So, I’d like to set up a personal web page, which might grow into something bigger. I know there are lots of ‘kiddie’ web tools that are aimed at my mom for doing really simple sites, but I’d like to use a program that, while simple to start with, has some headroom and would allow me to ultimately use all/most of the modern bells and whistles. What should I use - Frontpage, or something else?
Question 2 - Can anybody recommend a good hosting site - again basic, cheap, low bandwidth for starters, but preferably something I can scale up if I get more ambitious and start attracting a bit more traffic.
From what I’ve researched, the granddaddy is Dreamweaver MX 2004, but it’s aimed at professionals that have taken the time to learn HTML/CSS and just want something to simplify the process.
I’ve looked at a couple less expensive tools such as NetFusion and WebEditor, but they have generally fallen far short.
For bloggish, article-driven stuff, I HIGHLY recommend CityDesk by Fog Creek. That’s how I’ve done my own site, and it just works without requiring any coding. If you want to get into the CSS/HTML stuff, you can, but it’s generally structured as an article-driven content delivery system.
Has anyone on the *nix side of the fence tried out Nvu? It seems to be an interesting up-and-coming WYSIWYG editor designed to be the Linux equivalent of Dreamweaver/Frontpage. Although I get by fine with Bluefish as my HTML editor, I’m always interested in opinions on new software.
I use these guys ( Their WebLite plan would probably suit you best buy the sounds of it. ) … alot of people here would recommend Poe Hosting ( Chet runs it … )
::addon:: Oh and for number one. I started with notepad it’s the only program I’ve come accross that allows complete control. :wink:
I used to use BBedit on the Mac and did throughout the dot-com glory days, but for the past year or so I’ve used HomeSite (now owned by Macromedia). I love it. I don’t use any of the other Macromedia crap (Dreamweaver, Flash etc.), though.
Oh, as for question #2 – LunarPages, hands down. Good up time, very inexpensive, great support, great control panel, just supereasy to use and deal with.
I can definitely recommend AGAINST JumpDomain and would be loathe to recommend APlus.net.
I’m mostly a notepad.exe type guy. Actually, I use nano on Linux, but whatever. But back when I did use WYSIWYG, it was all about HomeSite. So I’m agreeing with Sparky [size=1]who has better things than posting on QT3 that she ought to be doing![/size]
BTW, if you want to do just raw text editing and you have MS Visual Studio, it handles it natively with a CSS browser, tag completion, and indentation and syntax coloring. That was a mild but pleasant surprise.
Well, yeah, I used to make web sites using TextEdit on the Mac back in 1995 and I LIKED it (of course, at the time, I also listened to Queensryche and drove a Geo Metro). But, really, once you know the basics, there’s no reason not to use WYSIWIG for stuff like complex tables and all that.
[size=2]And I am simultaneously working on TCFH as we speak. Nag! Nag! Nag![/size]
But, really, once you know the basics, there’s no reason not to use WYSIWIG for stuff like complex tables and all that.
I’ve found that this often goes full circle. People want to use WYSIWYG because they don’t know the underlying code, but to really understand the WYSIWYG, they need to know the code, at which point they can go back to WYSIWYG.
PHP has been the worst for me, since once you start doing PHP you’ll often that you only use DW and similar tools to generate templates that are just spit back out by your PHP – so it comes back all the way to text editing.
We recently did a test of packages and Dreamweaver won hands down, if price wasn’t an issue.
Unfortunately, for most it is, so our second best editor and overall winner was Namo webeditor, which actually is a remarkably powerful WYSIWYG editor.
Both Dreamweaver and Namo do the 30 day free trial (which is enough time to design your site… but not to maintain it)
WebEditor was notoriously unstable – I’m glad they offered a trial, because I was constantly getting crashes doing simple operations like resizing or moving.
Nvu is “ok” - the lack of an integrated site manager feature (i.e. a built in FTP client) is a major problem if you are remote from your webhost, but if you can get around that then it’s useful for quick stuff.
If you want a basic blog/diary, you might check out MovableType.org. Movable Type is free for personal use and installs with a few basic templates and stylesheets. After MT is installed, you’d be ready to go. If you’re not too picky, one of them will probably serve, at least you get you started. If you’re a little more picky, you can easily learn to edit the stylesheets to match your tastes. Just pick up an intro to CSS book or search Google for CSS tutorials.
If you want an even easier implementation that includes hosting, MT offers TypePad (http://www.typepad.com/), which is . It looks like they even offer hosting with MT pre-installed.
