What's the best website design software for beginners?

[mikejames]

Hi,

I'm new to all of this so apologies for my inexperience.

I'm looking to start my own website and have already bought my domain name.

I use Fetch as my FTP and iWeb as my design tool.

The problem I'm finding is that iWeb is quite basic and I need Website design software that does more. Can anyone suggest/recommend alternatives?

I have a Mac Mini 1.42 Ghz with 1 GB Ram.

Bear in mind I'm just starting to learn about all this. I can successfully put a site online and add content/pages but can't add Polls/Forums etc into the existing pages.

Please help! Thanks in advance.

 

[elppa]

Polls/Forums is quite advanced functionality.

They generally require a back-end database and some server side code.

It is not something every web host/server can or will run.

It's also not something you can just do with HTML alone.

Unfortunately it's not just a case of clicking a few buttons to get a forum or poll.

You can include other peoples script to include forms/polls and many are available.

First check your web hosting company runs php/MySQL / Asp/MsAccess or some kind of dynamic database/server side scripting.

 

[reh]

Some webhosts allow you to pretty easily create forums and such by punching a few buttons and entering some info. Dreamhost and (I think) ASO both do this.

 

[zimv20]

might want to consider running some kind of CMS. i've done sites in mambo and drupal and they both support poll and forum s/w of one kind or another. or many kinds of another, actually.

with some effort, it's possible to use DW and GoLive for design, but i just do the stuff by hand.

i recommend a host running linux and apache for such efforts. fwiw, i use hostagor.com.

 

[Some_Big_Spoon]

I use iWeb for layout, then export to a folder and continue work in DreamWeaver. Other than the large files iWeb creates, it's a good workflow. From Dreamweaver I can make changes to the HTML, CSS, and add anything else I like. I can also add templates, like for forums, or do whatever else I like.

Using tools from a hosting company like DreamHost is a good idea. You can create a design in iWeb, clean it up in DW, and add the code/hooks from DreamHost.

It's easier than you think if you don't get fancy, but be prepared for slow load times.

Hi,

I'm new to all of this so apologies for my inexperience.

I'm looking to start my own website and have already bought my domain name.

I use Fetch as my FTP and iWeb as my design tool.

The problem I'm finding is that iWeb is quite basic and I need Website design software that does more. Can anyone suggest/recommend alternatives?

I have a Mac Mini 1.42 Ghz with 1 GB Ram.

Bear in mind I'm just starting to learn about all this. I can successfully put a site online and add content/pages but can't add Polls/Forums etc into the existing pages.

Please help! Thanks in advance.