# making web sites for dummies?



## Guest (Sep 17, 2009)

Is there any place to go to learn how to make a simple web site--need something REAL simple


----------



## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Many web hosting compnaies have templates for making a personal website easily.
There are also programs you can get that will do that.
The easiest was Microsoft FrontPage - it was so easy they got rid of it and went to harder things (typical of MS)
Dreamweaver is another.
There are also many books out including one in the 'dummies' collection called "Building websites for Dummies"

What kind of stuff do you want on the website?


----------



## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

The sites you make on Google are quite simple. Google home page, more, then sites.


----------



## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

mnn2501 said:


> Many web hosting compnaies have templates for making a personal website easily.
> There are also programs you can get that will do that.
> The easiest was Microsoft FrontPage - it was so easy they got rid of it and went to harder things (typical of MS)
> Dreamweaver is another.


Yes, and you can find tons of free templates by just Goggling for free templates. I did a web site for a local western folk singer from a template not too long ago. I found this template.

http://www.countrymanordesigns.com/lonesomecowboy.htm

It was only $2.95 here. Then I customized the template for the singer's needs, so it looked like this.

http://desertbreezenv.com/

Starting with a template will save you a ton of work.

FrontPage is fine for a web page editor (that's what I use), and I suppose Dreamweaver works fine too (although I find Dreamweaver to be convoluted), but they are both pricey. Moreover, Microsoft is no longer shipping FrontPage, since it's been replaced with their new Expression Web product, but it's still pricey. 

Kompozer works very much like FrontPage and is free. I suspect that you will find Kompozer to be satisfactory for your needs. You can download it here.

http://kompozer.net/

Kompozer is pretty easy to learn to use. It works like a clumsy word processor. You'll get the hang of it before long.

The only other issue will be that you will need FTP (File Transfer Protocol) software to transfer the pages you create up to your web hosting account. You can use the free version of FTP Commander to do that. You can download it here.

[ame]http://download.cnet.com/FTP-Commander/3000-2160_4-10025993.html[/ame]

Good luck!


----------



## giffy (Jul 22, 2005)

I will second Nevada's suggestion on Kompozer (formerly NVU)...........great free web page editor.

giffy
--------------
GiffsFarm


----------



## NostalgicGranny (Aug 22, 2007)

Sorry for bumping this up. I know this is n older post but it may still be useful.

You should be able to access your ftp via INTERNET explorer.
It might need to be enabled first.
Click tools at the top, go to the advanced tab and keep scrolling until you find FTP make sure that one is checked. No need to buy a program or put up with endless ads or plea's to upgrade to a paid version.

I always used either notepad to code my webpages or 1st page because it was a wysiwyg editor. (What you see is what you get)
http://www.evrsoft.com/download.shtml

Another good Tool to have is Irfran - a free program that lets you crop, rotate, tweak, and reduce the size of your images. It is a really easy to use program.

Another great program was ACDC but I haven't been able to find them for a while. It was another free graphics program that did a bit more than Irfran, and made invisible backgrounds on your gifs/images.

When ever you mess with your images copy the whole folder first and then play around with the stuff in your copied folder. That way if anything gets really hosed up you can start all over if need be.


----------



## lharvey (Jul 1, 2003)

Here are some useful, free, beginners tools. When I say beginner, I mean, free. Not a cut-n-paste type of thing. As far as actual code editors there are as many out there as there are opinions on the best ones to use.

For Editing Graphics > GIMP Learning curve as in any software. Can do amzing things with it once you learn it.

For FTP > FileZilla Runs great and is bullet proof. FTPing via a web browser is VERY problematic and frustrating. Stick to a real FTP program.

Remember that you get what you pay for. They all may have essential tools, some more, some less.

I started 12 years ago with a program called HotDog from Sausage Tools and the Dummies Book, Websites for Dummies, very very basic. They are still in business but I couldn't get their page to load. It was not long before I wanted to do more and get away from the template thing. I use Dreamweaver CS now for basic layout. When you step up to the CS series from Adobe, you are playing with the big boys in the total package. Hold on to your wallet though because these are not cheap. When push really comes to shove, however, note pad ++ is the only way to build a custom site. Learning curve? Sure is. To do it right, you need to learn the code. If you don't care about the look being generic, use the WYSIWYG's

EVERYBODY has their own opinions on this subject. Google it. You will find a GaZillion posts on the subject. Sometimes you may find useful information on YouTube in a tutorial or two.

