# What do you use to design your site



## BurnTees (Aug 10, 2005)

Hey everyone,
So, currently we use a CafePress template that we customize, but we might be doing a complete overhaul of our site and i'm wondering what everyone uses to design their site. Did you do it yourself or outsource?

Thanks,
Mathew


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## Comin'OutSwingin (Oct 28, 2005)

I've done my placeholder site myself, coding it by hand in HTML.

I'm also in the middle of designing my main site, and for that I'm using Dreamweaver.

I think it's really good. Especially for newbs of webdesign, like me. You are able to design what you want, but it also lets you have a split view of the design and the html code. It has helped me understand html and how the tags work, along with some online tutorials for html.


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## neato (Mar 21, 2006)

I'll second Dreamweeaver. I know ZERO html. But I was still able to glue together a halfway decent site. Now if only I know how to incorporate SEO...


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## TeeShirtSamurai (Feb 8, 2006)

I've spent the past two months learning the ins and outs of Dreamweaver and have totally designed my site myself.

Dreamweaver is a great way to go if you are new.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

I've been desiging sites for years and I really dig dreamweaver.

I think it helps if you still know HTML, so you can do minor tweaks if necessary, but I think it's a good way to go.

Dreamweaver can be a little daunting at first because when you first start the program, it opens all these tool windows, but once those are closed down, it's much easier to design a page. 

I've also heard that NVU is a good, free, HTML editor similar to dreamweaver.

I also like working from templates if I don't feel the creative juices flowing or want to speed up the design process. So I'll outsource just the template and explain exactly what I want to the template designer. 

That way, I get the framework of the site done and I can just add my content and tweak the template to polish it off.


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## BurnTees (Aug 10, 2005)

did you guys teach yourselves dreamweaver? any suggestions on good books or sites to use?


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Since I already knew the basics of HTML, there wasn't much to teach in dreamweaver. You just kind of design the page the way you want it to look.

I'm probably not using all the features that dreamweaver has to offer, but I think they offer some tutorials when you buy the software (and inside the software).


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## rabid (Jan 10, 2006)

I used Dreamweaver also. Self-taught so I haven't read any tutorials myself but I'm sure you can google a wealth of them.

I like the little tools DW has that I've slowly discovered while using it. At first was almost like a glorified notepad for me but it's the only tool I need now.


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## Comin'OutSwingin (Oct 28, 2005)

Before I got started designing my site. I picked up "Creating Web Pages for Dummies". It has 9 different "books" in 1.

Some of the things covered as a "book" were html, frontpage, dreamweaver, e-commerce.

I thought it would be a nifty little thing to find out a little about a lot. It was okay and gave me a good starting point.

Once I decided on Dreamweaver, I played around with it a lot, and used a couple of online tutorials.

I just went and checked out www.nvu.com. Looks like it is pretty good. 

Hey, it's free. I wish I had known about it before I spent my money on Dreamweaver. I would have tried it first, and maybe saved some money. 

I think I'm going to download it when I get home and see how good it is. 

I shall report back tomorrow!


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## statc (Mar 31, 2006)

I use A combinatin of notepad, photoshop, and occasionally GoLive and Flash. My Html is probably as good as my english. But then again I'm web developer geek first, t-designer second.


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## Dave 2006 (Apr 13, 2006)

Do you yal know the one thing that I admire about you all? You all are go getters. If there is something that you all dont know, then you will learn how its done. thats the one thing that i can say that ive noticed about many people here since ive been reading these forums. I truely feel like i am amongst people who i can relate to, and im lucky to have found this site.
didnt mean to get mushy or off topic, but its the truth.

I use dreamweaver also by the way, and am self taught.


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## honeyflip (Nov 1, 2005)

Our site is coded by hand. I guess I would've preferred it done in Dreamweaver (so that subsequent tweaks could've done by me the novice - Dreamweaver is pretty darn intuitive and smooth to use [I've been stumbling through the tutorial]), but the guy in our little cooperative is a programmer and a purist. However, I think he's going to write tools that will allow know-nothings like me to do automatic updates and tweaks to any part of the site.


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## TenaciousTees (Dec 9, 2005)

I bought a book called " Web site design made easy" by Dennis Gaskill.Thus far has been excellent in teaching a computer challenged individual, all the basics and not so basic things and then some. The best part of it all is that is in lay terms. It was suggested in the forums and I took the advice and it is one of the best investments that I have made thus far. Hope this helps.


