Creating a website help...?

[sbj]

Hi people im trying to get into creating a website to publish but i am a complete beginner.
I would obviously be using a program for creating templates etc. Any ideas what are the best/easiest
programs i could use? Or any preparations i need to do?
Do i need to register for a domain before i create, or can i create then get a domain?
I have beginner-intermediate knowledge on the pc but know no html etc...
Help would be appreciated

[tiggerai]

Have a good read of W3Schools Online Web Tutorials

That should give you the basics.

[sbj]

ok thanx ill take a look

[Saracen]

The best is probably Dreamweaver, but it's FAR from the cheapest.

You can create before buying a domain name. Put simply, you will need :-

- server space to host the site
- a domain name that points at the server
- a site uploaded to the server that runs when someone accesses the domain name.

You can run a web server locally on your PC, or you can use an old PC unit to set up a dedicated system on your LAN. Either way it'll allow an element of testing to be done without having a proper server account or domain name. But depending on what technology you intend to use on the site, you may still hit some issues when you upload the working site. Many/most development packages (like Dreamweaver) have a local preview option, and some (such as Frontpage) install a mini-webserver locally as part of the installation.

A lot depends on exactly what you're trying to do. Is the objective just to get a decent-looking website up and running with minimal effort? Or is this a learning process because you want to do things properly?

If you just want a half-decent simple site, then there are "point-and-click" packages like Xara WebStyle. That comes with a bunch of predesigned styles, and you can buy more. They're linked via quite a versatile graphics engine, which allows you to play around quite a bit with the basic style. For instance, a particular style might have a blue theme, but you decide you want it red ... or green. A few mouseclicks and you've changed multiple elements, and multiple related colours, from blue to green. You can then tweak the size and shape of logos, menu shape and style, individual colours and fonts, etc, and have a reasonable site finished in a couple of hours, subject only to you adding content.

But while that sort of software is going to get you a very long way with minimal time, effort of knowledge, it more or less locks you in to that software, unless you want to start again from scratch, so it certainly isn't the route to take if the objective is learning. But it will get a site up and running quickly.

As I said, a lot depends on what you want to do.

[Whiternoise]

Basically there are a few steps to making/running your own site.

1. Hosting:

You need to consider where you're going to put the files. There are loads of sites that offer free web hosting (ie freewebs), and they're probably your best bet simply to practice your html skills, etc. If you want to get more serious, then you want proper hosting really. A domain name is a requirement if you're buying hosting, they're generally very cheap - anywhere from free to £5 to well over £500. The last option is hosting on your pc, but that's only useful if your pc is up to running 24/7.

Things to consider when purchasing hosting are:
-Support for databases and PHP: Pretty much all downloadable web "applications" like forums, blogs, content management systems are going to need PHP4 or PHP5 support and a database - one of the most common being MySql - to run.
-Bandwidth: Depending on how much traffic you're expecting, bandwidth is fairly key . No-one likes a webpage that's been suspended because the webmaster went over his limits.
-Price: The most important for most people, there are many different providers and most are ok, some are middling and there are some appalling ones around. Personally i've had no problems with :: QiQ ::, they have good deals and every now and again they have VERY good promotions - ie a years hosting for a tenner or less.
-Storage space: Is this going to be a hub of movies and pictures or just a simple blog with a few travel photos. Space is key. HTML files are typically small, being just text, the largest may only be 500kb. However, background images, soundfiles and other media all take up valuable space, so it's something to think about. 100mb is easily large enough to start off with in my opinion.

Obviously there's more, but that's the basics i'd have thought.

2. Learning HTML:

HTML is very easy to pick up. It's not, as is commonly thought, a programming language, it's a mark-up language - just telling the browser what to put where and what it should look like. Consequently there's no problem with compiling things, learning obscure syntax (there is syntax to be followed, but it's pretty much idiot proof), etc. If you go into javascript or php then it's a different matter but you shouldn't worry about that yet.

