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Question

Need Advice on Website Programs

Jan 21, 2013 12:23AM PST

I set my website up a couple of years ago when I had the Adobe CS2 on my old Mac. At that time, it included a program called GoLive, which was obsolete even when I used it to set up my site, but I managed to get it done and it works well, although now needs updating.

My Mac crashed, and I have subsequently transferred all my graphics programs to a PC (CS6) but didn't buy the Web version that included Dreamweaver because I was told it was complicated, and I didn't feel I needed anything complex. Now I need to update my website, and don't have a program to do it. Should I bite the bullet and buy Dreamweaver, or is there a free/cheaper/easier to use alternative out there?

Also, is it possible to do simple Web design in InDesign?

Thanks for any advise you can offer.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
For static web pages I only need a text editor.
Jan 21, 2013 12:35AM PST

HTML isn't that hard to pick up so your basic web page requires nothing more than notepad.

But that's a little brutal to use so I use SeaMonkey since it has the old Netscape web editor and there are a bazillion other HTML editors out there.

Where I find most folk go crazy is how to put the html files up on the web server. There are many systems for that and I can't help you too much there. Here we use FTP and again, a bazillion apps for FTP.
Bob

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HTML / FTP
Jan 21, 2013 3:08AM PST

I'm not really into dealing with HTML at the moment. GoLive was drag and drop, and pretty easy, once I got the hang of it for fairly simple stuff.

The FTP thing hasn't given me a problem, since I just log into the FTP site of my server and upload the pages. My issue is being able to easily change the pages I already have, and add new stuff.

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Answer
Re: Need Advice on Website Programs
Jan 21, 2013 2:50AM PST

> Should I bite the bullet and buy Dreamweaver?

I'm definitely going to go with no here. Buying a program of its magnitude only makes sense if you are building/managing lots and lots of static/non-cms-driven websites.

> Is there a free/cheaper/easier to use alternative out there?

Take a look at Microsoft's Expression Web 4. I tried this software a while back to evaluate and it was pretty good, so it may suit your needs. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36179

If you google "free dreamweaver alternative" you'll see some of the same handful of editors pop up. You can give any of those editors a shot.

> Is it possible to do simple Web design in InDesign?

Yes, you can design a website in InDesign, in fact, that's what we're using on a current project of ours, however keep in mind that it's only for designing/layout. It's not a publishing tool and does not manage pages/code in any way.

~Sovereign

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Dreamweaver, InDesign, etc.
Jan 21, 2013 3:12AM PST

I appreciate the thoughts on Dreamweaver. I do think it is overkill for me, but didn't know what alternatives might be good. Several folks I know have used the free design stuff, and it seems it either looks crappy, or is slowwww to load pages etc. I also explored WordPress, but I don't want a blog. Maybe I just don't know how to set it up right.

I'll take a look at the Expression Web 4, and also go a google search as you recommend. When you say you use InDesign to design/layout your site, are you just doing it to get the look you want, and then using a web program to mimic? I need to explore this also. Thanks.

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Re: Dreamweaver, InDesign, etc.
Jan 21, 2013 10:33PM PST

> Several folks I know have used the free design stuff, and it seems it either looks crappy, or is slowwww to load pages etc.

In terms of looking crappy, that could be a limitation of the program or how the program was used, but in terms of pages loading slow, that could also be related to the program, because it has to add an abundance of code to account for what a user "might" want to do, not what he is actually doing.

> I also explored WordPress, but I don't want a blog. Maybe I just don't know how to set it up right.

WordPress is definitely an option as well, and while WordPress started as a blog, it doesn't have to be setup/used that way. In the long run, if you have time and are interested, going the content management system route, like WordPress, is definitely where you want to be at some point. It will make managing website content much, much easier. You're also then not depended on any software running on your computer to update it. You just login to your website and can add/manipulate most anything.

> When you say you use InDesign to design/layout your site, are you just doing it to get the look you want, and then using a web program to mimic?

Right, it's just the design. It's then usually handed off to a front-end developer who will manually build a site according to those specs.

~Sovereign

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Re: Dreamweaver, InDesign, etc.
Jan 22, 2013 1:38AM PST

Thanks. I might need to explore WordPress some more. I did try setting one page up, but didn't find a way to make additional pages look different than the first one. I'm so used to using InDesign that I get frustrated when I can't put things where I want them to go.

My primary reason for considering Dreamweaver is the amount of support via Adobe, forums, blogs, Youtube, etc that are available. Also, from the demos I've watched, it appears to be somewhat like GoLive, which I ended up developing my website originally, and it functions well and fast - just needs some TLC.

Gail

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Re: Re: Dreamweaver, InDesign, etc.
Jan 22, 2013 9:16AM PST

> But didn't find a way to make additional pages look different than the first one.

You're right about that. You can change content and you can change your homepage, but out of the box, you can't have different designs for different pages unless you know code.

That said, there are plenty of advanced themes that provide additional functionality to make that happen. There are also an abundance of plugins that can extend functionality.

~Sovereign

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Answer
Dreamweaver seems overkill
Jan 24, 2013 8:21PM PST

I think Dreamweaver would be overkill for your requirements, it is more aimed at web professionals. There are some great free editors like coffeecup which would do you fine. You will be able to get lots of general html/website help in hundreds of forums on the web.

I would also echo Sovereign suggestion of moving to a setup like WordPress. These CMS sites have come on loads in recent years and are no longer just blogs.

Good luck.

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CMS Sites
Jan 26, 2013 12:00PM PST

I've been looking into WordPress a little more. Also Joomla and Drupal, although I think I've looked at them all too much the last few days. I'll take a look at coffeecup. Thanks for the input.