So you got a template somewhere (maybe from me) and you want to tweak it and put it up on the web? Or maybe you just want to be able to update your site whenever you want and don’t want to get me to do it… You wanna learn to do it yourself?
I have blogged about this before… And decided to do it again and refer people to this post when they ask about it… (And they often do) Here are some options:
There are pro’s and cons for each of these methods…And they all require a learning curve. Dreamweaver works best… You can use FrontPage or something but once it gets ahold of that page it tends to do bizarre things to the page but the site still works (usually)
I tried a free one before too: http://nvu.com it worked OK but when you “publish” the site it scatters the files all over the server instead of neatly into folders like Dreamweaver does… I have had a few people use it but they couldn’t seem to understand the program and how it “publishes” the pages.
It looks like they have a new version so it may work better now…
Some people have installed a WYSIWYG editor that works from a browser… http://www.wysiwygpro.com/
I think it works OK but I know it has mangled one of my sites and I’m going to cut them loose after the 1st of the year because of it... They never gave me any money and I’m hosting the site for free but can’t use it on my portfolio.
Some folks try to use “site builder’ tools that are offered by their host… Those things are not compatible with the software I use…. People often already have a site they designed with those things but want me to fix it up... When I do that it is hard for me to get them to understand they no longer can use the “site builder” tools because it will overwrite everything I have done.
My server has an area where you can log into the server and view your files and actually edit the pages from there either with html or with a built in WYSIWYG but I have never played with that stuff on my server before…
A Content Management System is a “web portal” that is all managed from a “backend” of the site… There are many sites that use these things. You basically install it and then “skin it” to try to make it look like you want and then add content in the backend… I have played with a few of these things and used to try and get folks to use them because many of them have lots of “interactive” features and stuff. But they can be quite confusing too… And buggy… I had a personal one up before but hackers kept trying to hack into it and I just got tired of fighting it… Still, they are pretty cool.
I do use a very small CMS on many of my sites for “editing news” articles and it works right along with existing pages… http://www.cutephp.com/ it used to be free but now they want a link if you don’t register it.
This personal Christian site is using it: Grapes of Grace among others of mine.
The Day after.... Happy ThanksGivingI was reading in the newspaper about blogging the other day... It was interesting what they had to say… Bloggs are not private... If you blogg it is wise to write stuff that any boss, future bosses, wife, mother or grandmother could read and not be offended… The same could be true of Email because it’s so easy just to forward that crazy stuff you may write to all the people in your address book... And then they do the same ETC.
I used to blogg during the election and had some political views that I made public. Many of which were not very popular in this part of the country but I felt the need to do it… Now I don’t even know if I want to go there at all anymore. I just want my blogg to have some interesting stuff. But the fear in writing stuff that is controversial? Hmmmm?
Anybody can read what you write at anytime- That’s just the way it is.
But then blogging can also help you with employment .Future bosses can read your blogg and learn a lot about you and your abilities and interests. I guess this saves them time on the interview process… You got it all laid out in front of them…
Come on…Be a blogger… I dare ya!I have recently been fighting hackers with my contact forms on many of my sites…They seem to send some kind of robots to “activate’ the forms and then send some kind of gibberish to my inbox.
I keep looking around for some kind of solution for this… I’m not sure if there is one without some kind of custom written script. My siteowners may just have to live with it until I can come up with something that works or take down the contact forms altogether.
I shall keep fighting but it robs me of my web design time that grows shorter daily. If anybody knows of a good script please let me know!
RefrainLots of folks want to have a website they can get up and running and just get in there and edit stuff themselves very easily… And it is possible… But there is always a learning curve with anything related to computers... Even playing a new game has a learning curve…
Lots of times folks want me to design a site for them and then want me to just hand it over to them to just add and delete stuff to at any given moment… They ask:
How do I just log into the site and change a picture or something?
Here are some options for doing this:
Here are some things about the above methods:
Conclusion:
I have had lots of folks take some of my designs and get in there and totally hack it up to where it doesn’t look like my design anymore… To folks that have done this is fine but if I am hosting your site and you do this I am no longer able to have you on my portfolio and will be asking you to find a new host after the first of the year… Just thought I’d blogg about this while I had it on my mind…
So you wanna be a programmer? Naw…Don’t do it. To much math. But you want to be able to read your code or write some html pages from scratch and don’t want to use that boring ole’ notepad program to do this..
I have been using Araneae for years to tweak scripts and other text stuff.. It is lightweight, very stable and color codes the code so it is easier to follow. And of course it’s FREE!
Just downloaded and intalled another free program. It is a “color grabber” which enables me to get colors from anywhere on the screen and use them in any graphics program I want… I’m trying to get used to it. It is a bit confusing but I think I’m getting the hang of it… Check it out here.
I just get swamped with new stuff to do and old stuff to change…
I am working so much overtime at work I simply don’t have enough hours in the day to keep up with what is going on with my web design projects…
I know I have probably forgotten about people I was supposed to do a site for too...
It's just gettin' pittiful...
Now what can a poor boy do…
Except sing for a rock and roll band…
-Mick and the boys…
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