07-07-2009, 09:26 PM

hey all - So I'm starting a charity organization, and purchased a domain name (Flash Intro Page / www.illplayforyoutonight.com).

Generally speaking I'm experienced on computers. For a profession, I write SAS queries, SQL, etc. Work in Microsoft Access, etc etc.

HOWEVER...

When it comes to building a website I'm near clueless.

Building a webpage manually

Free software that doesnt restrict me to templates?

Hosting a forum

Is there something I can download? The "guts" in order to host the forum?Right now I'm 'outsourcing' my forum through forummotion.com - is that the way to go?

Anything else I'm not thinking of

That I should be with the intent of setting up a reasonably decent webpage

How i understand the process is, I "create" my website, just like I create a 'pages' doc, or word doc. I then upload that creation to my HOST who then takes that 'file' and places it on the web. I guess I need a, building a web site for dummies, from the time you purchase a domain, to the time it's "complete." I've searched, but hopefully you guys know of something better I've been unable to find.

07-07-2009, 10:01 PM

There's lots of software out there to create your websites. But, they usually come out HUGE and it doesn't always work well. HTML code makes perfectly good websites that don't have TONS of extra crap in them! I am just starting to learn some basic codes myself, but here's a great tutorial.

Dave Raggett's Introduction to HTML

07-14-2009, 12:34 AM

There are graphic apps that create web pages and you need to know no code to do it. Just be able to design the page and upload it. You do need to know about photo sizes and the like as to not create a slow loading page or use up your server space.

07-14-2009, 12:38 AM

^That's just what I suggested not doing.

Okay, I confess: I just broke my own rule. I recommend RapidWeaver. If you want anything extra that RapidWeaver won't do you can add it by hand later. I'm adding a Marquee to all of my pages after I make them with RapidWeaver.

Whatever you do, don't use iWeb. It makes EVERYTHING a mess.

07-14-2009, 12:39 AM

lol I was going to register for iweb later today. That last comment has made me think though. Can you elaborate in simple terms please?

07-14-2009, 12:46 AM

Yes. I think you may be confusing terms. iweb.com is a website hosting service and is completely unrelated to my comment. I meant the program that Apple makes, called iWeb. It really makes everything a mess and I have had a bad experience with it. iweb.com as far as I know is fine.

07-14-2009, 12:52 AM

If a person doesn't have a clue how to make a website then I'm not going to suggest that they create their website using raw HTML and from scratch. That does not make any sense. If you don't know how to design or code HTML then your going to want to use a WYSIWYG web editor such at Apple's iWeb. There's nothing wrong with using a editor like that if you don't have experience. iPod Nano, what exactly are you talking about saying it makes a mess? If your talking about invalid HTML then yes probably but the web browser will most likely be able to display it. When you know what your doing THEN you code raw HTML and make it strict valid and stuff like that.

For the forum, you can leave it the way it is or download your own software and run that on your server. A good free one is PHPBB which will require a mySQL backbone but it does the job excellent. Another good one is MyBBoard which will also require a mySQL database.

07-14-2009, 12:59 AM

Originally Posted by Eric559

If a person doesn't have a clue how to make a website then I'm not going to suggest that they create their website using raw HTML and from scratch. That does not make any sense. If you don't know how to design or code HTML then your going to want to use a WYSIWYG web editor such at Apple's iWeb. There's nothing wrong with using a editor like that if you don't have experience. iPod Nano, what exactly are you talking about saying it makes a mess? If your talking about invalid HTML then yes probably but the web browser will most likely be able to display it. When you know what your doing THEN you code raw HTML and make it strict valid and stuff like that.

For the forum, you can leave it the way it is or download your own software and run that on your server. A good free one is PHPBB which will require a mySQL backbone but it does the job excellent. Another good one is MyBBoard which will also require a mySQL database.

Yes, you're right. Sorry about that. I'm not sure what I was thinking! I had a bad experience. I couldn't always find my pages, and when I would upload them via FTP they always got put in the wrong folder. Perhaps it was my FTP client causing the problem, not sure. I had to get my dad to do it. I don't prefer iWeb because it doesn't give you as many options. RapidWeaver is good though. RapidWeaver lets you specify what width you want, what color scheme you want, and where you want the Navbar. iWeb is not as flexible.

Once you are experienced, you can go to doing stuff by hand if you want, but for starters, yes a web design program is a good tool.

However, all of these programs put much more code than needed. And most have tons of CSS (style sheet) files when only one is needed.

07-14-2009, 01:00 AM

Originally Posted by iPod Nano

Yes, you're right. Sorry. I had a bad experience. I couldn't always find my pages, and when I would upload them via FTP they always got put in the wrong folder. I had to get my dad to do it. RapidWeaver is good though.

I'm sure it is. There's many WYSIWYG editors out there so no need to stick to only one.

07-14-2009, 01:06 AM

See the end of that post, Eric559!



Sorry I confused everyone. We all good now?

07-14-2009, 01:09 AM

Originally Posted by iPod Nano

See the end of that post, Eric559!



Sorry I confused everyone. We all good now?

no im mad now.

haha just giving you a hard time.

07-22-2009, 05:58 PM

HTML is exactly the way I want to go, however. Liek I stated, I'm experienced in coding, just not in building web pages.

Going from writing SAS or SQL queries to writing in HTML I'm sure isn't that difecult a transition. I'm jsut having trouble getting a grasp on what tools are out there.

Like, WHERE do I type HTML into? I don't have microsoft office on my mac (anymore, the disc sratched, and repurchasing is not an option).

Is there something free I can use to write, preview, etc my HTML? Then, once I'm happy, paste it into [insert what I paste it into here] on godaddy, and then POOF, a web page appears?

All these templates are horrible.

07-24-2009, 03:13 PM

You don't use Office products to produce HTML code. Very ugly and unnecessary.

TextEdit which comes with your Mac will allow you to edit HTML pages. Set the preference for Plain Text and turn off 'Add ".txt" extension to plain files'. I also think you should set the 'Document type' to 'HTML 4.01 Transitional' and set the check mark on for 'Preserve white space'. There are some other editors out there that do syntax highlighting.

You use FTP (or SFTP) to upload your finished web pages to a server. Once uploaded, and the read rights are correct (they usually are), the public will be able to see the pages instantly. Your web provided is simply providing the space and points your web domain to the right location on their drives. They will have some information to let you know where the root folder is for both your web pages and scripts.

As for forum software, many providers have install scripts for common packages such as forums software. As mentioned, PHPBB is a common one.

Seriously, if you are as new to this as you say and indicate, buy a bloody book, or check a couple out from your local library. Another option is web tutorials which you can give you a quick introduction to the entire cycle. Type the following words into Google for instance;

your first web page

07-24-2009, 04:48 PM

TextWrangler is a great option for HTML editing, it is free to download.

Bare Bones Software | TextWrangler



You could use iWeb as another option, but it is pretty basic and limited.

07-25-2009, 07:55 AM

holy crap - please disregard my poor spelling above! I was at work when I posted that last one and the keyboard is awful and I've (subconsciously) given up correcting errors because they happen so often,

Thanks for your help guys! Thanks for not being all 'black-box' about it!