Tigs has pointed you in a good starting direction although personally i find W3 schools a bit meh, i'd also like to add a few more links for your perusal:

HTML Tutorial - Some good information there
HTMLSource: HTML Tutorials - The site i used, also for CSS.

After you've learnt the basics of HTML, it is well worth learning about CSS. Cascading Style Sheets are what a lot of websites these days use to display content in more attractive ways. It's a good method of applying a uniform style across an entire site.

3. Writing the code:

My main tip would be to learn how to do it in notepad. Or better, Notepad++ (it's a free download - google it). Programs that let you develop websites are mainly pointless. Using a text editor will improve your memory and will save disc space. The way i code sites generally is to have my web browser pointed at the saved html file and my text editor open with the html file being edited, simply save your file and refresh the browser to see what you've made. Makes developing a lot quicker.

EDIT: Contrary to what Saracen may say, i would strongly advise against getting Dreamweaver. It's good for making fast web pages and it has plenty of templates (last time i looked), but in my opinion, you'd be much better off both headwise and wallet-wise by just using notepad.

Have a read up about code standards. Most of the sites above will teach you how to write "legal" HTML code, and it's better to get into the habit of coding to maximise browser compatibility.

Hope this helps for now. Another piece of advice is not to waste your money on books. The internet is a much better resource and you're more likely to find what you want that way.

[sbj]

cheers for the info keep coming, im saving/surfing as they are being posted

[sbj]

thanx whiternoise for the big write up, my main motivation for the site will be used an an info site.
Ok, I am a conspiracy researcher and want to add info pages like on 9/11, JFK, UFO's etc., but i do want it to look good, to get people to take a look. here is my myspace page that i did just by copying html codes:-
MySpace.com - InfoWarrior - 34 - Male - UK - www.myspace.com/infowarrior_uk

you see that has nice photos, write ups ,seperation boxes. hyperlinks etc.

Thats the stuff im after.

[Jay]

Does anyone else think there needs to be something decent between "frontpage" and Dreamweaver?

I find that anything that is in between is just really bad.

[Whiternoise]

All you'd need to do to recreate something like that is make a tabular layout, using the <table> html tag. Hyperlinks are very simple, they're one of the first things those tutorials teach. Photos are again fairly simple to put up, you just upload them to your webspace and then link back to them.

If you want a good looking site, it'll need to be a lot less cluttered than the average myspace page. Things like fonts all being the same size, type and colour, images more organised, etc.

@jay_oasis: Have you tried some of the Microsoft Express products? There was a fairly good web developing application they brought out (for free) a while ago. Or there's Expression Web Designer, i had a play with the beta - wasn't especially bad. But it all depends on what sort of coding you do.

[HSK]

I would really suggest dreamweaver if you can get hold of it.

[crazyfool]

Yeh dreamweaver is the best... or if you wanna be really flash...lol...go for flash

[wombar]

I often hear people saying that you need to code everything by hand in notepad or something similar or you're wasting your time. Sorry but that just isn't true, ESPECIALLY for people who are just starting out learning HTML etc.

Writing everything by hand usually produces cleaner, more efficient code but that isn't important if you're building your first site. It's about learning the basic principles and the branching out into CSS, javascript etc. I started out with Dreamweaver, built a basic site and progressed from there to hand coding when the situation warrants it. I do this for a living running my own business and I still use Dreamweaver for a very good reason, it's quicker and therefore saves me time and most importantly money.

I can hand code when necessary, but it's very much a case of choosing the right situation. If you need a complicated table with lots or rowspans and colspans, use the tool that gets it done the quickest. Don't get me wrong, I hate it when people don't know the basic tags and principles, but there's nothing wrong with using the right tools for the job.

[sbj]

yeah im experimenting with dreamweaver today, looks pretty understandable with its code/design preview options

[IBM]

MySpace.com - InfoWarrior - 34 - Male - UK - www.myspace.com/infowarrior_uk

Ooooooooooooh, that ain't pretty....I think that perhaps you need to use the < blink > tag a little, and perhaps throw in one of these .

