On building a website...

[Sugar Smack]

...I'm looking at the instruction manual now, and I really REALLY assumed I could do this alone, without a translator, etc. How do people do it? I was SPANKED UPSIDE THE HEAD with frequent assertions that my website-designing thing I'm using is state-of-the art, tripping over "competitive solutions" or "major global players" and "high performance". This is art, it's freaking painting & drawing & graphic design, the kind where I don't even bother to polish my nails any more, and now I'm wading thru this friends-of-NASA terminology. So I looked at some other art sites to get a clue as to how they do it. And now I'm left with another question: Who's WE? I actually know some of these people and they're the only ones doing the website. "We at Melissa Inc." and so on. Is she talking about her shadow? Is that what I should do?

Thanks. I feel better. Mental 12-car pileups do this to me.:o

[NJmaverick]

1. Creating a website is no simple matter

I am a networking IT guy, and I find website design and developing extremely challenging. I use Joomla for my webistes, although there are other CMSs out there. What are you using to create your website?

[Sugar Smack]

4. 1and1.

Thanks for responding. I didn't think it was going to be easy. I expected a challenge, I welcomed a challenge. I looked at tutorials & furthermore had it complicated by well-meaning people telling me: "OH, just skip this and this and that" and "instead do this other thing". It's my first whine on DU in quite a while, I think.

But you know, it does help to have a professional tell me of his confusion. Anyway, what's IT?

[bif]

2. I've been using GoLive

Which of course, Adobe dumped in favor of Dreamweaver. The initial learning curve was a pain. And even now, because I don't use it that often, it can be very frustrating to use. Good luck!

[Sugar Smack]

6. Thanks, bif!

:loveya: Maybe I should look at Dreamweaver. Thanks for reminding me!!! I think I was okay with the instruction to a point, and then all hell broke loose; I reached the saturation point. Sometimes I wish I was a cat.

[mainegreen]

3. Meh. I type up my websites in notepad.

I can visualize the layout in my head from reading the tags+css.

:P

[Sugar Smack]

9. I can *also* visualize everything, bijou.

I can. And wishing it to happen is like that time I saw "Carrie" and tried to bend spoons with my mind for an hour. :P :P :P

[DS1]

5. perhaps download the 30-day demo of Dreamweaver

if you're not on dial-up

www.adobe.com

[Sugar Smack]

7. YES.

THANK you. Thank you. I'm doing that right now. I'm not on dial-up any more.

[ghostsofgiants]

8. PM me and I'll see if I can help you out when I get home.

[Sugar Smack]

10. Did you read my mind? I was thinking about you-

or maybe you just read the thread title. You are pretty amazing. I'll PM you, and thank you for your humanity as well.:D

[ghostsofgiants]

11. I do what I can!

:)

[Kutjara]

12. There's an excellent book called...

..."Head First HTML (with CSS and XHTML)" that provides a very brain-friendly way of learning to create web pages. It's very easy to use, but when you finish it, you'll have an excellent grounding in the mechanics of creating web pages. I consider it the best way to learn the foundations of HTML. You can usually find in at Borders or B&N or (of course) Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-HTML-CSS-XHTML/dp/059610197X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216153667&sr=8-6

[Sugar Smack]

13. Good, GOOD :)

I really like the sound of that. Thank you. I told another person that if someone can translate it to Middle-High Luddite for me I'll meet them halfway. I'm going to stop by the bookstore on the way to where I'm going tonight and give it a look. :)

[Kutjara]

14. Look at the introduction before you buy it.

It explains the "Head First" style, which was apparently cooked up by psychologists and neuroscientists as the way the "brain wants to learn." Whatever the scientific basis for this, it certainly worked for me.

[Redstone]

15. Say what? Send me a PM with more specific information, or call me (but not tonight;

the All-Star Game is on) and I'll give you a hand.

I do this stuff for a living, as you know.

Redstone

[Sugar Smack]

16. Thank you, my dear. I *will* be in touch with you.

:D Would love to talk at some point. I'm on my way out the door as well.

*Be Good* :bounce:

[no name no slogan]

17. FINALLY getting to this thread

Hey babe, if you need any help getting it set up, finding a good host, writing the code, etc. let me know. Web site design and development has been my bread and butter for over a decade now. I've done everything from personal sites, small business sites, campaign sites, and even a couple very large sites (3,000+ pages) for governmental-type organizations. My current gig is managing a few sites (3,000, 5,000 and 12,000 pages each) for a state governmental agency. Between the three sites, we get about a million hits a month.

Let me know what you need, I can probably help! :hug: :*