Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Toad on February 22, 2005, 02:33:12 PM

Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Toad on February 22, 2005, 02:33:12 PM
OK, I need to make a web page. This page will have info about my Labrador kennel/dogs/pups/training.

I need a program for XP that is simple enough for a beginner to get decent results and I prefer free or at least cheap.

I'll have a home page, a page for the studs, a page for beeches, a page for pups, a page for pedigrees, a page for kenneling/training info, a pics page and a misc page. There will be links, of course to put in.. .like a pedigree link under a stud's pic.

Any suggestions?
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Heater on February 22, 2005, 02:35:13 PM
Toad,

Not tyring to be a smart*** but do you know HTML ? if so then just use notepad or wordpad, word. etc....

Cheers
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: AKS\/\/ulfe on February 22, 2005, 02:36:10 PM
I can't advise you on a program, been years since I messed around with html, and then I only used notepad.

But, geocities has a web interface that assists you in developing webpages.

You could probably design it from there and copy it over, just make sure all places that are links to images or other pages are for your webspace and not the geocities webspace.
-SW
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Sandman on February 22, 2005, 02:39:14 PM
I use HTML Kit (http://www.chami.com/html-kit/). It's not WYSIWG, but it's a free and considerably robust text editor.

I have also used NoteTab Light (http://www.notetab.com/ntl.php) and 1st Page (http://www.evrsoft.com/). Both are pretty good, but I prefer HTML Kit.

WebWeaver (http://www.mcwebsoftware.com/wwez/) is a free WYSIWG editor, but I've not used it.
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Toad on February 22, 2005, 02:39:33 PM
Nope, don't know HTML, but I saw him play once a long time ago. Why do you ask? ;)

I kind of wanted something that I could tutorial myself through and actually learn something SW. Otherwise, that Geocities deal might be good. I've done the online ones a few places long ago with mixed results (it was at the beginning of that stuff). The think I recall most is how incredibly s l o w everything moved back and forth from their servers.

I think I want a standalone if I can find one.
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: JB88 on February 22, 2005, 02:39:34 PM
dreamweaver is the proffessional grade WYSIWYG editor, but other programs such as microsoft front page may already be on your computer.

dreamweaver is available from http://www.macromedia.com as a free 30 day fully functional download.

if you do not wish to get into any form of
depth, i would recommend going to download.com or majorgeeks and typing in html editor.  there are numerous freeware and shareware programs.

there are a few people here that can offer you advice if you need it.

there are also numerous forums and resources online.

you may also find readilly available templates which you can mine.

88
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Toad on February 22, 2005, 02:44:13 PM
I have MS Publisher, not Front Page. Is that one worth fooling with?
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Sandman on February 22, 2005, 02:45:55 PM
If you can find a copy of FrontPage express, you might want to give that a go.

AFAIK, Micro$oft stopped distributing the free version.
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: JB88 on February 22, 2005, 02:47:02 PM
http://www.ehow.com/how_9028_convert-microsoft-publisher.html (http://www.ehow.com/how_9028_convert-microsoft-publisher.html)

how to convert a publisher document to html.
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Sandman on February 22, 2005, 02:48:12 PM
Google is your friend. (http://sssd.k12.ar.us/departments/dts/training/fp.htm)

:aok
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Sikboy on February 22, 2005, 02:48:19 PM
I find this one usefull:

(http://www.leeds.ac.uk/iss/documentation/beg/beg18/image013.gif)

though I admit my webpages all look like they were made in 1995 lol.


I liked Dreamwhatever the one time I used it. Once you start to get a handle on the tags and format it's a piece of cake. I could never use the wysiwyg software effectively until I learned the basics of HTML.

-Sik
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Toad on February 22, 2005, 02:50:56 PM
Dreamweaver is only $99 if you're a student. I knew I had kids for a reason.  ;)
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: JB88 on February 22, 2005, 02:51:30 PM
here's how i learned it.

i downloaded dreamweaver.

found a site.  pasted the code and started funkin with it.

(by right clicking view/source in the drop down menus.)  copy and paste.  open the code in any text editor and you can see the HTML. (amongst other things within it)

you might find something that you like that already exists, then input your own images, links and data.

this is a common practice when learning.
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: JB88 on February 22, 2005, 02:53:36 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Toad
Dreamweaver is only $99 if you're a student. I knew I had kids for a reason.  ;)


feel free to send me a legal copy :)  

it is a performance vehicle.  lol

try before ya buy bro.
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Sandman on February 22, 2005, 02:54:06 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Sikboy
I find this one usefull:

(http://www.leeds.ac.uk/iss/documentation/beg/beg18/image013.gif)

though I admit my webpages all look like they were made in 1995 lol.


I liked Dreamwhatever the one time I used it. Once you start to get a handle on the tags and format it's a piece of cake. I could never use the wysiwyg software effectively until I learned the basics of HTML.

-Sik


I think you would appreciate HTML Kit. ;)
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Toad on February 22, 2005, 03:11:28 PM
Oh, I'd definitely use up the free trial before I bought it. I just didn't want to try it, love it and find out it was going to cost me $400.