Hope this helps.


----------



## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

Komposer (NVU) is a very basic site editor, Netobjects Fusion (free version) is a nice tool with lots of timeplates but has a bit of steep learning curve. Depending on what you want to do with the with the site will help determine what editor is better.

Here is all you need for the most basic of web sites. Create a file called index.html and put the following in it.

<html>
<body>

<h1>MY first website.</h1>

<p>This is my first website, how do you like it...</p>

</body>
</html> 

Thats it you have a web page.


----------



## lharvey (Jul 1, 2003)

Gary I think I built that same website back 12 13 or so years ago.

:goodjob:


----------



## NostalgicGranny (Aug 22, 2007)

You and me both. 

I still don't get why you would need to buy an ftp program when IE will do it for free.


----------



## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

NostalgicGranny said:


> You and me both.
> 
> I still don't get why you would need to buy an ftp program when IE will do it for free.


First of all filezilla is free and second of all IE is a poor web site program if you need anything but the very basic web site.

Most of the work that goes into a good website the user never sees on the screen.


----------



## lharvey (Jul 1, 2003)

> I still don't get why you would need to buy an ftp program when IE will do it for free.


Mainly because some servers are not setup to ftp via the web.

It is a special feature that the hosting company needs to configure.

FileZilla IS free and works with all types of servers plus you can add files to the ques for upload and it will chug along and do all the uploads and downloads.

Last time I used ftp from IE it was a pain in the butttttttt and very slow.

FTP is a direct connection to the server and FileZilla will let you edit the files on the server instead of constant up and down.

The new version of FileZilla, with a bit of tweaking, will FTP from one web server to another in case you have to transfer entire sites, like I often do, from another hosting provider to my servers.

Been at it a few days. But that's my two cents. Adjusted for inflation.


----------



## NostalgicGranny (Aug 22, 2007)

Gary's comment threw me. I didn't consider IE as a website program. Just an browser with ftp capabilities.

On the other hand lharvey filezilla sounds like something I may be interested in. I am considering moving all of my files from one website to another. I don't have any pages up just files from my old stuff that I don't want to lose. Since I want to change hosts - I was really dreading the transfer. Moving all the files to my computer or I should say copying them from my old site to my computer and then uploading them to the new.

IE really wasn't hard to use. Just highlight and drag to the new folder. Holding down the shift button, highlight the first file and then the last. But it was more time consuming then I felt it should be - esp with high speed Internet. I may give it a whirl if I decide to make the move.


----------



## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

NostalgicGranny said:


> Gary's comment threw me. I didn't consider IE as a website program. Just an browser with ftp capabilities.


I think what he was saying was that the FTP capabilities of IE are very basic.



NostalgicGranny said:


> On the other hand lharvey filezilla sounds like something I may be interested in.


Filezilla is a terrific FTP application, but for beginners and occasional FTP users it's pretty complicated. For new users who don't need advanced features, such as the ability to manage UNIX permissions with chmod, I recommend FTP Commander free version.

[ame]http://download.cnet.com/FTP-Commander/3000-2160_4-10025993.html[/ame]



NostalgicGranny said:


> I am considering moving all of my files from one website to another. I don't have any pages up just files from my old stuff that I don't want to lose. Since I want to change hosts - I was really dreading the transfer. Moving all the files to my computer or I should say copying them from my old site to my computer and then uploading them to the new.


FTP Voyager has the capability to transfer files directly from FTP site to FTP site, but it isn't free.

http://www.ftpvoyager.com/


----------



## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Webeasy7 is what I used to do our website:

http://www.christiemachineandwelding.com/

This software was very easy to use 

Only problem now? Oh, well, can't avoid learning more than just how to use simple software like this...have to EDIT my site soon LOL 

No worries, will get 'er done when I am in the mood. Not short on ability, just experience...another LOL


----------



## Sparticle (Nov 1, 2004)

I'm reading this thread and have no idea about most of what you are talking about. Off to find an even more basic tutorial. FTP, you can say file transfer protocol but what the heck does that MEAN? Off to find a dummies book I guess.


----------



## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

Wikipedia will provide many or most of the answers you seek about terms. 

There is more, but this is the base definition: "File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to copy a file from one host to another over a TCP/IP-based network, such as the Internet." 

Thanks Wiki.


----------

