Creating websites--software question?

[Guest]

Hi All,

A few years ago I created a website using IWEB with my MAC. It is pretty easy to use-template driven-and looks OK.

My question is this: A professional acquaintance has asked me to show my site. If I do would the use of IWEB be considered unprofessional? I know Dreamweaver is high end but I have never used it.

Also, is Flash the industry standard for interactivity on sites?

Thanks!

[Durant Imboden]

Unless you're trying to sell Web-design services, it shouldn't matter how you created your site.

Flash is one of those love-or-hate things: Art directors love it, but it can be annoying when overdone (for example, when users have to wait for an animated change of screen when they want to go to another page). Search engines don't always do a great job of crawling and indexing Flash sites, either. Unless you have a compelling reason for using Flash and know how to use it judiciously (or in a unique and exciting way), I'd recommend sticking with traditional HTML.

[Donna Desmarais]

Thanks Durant. Do you handle all your own web stuff i.e. tech and design?

[Durant Imboden]

Yes, and it's pretty simple. Our sites uses "flat files" (plain-vanilla HTML pages), so we can just upload them via ftp and leave the rest to the hosting service.

[Laura]

Hey there,

Two ways to answer your question: it would be clear to those in the know that the functionality behind your site is "low end," but as Durand pointed out, does it matter in your case?

I built my site using Wordpress, which is an extremely powerful and popular content management system (which had its beginnings as just a blog software like Blogger) that Is FREE of charge. Go to Wordpress.org.

The advantage is that my Content is always separate from the Design of the site (the look, feel, layout). I can choose from thousands of different design themes to overlay my content, most are free, but I chose an $80 Premium theme by a Wordpress designer whose themes people seem to love, Chris Pearson. I can modify this premium theme to suit me a ton of ways. But if I ever get tired of this theme in its entirety (not likely, as it is growing each month), I can toss it away, keep my content, and overlay a new design over it.

More and more, I'm seeing independent professionals move toward Wordpress because of its power and flexibility in addition to it's more elegant code which doesn't get all wacky like other DIY tools. And it's growing every day (open source) to work with new Web 2.0 functionalities.

If used as a blog, Wordpress is out-of-the-box ready (go to Wordpress.com). If used as a site-creator (content management system) Wordpress requires a bit more of a learning curve, but it doesn't require coding skills (go to Wordpress.org). And anyone with determination can learn it.

Good luck.

Laura
laurakammermeier.com

[Durant Imboden]

>>The advantage is that my Content is always separate from the Design of the site (the look, feel, layout).<<

You can achieve the same thing with CSS-based Dynamic Web Templates in Expression Web, and I'm sure you can do it in Dreamweaver, too.

One advantage of the "flat file" approach is that you don't need add-ons, security patches, modules, etc. to create and manage a successful site that does exactly what you want it to do. It can also be quicker to enter titles, descriptions, keywords, etc. in code view than by filling in blanks.

For example, on our site (which is maintained for the most part in FrontPage 2003), I use several basic editorial templates into which I can just start typing, entering photos, and so on in much the same way as I'd do it in Microsoft Word. I save the page with a search-friendly file name ("widget-railroad-tickets.htm" or whatever), click the "code view" tab, and add text on the title, meta="description," and meta="keywords" lines. The whole process takes only a few seconds, after which I'm ready to write the page, insert any photos that I want to use, and save the file for publishing after I've previewed the page to make sure everything works correctly.

Just as important, "flat files" are inexpensive to host and put a very small load on the server, which translates into fast display times--even if you've got thousands of pages and are serving well over a million page views per month.

I've worked with flat files and CMSes, and as someone with an editorial background, I much prefer the flat-file approach. Other people (especially those who are able to visualize their sites as collections of database records and don't need to create new menus or paths on the fly) may have a different opinion. I think it's worth experimenting with different approaches to find what best fits your own personal style and publishing needs.

[Durant Imboden]

One more thought:

Content is what attracts readers and earns revenue.

Readers and advertisers don't care if you used WordPress, Expression Web, Drupal, or Dreamweaver to create your pages. They're just interested in what's on those pages.

All too often, mom-and/or-pop Web publishers agonize about the "how" when they should be thinking about the "what."

[Donna Desmarais]

Hi,

I am trying to use Word Press.org with Go Daddy actually. Still don't quite get what a "flat file is" though.

Can Word Press.org create websites as well as blogs?

Thanks!!!

[Durant Imboden]

>>I am trying to use Word Press.org with Go Daddy actually. Still don't quite get what a "flat file is" though.<<

A "flat file" is an HTML file that is static (such as a page created with Dreamweaver, Expression Web, or a text editor) as opposed to one that's assembled from database records by a content management system or blogging software.

>>Can Word Press.org create websites as well as blogs?<<

A blog *is* a type of Web site, but if you mean "Can WordPress be used for Web sites that aren't blogs," the answer is "Yes, with study and preparation."