Best software for creating a simple web site

[cisamcgu]

Hi all,

I am going to redo a cycling club web site. I have had a look around at some others and have been impressed by quite a few. What I would like to know is what is the best/simplest software for writing web pages. I don't need it to have content mangement (at least I don't think I do), but be able to design and build "nice" web pages and be easy to update them.

Any idea, I am happy to supply more info if needed.

Thanks in anticipation


Andrew

 

[jay clock]

Without a doubt www.weebly.com . My bro (crap with a pc created one in an hour) and the other day I created this www.scottbike.weebly.com in 20 mins..... Really intuitive and has tons of useful features like adding google maps, galleries, You Tube etc

see also here http://www.takeonthenet.com/2007/10/weebly.html

 

[jay clock]

a few weebly cycling club websites

http://ballstatecycling.weebly.com/rides--training.html
http://maltonwheelersrc.weebly.com/index.html
http://uccscycling.weebly.com/

 

[gaz]

Best software will generally be something along the lines of photoshop and dreamweaver.
but a few things to note.
- It's all down to preference.
- Photoshop is easily one of the best graphics applications, but it's rather expensive and i would say fireworks is better for web work.
- Dreamweaver is a great application for what it is. but again its rather expensive and there are some other applications which do the same thing for free. it's also best to know HTML and CSS when using it.

To make any real suggestions to you. we need to know as much information as possible about your own skills and what the requirements are. It may well be that you need to use a CMS, but without any knowledge of your skills, no one can say whats right for you, or the end product that your 'client' needs.

 

[Garz]

Just bear in mind that you are not a web developer, as I seen alot of harsh or over critical advice (if you could call it that) on other forums. Just do your best with the tools and limits you have, sticking to making it simple with no clutter.

Good luck!

 

[cisamcgu]

Thanks for the advice. I will look into weebly.com, but the domain already exists and I don't think they would want to change it to www.weebly.xxxxxxxxx.com .. but I will find out.

As regards tools - I have access to just about everything through work, Photoshop, Dreamweaver..etc.. but have no real idea how to use them. I am an IT person, but databases are my thing, not fancy pictures and mouse clicks

Another thing is that hopefully it would not be me who was updating the site once it has been built, so it should be easily accessible by another person (with the required passwords etc...)

Again, many thanks for you help

Andrew

 

[Garz]

Ahh im wanting some pointers on databases whilst your here!

Been a while since my degree and having to use SQL and designing stuff.. I shall pm you!

From what your after with this website sounds like you just need to create a few pages, control the layout from one (as mentioned) through the CSS. The users can then change the content as they wish.

 

[peanut]

easiest way to create a website without doubt is to use a wysiwyg program like Publisher or Frontpage.

it may not have all the bells and whistles of some other programs but it is literally a question of importing text and images onto a ready made webpage and dragging and adjusting sizes etc. you can create additional webpages with a single click and link them with another single click from the toolbar.

View your efforts as a webpage whenever you want with a single click. Its so easy its criminal.

In Publisher I can create a webpage like the scotbikeweebley in less than 3 minutes flat if the text is already written

 

[gaz]

Another thing is that hopefully it would not be me who was updating the site once it has been built, so it should be easily accessible by another person (with the required passwords etc...)

Again, many thanks for you help

Andrew

If your not going to be the one updating it, and the person who may be updating it has no or little experience in html. then i would strongly suggest using a CMS.

Not only will using a CMS give you a better chance at fobbing this of to someone else to update. it should also be easier for you to make.

I would suggest looking into ModX or you could hack wordpress. BUT choosing which CMS depends on what the website needs and what the user base is. If it is really large then no doubt joomla is something to look at. but it can be over complicated for a new user to set up.

Another bonus with these is that you don't have to build something from scratch. lots of good quality designs are already out there which you can tweak to suit your needs. I could go on for a while as to why this is best suited for you, but i won't.

easiest way to create a website without doubt is to use a wysiwyg program like Publisher or Frontpage.

No doubt a very easy way to create a website. BUT it has some major floors, such as generally bad code put out. can easily go wrong by adding various things, and often the out put designs completely based on tables = a big no no.

 

[peanut]

No doubt a very easy way to create a website. BUT it has some major floors, such as generally bad code put out. can easily go wrong by adding various things, and often the out put designs completely based on tables = a big no no.

utter tosh! there are no major floors?(flaws) as you put it.
I have created 5x extensive websites for my various businesses over the past 6 years and have sold £thousands to the US and Europe .



The op is looking for something simple and straightforward not some code they have to spend weeks learning.

 

[Garz]

There are many ways to skin a cat as they say. Peanut is right in saying that to learn all the nuances and 'tidy' coding pratices takes time, which in this case isnt going to achieve what he wants fast.

I understand what you mean gaz, but he isn't a developer that does this as a hobby let alone for a living.

 

[peanut]

Hi all,

I am going to redo a cycling club web site. What I would like to know is what is the best/simplest software for writing web pages.

if you let us see some sample sites you like and some images , text, etc then one of us can put something simple together for you as a starting point.

 

[gaz]

utter tosh! there are no major floors?(flaws) as you put it.
I have created 5x extensive websites for my various businesses over the past 6 years and have sold £thousands to the US and Europe .

No 'bad code' is 'put out'? let us see some examples of this

The op is looking for something simple and straightforward not some code they have to spend weeks learning.

I challenge you to build a simple website like the scottwebley.com in 3 minutes ready to upload

And you website proves my point that the wysiwyg editors are 'utter tosh!'

I'm not saying that you can't make something really quickly, as clearly you can. BUT what it produces does not conform to the standards that the W3C provides.

A few points

- It's using tables for layout, tables are for tabular data and not for layout. div's should be used to divide the design up.
- You've not used style sheets, which segregates the content and design styles, this thus improves accessibility to users on multiple devices and platforms
- Half of your meta tags aren't closed, and causing errors.
- 3 mins to make? well there isn't a chance in hell that i'm going to make anything in that time, as it will take me 2 - 3 weeks in the R&D and design stage.
- Content is slightly lacking, so i doubt you get any real traffic in from search engines. your google analytics could tell us that.

see here for a list of errors

So from looking at your 'work'. No doubt you can make a website quickly with an application like Frontpage, but weather or not it's any good is debatable.

So why use a CMS?
using Modx
- You can have a website live in under 10 minutes
- It's easy to update or add new content and can be done as long as you have internet access.
- Your website will validate with W3C recommendations. which ultimately improves accessibility
- You can control user access with login's
- ready made templates can be installed in a few mins and edited with ease.
and much much more..

I don't see how in this situation, where the OP wants to create something easily and then fob it off to someone else to update with EASE (don't forget we have no idea of there skills or applications), an application like frontpage is rated on top of a more simplistic CMS approach.

 

[jay clock]

Thanks for the advice. I will look into weebly.com, but the domain already exists and I don't think they would want to change it to www.weebly.xxxxxxxxx.com .. but I will find out.

you can use weebly to design, then use your exisiting website address

 

[cisamcgu]

Thank you for all the info. Modx looks good but I think it would be too complicated, requiring mySQL and php to work. I am looking for simple, simple, simple

Am I right in thinking that if you use weebly then none of the files are on your PC and everything is hosted on the server. (i.e. I imagined that I would create the pages on my PC, link them all together somehow, add the images, and then copy/ftp them to SupaNames site (the hosting company)). Does weebly keep everything on their servers ?

I will look at Frontpage/Publisher today, they are both available at work.

Again many thanks for your input.