| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| VSS |
website updatesAn organisation I work with has a website that is currently updated and hosted by a web design company.In an effort to reduce costs and have a more up to date site, we are looking at the possibilty of doing our own updates. According to the hosts, this is fine, but because the site was written using Dreamweaver, we would need to purchase the associates editing package "contribute" to be able to do this. Is there an alternative or a way of doing this without buying the extra software? |
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| vegplot |
You can edit sites made in dreamweaver using any HTML editor. You just have to remember that dreamweaver include files (I forget what they're called) will need updating on each page they're used (as opposed to once in dreamweaver). Other than that it's (should be) pretty straightforward HTML | ||
| Paul Sill |
Provided that dreamweaver was justed used as an editor and not create the site, for a professional web design company to do this would be poor. Plus dreamweaver adds lots of extra code that is not needed, I have updated websites that have been created on DW and it takes a minute or to to get your head round. You will also need an FTP program for transfering files from the computer to the web server (DW has this built in) I use fileZilla good program and its free. | ||
| VSS |
I am pretty sure that dreamweaver was used to actually create the site.
I am not hugely knowledgeable in this area. I have a web design and editing progamme (Serif Webplus) that I use for my own website and find it easy to use and really my experience is limited to the use of that. Interested in what you said VP about FTP programme though. Is this necessary? I ftp my own site using network places in Windows Explorer. |
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| Paul Sill |
That will do the job, i just find filezilla a better more reliable program to use. | ||
| vegplot |
As Paul Sill said FileZilla is very good. Windows Explorer is fine but lacks the refinement of a purpose built FTP client. Having the site built in dreamweaver shouldn't be a problem. I'd be inclined to use Visual Studio Express 2008 as the HTML editor - it's free as well. |
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| VSS |
Is this something I need to be able to understand HTML to use or does it work by varying page layouts and then sorting all the HTML out for you as my Serif package does? | ||
| vegplot |
It's HTML centric with a GUI editor. Suggest downloading the site and seeing if Serif understands it before doing anything else. |
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| Paul Sill |
The problem with serif and any WYSIWYG editor is that they add extra code so the programs can create the pages. Which makes the webpages larger and bloated. If you fancy trying your hand at a bit of html i would suggest you look at http://www.w3schools.com/ | ||
| VSS |
Does that make a difference? As I said, I am an amateur really and learning HTML is probably not really where I want to go. |
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| vegplot |
If you don't want to get involved with the HTML side of things then I suggest you copy and paste text/images from the current site into one you've built with Serif building each page as required. | ||
| Emyr |
Sorry to rock the boat, but I suggest switching to a proper CMS. | ||
| jema |
In all honesty so do I.
Once you have a template, then you have a site you can maintain yourself easily, and which can expand to meet future needs. |
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| JohnB |
If the site was created in Dreamweaver using a template, you might have a problem. Dreamweaver templates do clever stuff that no other program I know of can do. I'm getting annoyed by one I created at this very moment! |
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| Emyr |
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| Chez |
That's what I would do. You'll be working with a format you understand and in the long run it will be quicker than mucking about learning HTML if you don't want to or have no other need to. It depends how big the site is, though? |
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| VSS |
What's CMS? |
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| jema |
Content Management system like Joomla.
It gives you a menu system allowing you to write articles for the site in a wysiwyg editor, and then handles lots of things like ordering, what shows where in an easy menu driven fashion. The look the the site is control by a "template" that is much like writing one web page. |