Sunday, November 20, 2011
Website Question.
Okay, I know there are plenty of IT guys who visit here so I have a question. I built by website http://freespace.virgin.net/n.asher using FrontPage - a program I no longer have since changing computers. What would you recommend I use now? I want an OFFLINE website builder that's simple to use and doesn't require me knowing html. I'm not interested in free hosting, since I have my webspace. I'm not intersted in free email addresses and all sorts of other dangly pointless bits. I'm also, I have to add, not interested in paying large amounts of money for a website building program for a site that will essentially be just for reference - we all know that websites that are updated maybe monthly don't get a lot of traffic. It's all blogs now, well, in fact it's mostly social networking that gets that traffic.
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19 comments:
If you are looking for something quick and dirty you could use Microsoft Word. It depends what you are trying to achieve.
Most word processors these days will edit and save simple HTML. What are you using for your writing?
Try Wordpress, it's designed as a blogging tool, but you can build a good website round it. Have a look at Tim Lebbon's or James Lovegrove's sites for examples.
You dont mention your operatings system that you want to work on. You dont mention if you will be using the same hosting provider or moving to new hosting. its not clear if you intend to scrape the original content and move it to a platform. my personal ( and currently ill informed to this question ) advice to you is if your not really trying to get into getting things online the somewhere between Posterous, Wordpress(.org) or Wordpress with a theme . If you want to build/create/export html along with your content Coffee Cup works for Windows and is as cheap as nothing though not free. either way if you'd like to shoot the breeze on this over a better conversation you know me on twitter and Im happy to throw you 10 mins to chew the cud on.
If you ever switch to a Mac, the included iWeb is so easy, even I can use it. You just need your webspace details for uploading. The program resides on your machine and you just make the changes there followed by an upload when ready.
Why not just migrate your old Frontpage app?
I've managed it with Word - downloading it, re-establishing links, renaming files and getting my new book covers on there. Now I know how to do it I'll start updating.
All these modern editors are getting more techy, moving on from frontPage straightforwardness.
Closest thing you might get that works as visual editor is "Adobe Dreamweaver".
It costs too much for functionality you might need.
If you have your own hosting space, I suggest using Wordpress.
Wordpress is blogging and publishing platform.
You put in on your server, do some step by stem first time run, choose theme and you are in business.
Wordpress hosts thousands ready to use themes, no knowledge of coding is needed to install and apply them.
Publishing a page/post is stright forward, easy, links, pictures, visual editor works well.
It can be stunningly simple, in same time - very flexible and expandable.
Still, it takes for experienced person about 5 minutes to bring site online, for someone without any experience, it might be a lot longer.
Sounds like a bad advertisement :)
For creating a file with styled text/pictures and uploading to web server - "Adobe Dreamweaver", you might find some old version for cheap. Version 3.0 Will do the job.
As "dangerman" said before, iWeb on Mac, thumbs up for that one as well, easy to use.
Although it is online rather than offline I would add to the suggestions of Worpress. It really is easy to set up and easy to use.
If you sign up for a free Wordpress blog at Wordpress.com you can get an idea of the interface and how things work before committing to it.
If you're looking for domain names and hosting I use compila at compila.com. Their bargain plan gives you 2 databases for blogs.
http://www.compila.com/web-hosting/linux-web-site-hosting/bargain-website-hosting-plan.html
For offline usage Microsoft Live Writer is the best I've come across. Once your blogs/sites are set up create the posts in Live Writer and with the click of a button you can post to as many blogs or sites as you create accounts for within Live Writer. I write one post in Live Writer and post to four blogs in minutes. The downside to Live Writer is that you have to log in separately to the blog/site to deal with comments.
For some reason comments I've been putting here have not been appearing, or they've been disappearing. Wierd.
"For some reason comments I've been putting here have not been appearing, or they've been disappearing. Wierd."
My guess is the neutrinos in the later post, "Warp Factor One Million" are jumping around and causing havoc with this, the previous, post.
Don't be tight, don't fry your brain, get a man in. Write another book and use the proceeds to pay for the website... simples.
You could drive yourself batty and get a shit load of boffin bollocks from all comers and corners.
I'm in IT it ain't my field, but there's a man whose field it is, but's it going to cost. Take that approach and you'll have less aggro.
You might want to try Microsoft's Expression software:
http://www.microsoft.com/expression/try-it/
It's a web design tool and is, in some ways at least, a sucessor to Front Page (in that it's Microsoft's web design tool with WYSIWYG capabilities).
The problem with using Word is that it sticks a lot of rubbish and non-standard markup in the HTML it outputs.
True, Graeme, but learning stuff helps with the book writing and keeps the mental cogs oiled. Maybe I'll have to teach myself html as well as Greek.
I'll take a look at that, Dan, thanks.
I haven't tried it but Microsoft also have free web development tools:
http://www.microsoft.com/web/webmatrix/?WT.mc_id=MSCOM_EN_US_DLC_FAMILIES_121LMUS007468
Or search for Webmatrix if the link doesn't work.
Serif Plus then. Piece of piss to use, and a proper tool.
The Microsoft design tools are primarily for developers.
If you want a home-grown site, your best bet is WordPress.
Second option is to hire someone to do it.
Third option is to use a volunteer; i.e. I'd do it as I just discovered your books and positively love them. You can pay me by stop spending time to build a website and expanding the Polity books.
Else, you can just wait for Cento to make a site for you.
I would add mine to the Wordpress voices, for a million reasons.
vim is what you're looking for. ;)
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