or if you are lazy, a CMS would be better than Frontpage or Dreamweaver.

[brod(d)ers]

When building sites, I tend to use a mix of programs and coding. To build up the basic template for the site, i use "Dreamweaver 8" as it does a reasonable job at developing structure to the site. For the images I use "Photoshop CS2" as it is (argueably) the best image software to use. Then for the finer points of the site like getting things to look perfect, objects to line-up correctly and generally get the site looking the way I want, I modify the code generated by dreamweaver to do what I want. Then when doing things like dynamic pages, your pretty much stuck with doing straight programming to get these area's working (like using PHP).
Just my two cents worth!

Cheers,

Sam

[s.carter]

WYSIWYG editors are fine regardless of what the notepad natzis say. But, you need a firm foundation in HTML and be able to get inside the code to fix things and get what you really want out of your site. My editor of choice is NVU (http://www.nvu.com). It is open source and therefore, free. It has a decent Cascading Style Sheet editor, allows you to view and edit your HTML source, and compiles fairly elegant code. Except for forgetting to include ALT's for my background images, my pages received W3C certification without issue.

Another way to get a professional looking site up quick is to purchase a nice template. I got mine for $10 and I think it looks great.

My site was created in about 2 evenings with NVU and scrounging a few javascript lines to make some of the UI nicer. You can see it here at www.sitstaygooddog.com (http://www.sitstaygooddog.com).

[silentcollision]

The best possible one is: both.

WYSIWYG saves time! Its really quick, and notepad does not have the functions of closing tags, and inserting code quickly. But before you jump right in to your nearest WYSIWYG editor, you need to understand at least the basics of html and css. WYS is not always WYG, and thats where the code comes in. The more you edit your html page with a WYSIWYG, no matter how professional it is (frontpage? heh), it will screw around, and most likely you will end up with browser errors or something on your page that you don't know how to fix.

Learn html + css. Its easy, and its worth it.

[Packleadr]

I dont know much about web design and I came up with a great site, in my view. I was using dreamweaver and some photoshop. if you can learn photoshop it is good, because if you want pics on your site or headers its a great software to know.

This is what Ive done lately, after a few recommandation from our marvelous member of bluehost

http://www.home-business-and-more.com

Thank you guys & girls

[Kristy]

Just to throw in my 2 cents worth, I have never had a lot of training in creating a website and each day I learn something new. (truth!) I also use a couple of different programs. I like the look of Website Complete Deluxe Edition for the "look" of my site. I admit to not knowing HTML language and so I needed a program that was more on my level of thinking. I came to BlueHost because my hometown webhost didn't have the power and space that I needed and it is like night and day using BlueHost compared to my hometown webhost. I have not had any problems since joining BlueHost and don't believe I ever will. I use BlueHost ftpmanager and that is a pretty simple program to use. Also for me, I didn't have the money to purchase all the fancy programs at this time so I had to use the least expensive stuff around. My site isn't perfect, but it does the job for me. Here is mine, not a lot of bells or whistles but once again, it works for me. www.customscrewsandmore.com. Hope this helps!

[Nascency]

JMO..it's best to learn HTML markup and CSS. WYSIWYG can do strange things and also, with so many browsers out there, you sometimes have to dive into the code to get everything to render in each one. Personally, I find editors get in my way, and I prefer to start with a good template and go from there.

[aurora]

I briefly looked at the templates in Bluehost and it seems pretty straight forward about how to use them. I dont think you will have any trouble at all.

If you are planning to go it on your own ---

I find that using a combo of the following meets basic HTML editing needs.
Nothing fancy, just the basics.
NVU http://www.nvu.com/index.php
NVU is wysiwyg and it is great for throwing together a page quickly but it almost always needs tweaking.
HTML Kit http://www.chami.com/html-kit/
HTML KIt is great -- offers so much with additonal plugins.
Homesite1.2 http://www.snapfiles.com/get/homesitefree.html
(the freeware version, yes you can still find it)
Homesite is great if you need to change one line of code across several pages... like an email address.

On my own site, I use joomla! content management. I have found all the extensions to make it what I want it to be and have combined it with a simple machines forum.
There are many templates to browse at http://templates.joomlaya.com/

Downside... it took weeks to try out extensions and get the look I wanted.
I had to edit many of the php files to include various text and tweak the layouts. I ws on support boards nearly every day looking for answers. I figured it was worth the initial effort as the site will be able to integrate more content with just a few clicks. Another downside... if the database goes... no site. And as noted previously in this thread, it could just be too much content. Overkill. I feel like I am joomla expert though, so at least I have learned something. Tables are an issue with joomla! They note that the new version will be more CSS, less tables. I used tables in my own template for joomla! only because I am lazy.

After you join Bluehost, You can click fantastico in your CP and test out the various Content management systems, blogs etc - many to choose from... I suggest putting them in subdirectories to test and then if you find one you like, uninstall it and reinstall into your root. I will say that fantastico doesn't always have the latest security updates for the software it offers, so always visit the home sites of the software developers and make sure you are running the latest. Most have very good documentation on how to upgrade.

you can go to openSourceCMS
http://www.opensourcecms.com/
and check out both user end and admin end functionality of MANY CMSs

Here is a good resource for html templates and for other webmaster tools. click on 1000 website templates in the lower left hand column.
http://thenetter.com/index.php?web-site-templates

aurora
http://mahoningvalley.info

[Nascency]

PHP Fusion (http://www.php-fusion.co.uk/news.php) is a very easy-to-use CMS. It's super simple to apply upgrades, too.

[thebeard]

Chris: if you are a designer then I'd recommend sticking with one package of visual creation software, like Adobe Creative Suite, (www.adobe.com). Photoshop has been mentioned, if you are going to purchase Photoshop then get the rest of the package, including GoLive to construct your website. Golive is for those of use who are visual based, and plays very well with Photoshop, Acrobat, Illustrator, ImageReady, etc.

Free stuff will usually require knowledge of code. Just depends how much time and energ you want to throw into learning.

[bobdog]

When building sites, I tend to use a mix of programs and coding. To build up the basic template for the site, i use "Dreamweaver 8"

Yep, sounds like me. When I design a new site, I always start in dreamweaver, after that I edit the html and css by hand and tweak to perfection.

There is no substitute for learning how to hand-code FIRST, then buy some nice toys like Dreamweaver.

[dvessel]

Chris: if you are a designer then I'd recommend sticking with one package of visual creation software, like Adobe Creative Suite, (www.adobe.com). Photoshop has been mentioned, if you are going to purchase Photoshop then get the rest of the package, including GoLive to construct your website. Golive is for those of use who are visual based, and plays very well with Photoshop, Acrobat, Illustrator, ImageReady, etc.

Free stuff will usually require knowledge of code. Just depends how much time and energ you want to throw into learning.

Forget Golive, it's dead. After Adobe's purchase of Macromedia, Dreamweaver will be its' replacement. Photoshop is a must though. It's usually my 2nd or 3rd step after a rough sketching of ideas. ImageReady is another that's close to relevant for web design but Photoshop is great for 'realizing' a layout.

[mannytwo]

Hey, everyone here has given you some great advice. All I have to say is that you should choose the software that you feel is going to be right for you and your webpage. I personally use Dreamweaver 8 and Photoshop myself. I do also agree that microsoftfrontpage isn't a good program. I personally had my own problems with it. So, I switched to Dreamweaver. But, Hey do what you feel is best for you okay.... Good luck with your site......Manny:)