If I like it, $99 for the student is very reasonable. And aren't we all still learning, are we not all "students" in a sense?  ;)

There are a few great Lab kennel webpages that I wouldn't mind.. uh... emulating.

Thanks for the tips!
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: JB88 on February 22, 2005, 03:13:26 PM
anytime.  let me know if i you have any questions.

88
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: indy007 on February 22, 2005, 03:14:03 PM
I've been doing a bunch of PHP lately, and found HTML-Kit.
Free, simple, quick. Hit up Barnes & Knowbles and grab HTML in 5 Easy Steps. It's only $10 & they have a good selection of them. Barnes & Knowbles is actually the publisher of them. Purple covers, can't miss them. I picked up PHP in 5 Easy Steps, and it's a helluva lot better reference then the $70 PHP & MySQL book I got.



ps: notepad rocks.
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: JB88 on February 22, 2005, 03:16:31 PM
ya but it makes you feel no pain and think that you are a god...wait...ohhhhh P H P

it thought you were talking about...

nevermind.
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: beet1e on February 22, 2005, 03:29:08 PM
Mr. Toad,

If you have Microsoft Office, Front Page is part of that - and is a good starter tool. You develop your pages via a visual interface. The HTML it generates may not be as efficient as if you'd written the HTML from scratch (kinda like IBM COBOL in the 1970s - LOL) but it'll get you started. FrontPage does provide you with the option to open a window containing all the HTML for your designed pages. That's useful, if only because it will allow you to add your own Java scripting code.

FrontPage is the Chevrolet of webpage development. DreamWeaver is the Rolls Royce. ;)
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Saintaw on February 22, 2005, 04:27:43 PM
Toad, if you need a hand, shoot me an email (saw at onpoi dot net).

I do that stuff for a living. (well... not personal websites, but... :))

Beetle, if you mention frontpage ever again, I'm comming on the island to give you a whoopin! :D
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: JB88 on February 22, 2005, 04:31:21 PM
forgive them.  they know not what they doo doo.

;)
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Rolex on February 22, 2005, 06:21:26 PM
Toad, here's a suggestion if you feel more like getting done instead of pulling your hair out trying to get it done:

Try using a CMS (Content Management Sysytem). You can upload it easily and have it going after about 30 minutes of reading and following the step-by-step instructions.

Here is an example of one that is free and easy to use:  Link >> (http://ldu.neocrome.net/index.php). It has a variety of styles, includes reader comments, a calendar, a forum, an easy system for links and even a photo gallery to upload via your browser.
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Sandman on February 22, 2005, 06:56:24 PM
Rolex makes a a good point. I've toyed with Xoops (http://www.xoops.org/),   PHPNuke (http://phpnuke.org/),  and a couple of others. I still haven't quite found the one I like. I'm currently toying with Mambo (http://www.mamboserver.com/), which seems the most mature of the lot.
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: United on February 22, 2005, 07:00:53 PM
I use Dreamweaver, but MS Word has a feature where you can save your document as a web page.
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Airhead on February 23, 2005, 09:49:05 AM
Heya Toad, if you want to learn HTML this is a great site cause it has video step by step lessons.

http://www.how-to-build-a-website-123.com/
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Sikboy on February 23, 2005, 10:40:46 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Sandman
Rolex makes a a good point. I've toyed with Xoops (http://www.xoops.org/),   PHPNuke (http://phpnuke.org/),  and a couple of others. I still haven't quite found the one I like. I'm currently toying with Mambo (http://www.mamboserver.com/), which seems the most mature of the lot.


I found it much easier to learn HTML than it was to learn how to use PHPNuke lol.

But once you get it figured out, it's aight. It's great for quickly adding bits and pieces. I used it extensively in the warszawa site.

-Sik
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Toad on February 23, 2005, 11:26:40 AM
Thanks to all.

Air, I will probably start with that. I kinda like the idea of getting a basic understanding first. Looks like a good place to start.
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: flakbait on February 23, 2005, 02:31:25 PM
I've used 1st Page 2k for a number of years. It's fairly simple, does what you tell it to, and comes with a built-in CSS/HTML reference. The code highlight comes in handy when you're sorting through tables or style sheets, since CSS, tables, javascript, and most other bits are in their own distinct color. It does have a preview pane (pain is more like it) that works most of the time. Granted, it didn't improve the looks of my site any, but the code it spits out is clean as can be. Wizzywig editors, at least in my experience, garble the code to the point it takes minutes instead of seconds to load the page. FP throws in tags all over the place, and Dreamweaver? Pah! $100 for software that does the same thing 1st Page does for free. Check the 1st Page site and try it out (expert mode is the best).



-----------------------
Flakbait [Delta6]
(http://www.wa-net.com/~delta6/sig/life_modem.gif)
Title: Web Page Builder - Easy, Decent and Free?
Post by: Sandman on February 23, 2005, 02:39:47 PM
Yeah... 1stPage is a nice tool. I used it for a couple of years before I discovered HTML Kit. It has all of the same features as 1stPage and more. It's an open source development and there are updates to plugins constantly. The nice thing is that it's completely configurable to your needs. Pick the plugins you want, ignore the ones that you don't.