General web design question, .JSP vs .HTML

[Jtorres13]

I have created a few websites in the past, all using FrontPage to build the pages. Content may include some javascript elements, such as menus, Google map, calendar, etc., but the primary language used is .HTML, the pages are all .htm.

I've been researching other WYSIWYG programs for building websites which won't load so much proprietary crap as FrontPage does, especially when it's such an old program and support is being discontinued by hosting companies.

I find Dreamweaver overkill (and expensive) for the type of websites I build, simple "web presence" sites.

Can anyone recommend an affordable WYSIWYG web design program?

I've seen more and more pages ending in .jsp, not .htm. Any reason for building an entire web page strictly using javascript versus HTML?

Thanks for your input.

 

[spamjim]

jsp is not javascript.

You might do well to google more info on the distinction between server side scripting and client side scripting. You may also want to research Content Management Systems, which run as server side scripts. Examples: WordPress, Joomla, Drupal.

FrontPage has been 'replaced' by Microsoft Expression Web.

 

[Mike Lewis]

JSP and HTML are not mutually exclusive. JSP is not an alternative to HTML.

Ultimately, all web pages are HTML. They differ in how the HTML is produced. Frontpage generates HTML from a WYSIWYG interface. JSP is a server-side tool that generates HTML, which is then served to the browser - as is PHP and several other technologies.

If you're looking for an alternative to HTML, forget it. There isn't one.

If you're looking for a simple WYSIWYG tool for creating HTML, you could try Coffee Cup. They have a visual editor, and also a product that lets you switch between hand-coding and interactive editing (not sure of the names of these products, but their website should tell you).

By all means, look for a new WYSIWYG tool (anything would have to be better than Frontpage). But I'd also advise you to learn a little basic HTML (and CSS). Even if you don't code it by hand, it will be a useful skill.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Visual FoxPro articles, tips, training, consultancy

 

[kjv1611]

Jtorres13,

Currently, if I were going to recommend anything to anyone for building sites where you don't want to have to get into the coding much on your part, I might suggest delving into one of the CMSes out there.

Otherwise, if you want to just build a very basic site, you can use something as simple as Blogger. Application-wise, you could even use MS Word to build a site, if it's a simple basic, static site.

But if you want much movement, a CMS is one great way to go, I think. There are several out there. For instance, you can look at

http://www.cmsmatrics.org.

My personal preference is Drupal - I do run into headaches at times, but overall, I love it. I went from Frontpage designed sites several years ago to Drupal CMS, and haven't looked back. With Drupal (and other CMSes), you can often find any tool you are thinking of, already built by someone else, and all you do is install it on your site to get the functionality you desire.

Drupal (and I think the other CMSes are at least somewhat, depending upon which you look at) is a modular system. So, you get a basic package "out of the box", and then you add what you need.

It may seem like overkill, but you'll be surprised at what you can do with one of those.

And then, you can still use WYSIWYG applications to your preference to interact with the CMS. You can also use stand-alone applications for building the themes (visuals) for a site. My current favorite there is Artisteer

Anyway, if you go with a CMS, you do not necessarily have to understand what scripging languages, and all go into the site. It is always beneficial to learn as much as you can, but it's not 100% required.

Be aware, there is a learning curve to any of them, and every application, platform, etc, will have it's own pros and cons.

Otherwise, there are other free WYSIWYG applications out there, and there are actually several web hosts which have some sort of built-in WYSIWYG editors built into their control panel applications directly on their sites. The bad part about using a hosting company's WYSIWYG app on their server is that if you decide to move elsewhere, you pretty much wind up having to rebuild... (I think)..

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[Mike Lewis]

Kjv1611,

You've made some good points. However, I don't think that using a CMS means you can get by without any HTML or CSS skills. In my experience, you can go only so far with the likes of Drupal if you don't have any HTML. That's true even of Blogger.

That's not to say that you shouldn't use such tools. On the contrary, they can save a lot of work and hassle, especially if you are constantly adding new content to the site. But they have a steep learning phase of their own, and they shouldn't be seen as an alternative to learning HTML.

Mike

__________________________________
Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Visual FoxPro articles, tips, training, consultancy

 

[kjv1611]

Yeah, I wouldn't say an alternative to learning HTML. Anything you can learn that is related to the tool(s) you're using can only help.

The learning curve is steep in some ways, but I don't think it's as difficult as learning how to install and really use say Linux as opposed to Windows. It's not as big a jump, I think, as going from one OS to another, whether that's Windows, Mac, Linux. It depends (just like with an OS), on how deep you intend on going with the site.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[spamjim]

There are two different audiences for CMS.

It is possible for the average user to get by without any HTML knowledge if you install one of these free CMS tools with a WYSIWYG editor module/extension and use a stock template/theme.

HTML/CSS experience is only needed by developers/designers to design a template/theme.

I'm not sure which camp jtorres13 falls in here. Their confusion between JSP and Javascript has confused me.