What Web Design Program to Use?

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Before I start, NOOB question I know. But look, I am new to Mac. I have been using FrontPage to create and manage a company website, (no comments), I want to rebuild our site, but do NOT know anything about web creation, nor do I have the time to learn. I need a program that is easy to use and flexible. I would prefer to build on Macs as they seem to be much easier to work with. I do NOT want to use iWeb, as it would seem that it is too ...family website oriented, not corporate oriented, and I would like NOT to have our company site on a single computer.

The site would have:
  • Information
  • Secure transmission, (a personnel agency, so people need to be able to apply on-line)
  • Ease up updates, (for job postings)
  • Discussions and/or forums

I know someone will likely mention Rapidweaver, but I can not seem to find the program to download a trial. Thanks for your assistance.
 
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Macbook Pro 15" 2ghz/2GB/250gb/SD - White Macbook 2.16ghz/2.5GB/250GB/SD
Best software for creating what you want, would be Dreamweaver. It's pretty much the standard when it comes to designing and coding sites, unless you code in .aspx

In Dreamweaver, you have the ability to publish directly to the site, or a webserver hosted locally to you.

You can download a free 30 day trial of Dreamweaver from Adobe. I know Dreamweaver alone is like a few hundred dollars to buy.
 
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Best software for creating what you want, would be Dreamweaver. It's pretty much the standard when it comes to designing and coding sites, unless you code in .aspx

In Dreamweaver, you have the ability to publish directly to the site, or a webserver hosted locally to you.

You can download a free 30 day trial of Dreamweaver from Adobe. I know Dreamweaver alone is like a few hundred dollars to buy.

I will download it as a trial, and do not mind paying for it, but does it not have a steep learning curve?
 

CrimsonRequiem


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MBP 2.3 Ghz 4GB RAM 860 GB SSD, iMac 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7 32GB RAM, Fusion Drive 1TB
Rapid Weaver might be better. DreamWeaver does have a high learning curve.
 
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I want to rebuild our site, but do NOT know anything about web creation, nor do I have the time to learn.

The site would have:
  • ...
  • Secure transmission, (a personnel agency, so people need to be able to apply on-line)
  • ...
  • Discussions and/or forums

a WYSIWYG editor can only take you so far. you'll have to outsource, learn some serverside, or look into a (sh***y) free forum to accomplish all of that.
 
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a WYSIWYG editor can only take you so far. you'll have to outsource, learn some serverside, or look into a (sh***y) free forum to accomplish all of that.

I was afraid of that. Don't really have room in the budget for that, and be able to upkeep it, but guess I better start looking.

I thought dreamweaver was a bit much, and I can not find Rapid Weaver, site does not come up, may try again tonight. Thanks all for the advice.
 
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The site would have:
  • Information
  • Secure transmission, (a personnel agency, so people need to be able to apply on-line)
  • Ease up updates, (for job postings)
  • Discussions and/or forums

I know someone will likely mention Rapidweaver, but I can not seem to find the program to download a trial. Thanks for your assistance.

Information just requires you to update the pages, or set them up dynamically to pull from a database. You can secure submissions by using SSL. Easy updates again would probably use something like a database and a management page that only the webmaster can update, or simply create a simply page layout that you can manually edit quickly as necessary. Discussion forums can be downloaded for free and installed generally fairly easily.

As for RapidWeaver, you can find it here:
RapidWeaver 4 - Powerful Web Design Software for Mac OS X

The download link is at the bottom of the page, although I have never used it. I use Dreamweaver, but as has been pointed out before, any text editor can be used to edit HTML pages. I would suggest that if you are really going to be doing this to learn some HTML and avoid WYSIWYG if you plan on doing things long term for the site.
 
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I would recommend that dreamweaver would be more robust for a user who wants to use WYSIWYG only however, remember that this will not produce the best results.

As for discussion boards, you can use PHPbb as a forum solution. It's far from shi**y, indeed it is one of the best and can be hosted on 100% opensource (free) technology.

What kind of server are you currently running it on?
 
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Well, I hear a very consistent theme, learn HTML, hire someone, but do not use a WYSIWYG type editor. I need to know if this is so set in stone. We have some items on our page that will need to change often, and as a small business can not really afford to have someone on staff or contracted to keep updating the pages. Is it possible to have someone build the page, but do so in a way that allows us to take over?

