Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bulsajo]

I don't want to make a page that will win a Design of the Year Award, I just want something simple and effective to do the job (advertise the new business, simple price list, a map and contact info). And I don't want to learn a whole new skill set, I want a program that's relatively easy to use by people even dumber than me.

For the moment I'm not using sound, animation, nor will I need SSL- I'm making the simplest of commercial pages to start with, and then I'll decide whether I can improve it or hire a real web designer further down the road (I already have graphic design experience, it's the "reliabley put on the web" part I need help with).

So- is Dreamweaver too powerful, too complex?
Am I better off using Front Page?
Is there another, better option out there?
Maybe something involving XML?

Any and all comments, remarks, and insults (as long as they are also constructive) are welcome.

[jazblanc77]

Dreamweaver MX is as complicated or powerful as you make it. It has options to make buttons, flash, and tags in a click, or to make a page visually or via code. An absolute beginner can use Dreamweaver without to hard of a learning curve. It also has FTP built into the interface and advanced template control (using the master template function will require the use of tutorial to get used to, though). For someone more advanced, it will also allow you to make php and java scripts from scratch.

The other good thing about Dreamweaver is that there are literally hundreds of addons/plugins that will allow even the most novice user to complete advanced coding tricks in a click. They are downloadable, for free, from the macromedia.com knowledge base.

I would highly, highly recommend using Dreamweaver which, by the way, is packaged with Homestyle Lite (pretty much the same as Froth Page), though, with Dreamweaver, you shouldn't need anything else.

I personally love Dreamweaver and would recommend it to anyone. Also, knowing you, Bulsajo, I'm sure you will have no problems, at all, figuring Dreamweaver out.

Note that some people also swear by Xara for making templates, buttons, etc. quickly and easily. I don't personally like it, but you may want to look into it.

[ttompatz]

[The King of Kwangju]

What can you use already? I can't remember - are you a coder?

Photoshop? You might consider designing it in Photoshop and then just outputting your design to a web page to see what it gives you. It is usually passable.

Office? FrontPage 2003 is better than what you might hear. It's better than Dreamweaver in many ways.

If you're starting from scratch DW might be confusing at first but it's good. Personally I never use it, but a lot of newbies dig it.

You won't need xml from the sounds of it, but both FP and DW have some xml tools.

Whatever you pick, don't hesitate to write me offsite if you need some help getting it online.

[Ody]

[Bulsajo]

Wow, thanks for the informative posts (and PM) so quickly, and without any insults (except for that one of Ody's to Kok, which isn't directed at me so what do I care? ).

I have access to both so I think I'll just jump in and give DW a try.
Getting a 'DW for dummies' book/cd from the library to ease me along as well.

Thanks all.

[The King of Kwangju]

Hey Ody, I'm just trying to be helpful!

[Bulsajo]

[SuperHero]

I'd agree with the recommendation for DW over FP. If you have the time I'd highly recommend the total training videos for dreamweaver - alternatively for those with less time the lynda.com training videos are a good intro to DW.

Definitely build your site using CSS - DW handles CSS pretty well. If you have more specific questions feel free to pm me - I have tons of experience with web sites. It's really a hobby of mine and I've got several sites designed and running.

[Bulsajo]

Thanks again, you all may yet live to regret your generosity!

[jazblanc77]

If you are sketchy about starting the layout on your own, just find a CSS free template from somewhere on the internet (I can give you some good links if you want), and then alter the template from there. This will be the easiest way to get started. Once you are more comfortable with html (this couldn't take long at all), you could alter your template further or even, along the road, make a whole new site once you get bored of the existing layout (give it a year or so, you'll want to do a site renovation, guaranteed).

Unless you are already VERY good with Photoshop, I would say that you should avoid it like the plague when it comes to web design. Besides, it can be difficult to use photoshop templates if you piece together too many panels that are pushed out of skew when you discover that they don't move fluidly with whatever you put into your page (a large image that pushes everything out, for example).

In terms of XML or any other java or php scripts, you can do them in Dreamweaver, though why bother when you can just download/cut 'n paste pre-made ones from the internet at will (I have some good links to script sites as well, if you like).

One word of advice on making your own site, if you decide on Dreamweaver: don't get carried away with the "flashiness" of Flash icons, etc. on your page. They require a plugin to be viewed by your target users and this may be too much to figure out for many. It is better to do a simple html link, image button, button roll-over, or java top bar/side bar, than to use Flash in this case. This will also improve loading times, which is important for lots of people since most people don't have broadband access like we do in Korea. One of my uncles, for example, only gets 10 hours of dial-up, probably 56kb, access per month, making the viewing of my site (with which I got carried away with Flash objects), completely impractical for him to view.

[Bulsajo]

I'm using photoshop just for the logo, but most of the design (colourscheme & fonts) is done in powerpoint (haha oops).

And based on the product as well as my own preference, there will be no animations, no flashiness of any kind. Sparce and serene is the thematic objective.

[laogaiguk]

[Bulsajo]

[cheem]

I'll echo the other suggestions to scrap dreamweaver or other wysiwyg programs for a simple text editor and the cut/paste keys. Since styling techniques are moving towards css you only need to learn a handful of tags like div, span, p, ul etc, to markup your structure.

css is harder to learn (due to browser inconsistencies) but not that much harder. There are plenty of css layout patterns floating around the internet. Try googling "css layouts".