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## statc (Mar 31, 2006)

I donno. I think you can easily learn how to make a site by followin tutorials online. Books always seem to get outdated. I guess for the basics though they're fine..


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## Comin'OutSwingin (Oct 28, 2005)

You're right. Tutorials are great, and you can follow along and do the work on the computer with them.

I'm on the computer all day. I mean ALL DAY. But sometimes I need to take a break or my eyes might pop out of my head. But when I do, I still like to learn new things and read about stuff. That's when I'll grab a book and sit down and just absorb some stuff. Then when I get back in front of my monitor, I can try to apply what I read. Or, if need be, I can find a quick tutorial on line. 

Both can be good. And I like to use a combination.


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## printchic (Apr 3, 2006)

Of all the applications I've tried for creating/maintaining a web page I think Dreamweaver is the best. If you are looking for a cheap video Tutorial for Dreamweaver you can find a good one here. I have their flash, dreamweaver and photoshop tutorials. 

http://stores.ebay.com/HomeTutorials

I prefer a video tutorials to books as I'm a visual person so I get more from seeing how it's done. If I can't find a video to cover a topic i want to learn then I try to find a good book that gives lots of "visual" examples.  

NOTE: I don't sell videos tutorials nor do i have affliation with anyone that does.


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## Comin'OutSwingin (Oct 28, 2005)

Comin'OutSwingin said:


> Before I got started designing my site. I picked up "Creating Web Pages for Dummies". It has 9 different "books" in 1.
> 
> Some of the things covered as a "book" were html, frontpage, dreamweaver, e-commerce.
> 
> ...


Okay, I downloaded NVU last night.

Considering that it's free, it's really good. If I didn't already have some dreamweaver experience, I would probably think it was great.

I love Dreamweaver, but this can do many of the things that DW can. I think the biggest thing I had trouble with was finding the specific tools that I was looking for. Since I'm already familiar with DW, I know where they are in DW. And I guess I was trying to figure out how the same thing worked with NVU. 

But, if someone is new to webdesigning and got NVU, I think the learning curve would be small, and it's capable of doing quite a bit more than I thought it could, to be a free WYSIWYG!

The one thing I guess I'm really spoiled with on DW is the split screen of the html and the design. In NVU there are little tabs at the bottom and you can toggle back and forth, but I love seeing them together in DW. 

Overall, I think it's great! Especially since it's free! On my cable connection it took about 10 seconds to download, then it only took me about a minute to install the whole thing. They have some tutorial type stuff on their site to help get you going, too.

I would encourage anyone that doesn't have the money for Dreamweaver to try it, then when they feel comfortable with using a WYSIWYG and have the money, move to Dreamweaver.


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## printchic (Apr 3, 2006)

NVU is not bad for a free pgm. I use it alot but I have come across a few bugs and sometimes it crashes in the middle of working so be sure to save often. 

However it's free so you can't complain.


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## suzieh (Feb 8, 2006)

We're outsourcing our web work right now. But in past it was plain ol' HTML, Adobe Pagemill and I may be dusting an older version of GoLive to put up some quickie personal websites.

I would suggest your local libraries if you need a tutorial type of book. Or even Amazon/used. I am now going through the official CorelDraw book from the library which has shortcuts/tips that are not in the software manual.


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## Buechee (Dec 22, 2005)

Dreamweaver would be my pick. I've used it for 4yrs now.


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## Vtec44 (Apr 24, 2006)

I use a combination of programs, but mostly NotePad for the actual editing. I'm not a professional by any means, just a lot more comfortable with NotePad since it gives me complete control over my code. To start out, I usually come up with the layout in my head, build the first page and use it as the template for the rest of the site.


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## WeeJames (Apr 24, 2006)

Ive designed my template using Dreamweaver and now im goin to turn it into a template for use with the open source cms, Joomla. Then i'll need to find a suitable shopping cart component for Joomla.


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## VolleyChick (Apr 25, 2006)

I've been using First Page by Eversoft (freebie) for years and like it. I may check out NVU since I like the sound of being able to see the code and result at the same time. 

Di


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## mikel (Apr 20, 2006)

i've been using dreamweaver and fireworks together. haven't tried anything else after i used these 2. 

might check out nvu.


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