I just looked into a contractor before and its just kinda $$$. What exactly about WYSISYG editors is so bad?
 
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Is it possible to have someone build the page, but do so in a way that allows us to take over?

I just looked into a contractor before and its just kinda $$$. What exactly about WYSISYG editors is so bad?

Yes. You can pay someone to set the site up for you. Make sure you specify ahead of time that you wish to maintain it yourself later. That way it's all there up front and no surprises later for them. They may also have a few ways to make it easier for you to manage.

WYSIWYG isn't bad exactly, but the problem is you don't actually know what it's doing on the back end. A lot of times you'll end up with lots and lots of extraneous tags from changing formatting, or centering, then removing centering, then adding bold text, then trying to remove it, etc etc. That increases the size of the page for downloading, but also adds room for a browser to misinterpret what it's supposed to do, or just add in an error that doesn't show up in IE, but does in other browsers.

Also, from a developer point of view, it's like the user who knows just enough to be dangerous. People think they can develop because they can use a WYSIWYG editor, but really end up with some terrible looking code that causes headaches later.
 
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Just never use WYSIWYG editors. It's like when you explain to a designer what you want, they interperate that and come back with their vision of your description. Now this is rarely going to be perfect first time round.

Imagine doing this with something that cannot even speak english!

I would recommend you hire someone and explain you want them to implement a Content Management Systsem (CMS). This will allow them to set out the layout and look of the site but you can manage the content.
 
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Before I start, NOOB question I know. But look, I am new to Mac. I have been using FrontPage to create and manage a company website, (no comments), I want to rebuild our site, but do NOT know anything about web creation, nor do I have the time to learn. I need a program that is easy to use and flexible. I would prefer to build on Macs as they seem to be much easier to work with. I do NOT want to use iWeb, as it would seem that it is too ...family website oriented, not corporate oriented, and I would like NOT to have our company site on a single computer.

The site would have:
  • Information
  • Secure transmission, (a personnel agency, so people need to be able to apply on-line)
  • Ease up updates, (for job postings)
  • Discussions and/or forums

I know someone will likely mention Rapidweaver, but I can not seem to find the program to download a trial. Thanks for your assistance.

If you are already using FrontPage, you can use Dreamweaver, Rapidweaver, etc.

BUT I would recommend a Content Manager System (CMS) so you can open up a browser and edit and update your site. If you don't know much about web site building, then find a friend who knows or pay some money to help get the site up and running then you can manage it yourself. Again, if you don't have much there is alot of free CMSs out there (opensourceCMS.com - you will get overwhelmed and you cannot just download and install on your computer, they are web based software, so it needs more attention). Some CMSs have plugins for forums/online applications (though I haven't searched for this one) as well.
 
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i am new to mac not had one long at all i have never been a fan of dreamwaver dont like it to much find it dose not code up right so i just stick to a text editor most of the time.

but i have used kompozer it made by the same people that made nvu its sort of the new version as a few went of to do it on there own. i will be sure to get this on my mac my self for when making tables because that not nice in code view :p

but it think i am going to give Rapidweaver a try as it looks good and it a very good price after all i got a mac to get good software :D
 
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I have a flash website template that I wish to edit.. would it be possible to do this using dreamweaver CS4?
 
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For what you described; you need an application, not software.

I would recommend Drupal or Joomla

They are prebuild CMS websites. All you would have to do is skin them and add content. Everything that you mentioned can be done with either of the 2.

Drupal is alot nicer, has more features and seem more secure. But.... It has a huge learning curve and is much harder to skin. If left stock, you don't need to know any php.

Joomla is an excellent choice due to its ease of use. You don't need to know any php. You can get Joomla extensions for Dreamwever.

Both offer extremely fast set up times (I can have them both up and running in under 2minute). Making edits is just like posting a comment on here. It's like Dreamweave wysiwyg build into the back end of your site. No files will be on your computer. They use module plugins to expand the site. Meaning you can add a commerce cart or a BB with just a few clicks. Oh and the best part is that they are both FREE, open source.

I mean, you mentioned alot of things that someone at your skill lever would not be able to pull off alone. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, so please don't take that the wrong way.

Good luck
 

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