Website Design and Build Made Easy....

[nking]

I have a website for my business which I built using FrontPage – yep it’s very old now, nearly a decade. I do keep it reasonably up to date but I realise I should rebuild it as it is way off W3C standards, plus it needs a fresher look.

I keep putting it off because my old website works, it’s nowhere close to being my main driver of business, so what will this effort bring in return and I know my way around it’s little idiosyncrasy’s…. no real comparison but Steve may feel this about C1 and C2

I have been looking at software that might enthuse me to rebuild it; I don’t want to spend time learning HTML and hand coding everything so I know the aficionado’s will despair of me!!

Software I have tried or considering –

Web Easy Professional 8 – I purchased this thinking it would be great but now regret my hasty decision. It is great for anyone wanting to build a website with no desire/knowledge to go under the bonnet so, if someone would like it you can make me an offer.

Serif WebPlus Starter Edition – This is free but restricted so if I go with this I would purchase the full package. So far this looks like a good compromise but is still restrictive to getting in at the HTML code which I sometimes like to do.

Expression Web – this replaced FrontPage. I haven’t tried it but understand that version 3 is better than the newer 4. I imagine it should be what I go for but I also understand that it’s nothing like FrontPage and it might require more time and effort to master.

So does anyone out there have any experience/opinion/suggestion bearing in mind that I’m lazy, I want something that will make it simple for me to design and build (WYSIWYG?), Conform to W3C standards or very close and allow me to get my hands dirty with HTML when I choose…. Not too much to ask for now is it

[mikentl]

I use webplus xp4 it's wysiwyg and very easy to use, it should do all you want. have a go at the free one first, you can also buy webplus v10 at a cheaper price, i have seen it at £10. here http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/software/webplus/
there is also WebPlus Essentials at at £29.99

[Gina]

I use KompoZer it's free and multi-platform ie versions for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It's WYSIWYG but will also show/edit the HTML code. Does all the usual stuff including editing CSS. It followed on from NVu.

[nking]

Mike/Gina – thanks for replying.

I did make my request tongue-in-cheek as I appreciate that there isn’t a magic piece of software and it is a compromise when you don’t code everything yourself. Yet, programmers no longer code in small and efficient Assembler, they use new languages and compile the code as it’s quicker/easier…. I’m sure that will eventually be the case for building and designing websites.
I thought it would be good to get others experience of the software out there and it’s good to hear that WebPlus is liked by Mike. So far it looks like it might be one I try.
I do have KompoZer and I agree with you Gina, it is very good and it’s FREE.

I’m wondering if I might be able to combine the two, use WebPlus to quickly rebuild the site (but it doesn’t allow you to see the raw code) and use KompoZer to get into the HTML but…. I may then spend more time trying to decipher/tidy the code generated by WebPlus than if I’d done it all from scratch!

[nking]

Serif sent me an email to get WebPlus X4 CD/Resource CD/User Guide all for £29.95 so at this price I went ahead. Even if it isn't all I want it to be I've wasted less than £30.

[Arnie]

Hi Neil

Here's one that I have been using for many years
Arachnophilia strange title but very effective

http://www.arachnoid.com/arachnophilia/

Its also free

[mikentl]

I don't think you will be dissapointed with webplus x4, if there is something you can't do then the forum at serif has a wealth of information, and like this forum they are all very willing to help
http://forums.serif.com/index.php

[nking]

Sorry for the delay in responding but have been away for a week with no access to computer/email - yep a rest. Thanks for the link Arnie I'll take a look.

Mike,

The only item I have found missing in WebPlus so far is that it doesn't allow for relative screen sizes (they call it fluid), you have to specify the page size - not a show stopper but a feature I used with FronPage.

[Desert Rockhounds]

Dreamweaver CS5.
Provides visual page construction along with split screen for code view, etc. My thought is to put good money into software that you can grow with into the future. You may find time to learn coding (html or css) and with DW you will not be limited. Comes with templates for fast structuring, built in ftp, etc.

[fivebellies]

Hiya,
I've built a few websites and made a few quid on the side....I can't afford software especially Dreamweaver and the like.....so what i did was to make a little collection of freebies off the internet and I managed to get some really good software off the front of ...wait for it....MAGAZINES. The best software I have found is NETOBJECTS FUSION 10. Can be quite expensive to buy (to me anyway), but wait for an offer on the likes of computer shopper magazine and you can get it for FREE.
Hope this helps.....