Sorry, just messing with you.

It's too busy. There's too much going on. I know that kind of site appeals to conspiracy wacks, since the majority of them live in their parent's basement, but it's just too much. All those videos, and links, and lack of text formatting. How do you expect to be taken seriously if the site looks like that?

That's a little harsh for a first try site. I know for sure that my first website looked a whole lot worse (I think I had a tiled ferrari pic as the background, and lots of animated smileys), but it's got to have a whole lot more structure. There are lots of sites dedicated to good website design out there, so google them and see what they say.

[tiggerai]

I'm woth Wombar on this...

But as a "professional" just using notepad would take twice as long to code as I hand code, but use the little wizards in DW to build tables etc as it makes things a hell of alot easier. It also guesses your classes when you're building with DIVs which is easier than tabbing back to the css to find out the name.

Stick to a white /off white background, black text and 3-4 heading levels. use some colours in the headings, but leave it there.

[DeViTTo]

EDIT: Contrary to what Saracen may say, i would strongly advise against getting Dreamweaver. It's good for making fast web pages and it has plenty of templates (last time i looked), but in my opinion, you'd be much better off both headwise and wallet-wise by just using notepad.

Have a read up about code standards. Most of the sites above will teach you how to write "legal" HTML code, and it's better to get into the habit of coding to maximise browser compatibility.

Hope this helps for now. Another piece of advice is not to waste your money on books. The internet is a much better resource and you're more likely to find what you want that way.

I agree with this point, although notepad+++ is very good. If you can get hold of a copy of Allaire Homesite 4 or 5 it allows previews of how a page will look from the source text input in the editor. i know others like frontpage do but they also input a lot of blote in the HTML code thats unnecessary.

The program is more specific to HTML code than notepad +++. If you want to try running a website from home for testing and hosting. You could buy a Qnapts109pro which is a Network Storage Device basically a Hard Drive in box that has lots of cool features that allow hosting of a website. They have mysql, PHP,FTP, also other webtools etc.

If you want to host a gaming webiste i.e clan, blog, forum, you could then install the various free PHP complete website solutions with forums like this one and other features. This may be to advanced you might think, but it is entirely within a lot of peoples capablity.

You could purchase a domain name for about £6.50 and use MYDns.org to virtual host it on your dynamic IP address. So when you discon from the internet and reconnect it will know how to find the website you have created through the DNS service. These are all free solutions. My suggestion of the qnap or as mentioned earlier a standalone pc is better as regards the learning curve and fun that can be had developing and learning about not just website production, but how they are hosted and what is achievable.

Either way this is a huge subject, but it can be a rewarding learning experience that will help you understand a lot of the principles that make good websites.

Does anyone else think there needs to be something decent between "frontpage" and Dreamweaver?

I find that anything that is in between is just really bad.

Try Allaire Homesite 5 :-)

I often hear people saying that you need to code everything by hand in notepad or something similar or you're wasting your time. Sorry but that just isn't true, ESPECIALLY for people who are just starting out learning HTML etc.

Writing everything by hand usually produces cleaner, more efficient code but that isn't important if you're building your first site. It's about learning the basic principles and the branching out into CSS, javascript etc. I started out with Dreamweaver, built a basic site and progressed from there to hand coding when the situation warrants it. I do this for a living running my own business and I still use Dreamweaver for a very good reason, it's quicker and therefore saves me time and most importantly money.

I can hand code when necessary, but it's very much a case of choosing the right situation. If you need a complicated table with lots or rowspans and colspans, use the tool that gets it done the quickest. Don't get me wrong, I hate it when people don't know the basic tags and principles, but there's nothing wrong with using the right tools for the job.

This is true, writing code by hand is better in the long run and if using CSS (style sheets) can be quicker. it certainly produces far less blote and optimizes pages so that they load quicker etc. A lot of the solutions out there produce pages that do not load quickly or efficiently and are a poor match for optimized code writen in programs like notepad+++ etc.