Website Newbie!

[badboydeejay]

Not coming from a web-developers perspective, I was wondering what the main advantages Dremweaver(or any other program like this) has over using the on-board web-page creation tools?!

Following on from that, does anyone have any recomendations for places to buy domain names? One that allows you to add flash?

So far ive looked at 123-reg and godaddy but to honest they all look the same, so any advice would be much appreciated!

[ian-d]

Hi, advantages of dreamweaver over anything else is basically everything. Dreamweaver is a much better tool than anything else out there, whether your an expert at coding or not. It also has an inbuilt ftp loader but would still recommend the use of cuteftp etc.

Domains can be purchased cheaply from UKREG.COM, we've used them for years and comes with a few service allowing you to do email and web forwarding.

Regarding flash, domains have no influence on this, and all hosting you choose includes applying flash.

[accelerator]

I would recommend 123-reg.co.uk for .co.uk, and GoDaddy for .com. Both these companies are reliable majors and I use them both.

Re adding Flash, I think you might be a bit confused. Flash can be added to any website. Once you have a domain name, you have to buy a hosting package where you can host your pages, and flash can be used within those pages - there is no dependency on the domain name.

Re Dreamweaver, it's pretty much industry standard, it's a good product and will serve you well.

Rgds

Accel

[badboydeejay]

Ahh, I see, so to actually buy a domain name could cost you very little, its the hosting package that will be a bit more!

Thankyou both for your help!!!!

[Nosmo_King]

Dreamweaver is the industry standard but you'll need to know the basics (at least) of Web Design before you can use it.

[badboydeejay]

I used to use Director and Flash a bit a few years back, didnt use Dreamweaver at all though! Whats the main differences?

[accelerator]

Dreamweaver is a "visual front end" for html code, i.e. instead of you hand coding an html page by writing out <table><td><tr>My site rocks</td></tr></table>, you can use a Dreamweaver table tool to add a table and save yourself some typing. Dreamweaver is the best tool for building simple html pages, which as a newbie I reckon is what you should do.

Flash is good for smooth complex animations, and whilst whole websites can be built using flash, they aren't so good for search engines. Flash files can be embedded into standard html files as well.

I would buy yourself a copy of Dreamweaver and learn to build simple html pages. If cost is an issue, learn to hand code html using notepad instead. It's good for learning, and you can build simple pages just using notepad. To illustrate this, try copying and pasting the below into notepad, save the file as test.htm and open the file using Internet Explorer, and you have already created a simple web page:

<table width="760" border="1" align="center" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td width="166">1) <a href="http://www.navito.co.uk/">Navito.co.uk</a><br>
2) <a href="http://navito.blogspot.com/">Navito Blog</a><br>
3) <a href="http://www.FlatScreenForum.co.uk"> FlatScreenForum.co.uk</a><br>
4) <a href="http://www.net4phone.co.uk">Net4Phone.co.uk</a></td>
<td width="568"><h1 align="center">My New Website is Ace</h1>
<p>This is my new website. I think it rocks. That's because the nice guys
at <a href="http://www.navito.co.uk/">Navito.co.uk</a> told me how to do it. </p>
<p>&nbsp;</p></td>
</tr>
</table>

If you're a newbie, learn how to create tables, use a simple two column 760 pixel wide table on your page for basic page structure, and you're away.

Rgds

Accel

[ian-d]

...or just create in layers and then convert to tables just before publishing on the web...you may need to create small gif spacers though to ensure the tables stay put!

[badboydeejay]

<table width="760" border="1" align="center" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0">
<tr>
<td width="166">1) <a href="http://www.navito.co.uk/">Navito.co.uk</a><br>
2) <a href="http://navito.blogspot.com/">Navito Blog</a><br>
3) <a href="http://www.FlatScreenForum.co.uk"> FlatScreenForum.co.uk</a><br>
4) <a href="http://www.net4phone.co.uk">Net4Phone.co.uk</a></td>
<td width="568"><h1 align="center">My New Website is Ace</h1>
<p>This is my new website. I think it rocks. That's because the nice guys
at <a href="http://www.navito.co.uk/">Navito.co.uk</a> told me how to do it. </p>
<p>&nbsp;</p></td>
</tr>
</table>


Accel

Ha ha, I like it, Cheers for the tips!!!