Cyprus-Forum.com

[umit07]

I have to make a page for an NGO, I don't want it to look sleazy. I know how to use the basic features of frontpage but I found it to be a bit to bland ( could be because I don't know all its features ) . I tried using dreamweaver but I found it to be quite complex.

My questions are;

1. Can you make a decent site without knowledge of HTML, Java and so on?

2.Which WYSWYG page developer is the best?

3.Any tips for a starter?

Thanks for reading.

[cyprusgrump]

I have to make a page for an NGO, I don't want it to look sleazy. I know how to use the basic features of frontpage but I found it to be a bit to bland ( could be because I don't know all its features ) . I tried using dreamweaver but I found it to be quite complex.

My questions are;

1. Can you make a decent site without knowledge of HTML, Java and so on?

2.Which WYSWYG page developer is the best?

3.Any tips for a starter?

Thanks for reading.

Use Frontpage but search the intermong for ‘Frontpage Themes’ and download something a little different…

[andreas123]

umit
dont use frontapage it's crap....seriously...use dreamweaver or open source HTML editors.,.. google it.. i am talkign from experience here

well atm dynamic pages(pages with php,.net,java) are the way to go,,however if you want a clickable web page with content that doesnt change as much..then i quess HTML is the way to simply put a couple of pages up there,,,-however if your users want their content to change reqularly then you have a lot on your hands..

have you considered open source content management systems? like Joomla, Wordpress etc? there are easy to install on a server with Linux\apache etc, and you can download ready-made templates and plugins which you can change easily, plus your users will be able to change their content reqularly online by themeselves since each page ,menus etc can be easily changed form the Content management system with a WYSIWYG editor.
hope this helps

[umit07]

Cyprusgrump

thanks for the reply. I noticed that the majority of templates/themes are for sale, do you know any good sites with free stuff for frontpage?

[andreas123]

see my reply

[cyprusgrump]

Cyprusgrump

thanks for the reply. I noticed that the majority of templates/themes are for sale, do you know any good sites with free stuff for frontpage?

I bought a theme for mine (http://www.cyprusbroadband.com) which is all made in Frontpage...

I guess free themes may be available but they really arn't very expensive to buy...

If you can work your way around Frontpage I think the theme will be the way forward for you.

[Sega]

Personally I avoid programs like Dreamweaver and ex-Frontpage, I prefer to get in the code it's more fun and you learn loads. There is a number of sites specialised not so much for me (I am passed that point), but for newbees like you. Go to davesite.com or go to w3school.com. You could do what all the so-called professionals do and just download templates for $66, check out my URL link to see what I mean.

If you still need help using the code, or if fact any advice regarding proffesional web developing just send me a message I would be happy to help.

[umit07]

andreas123

Thanks andreas. I will not be updating the site regularly, it is primarily meant to display static info and will be updated a couple of times a month at the most. I personally don't like frontpage, but other programs just seem to be a bit to complex. I have dreamweaver on my machine, but I am having trouble with the "photoshop" style interface with the layers and so on. I just don't know were to start from. I don't want to learn any code, is it possible to do some good stuff without learning any code? What WYSWYG program do you suggest? I don't want to spend to much time trying various programs.

[umit07]

Thanks sega, I'll checkout those sites.

[andreas123]

well there isn't reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy an easy easy way out.it's difficult to explain....i quess you are limited to what you can do with the "easy stuff" at the end of the day. there are loads of tutorials out there...on how to use dreamwever...the easy way to learn is to try and do it umit..its the best way
also do you know XHTML at all? if you dont i honestly reccomend sitting down and doing tutorials....so that you can learn the mark-up and what each tag does etc...i think that shoudl be the first step....layers etc in dreamweaver are divs as they are called.,,,lesave tables out..(you can still use them) it gets messy if you dont know what you are doing....

frontpage is crap because it puts microsoft specific tags etc in the code,,,and it just crazy anway...i would reccomened playing around in both designer and code view in dreamweaver so that you can see how your code change when you add/remove/edit something in the designer view...

of course open source cms is another way BUT...it may be a bit complicated for you since you are a novice...