What tools do I need for web site development 1

[johnk]

We are an experienced VB app development shop. We have used the services of a professional to create background graphics and general layouts.<br>
<br>
Would you recommend MS FrontPage? Adobe GoLive? Or others?<br>
<br>
After gaining some experience we expect to build and maintain our own site.<br>
<br>
I read an older posting from spring '99. I thought there might be some additional thoughts now.<br>
<br>
Any thoughts will be much appreciated.<br>
<br>
JohnK

 

[Guest_imported]

Personally, I prefer FrontPage2000. Easy to use, quick to set up and offers many time saving utilities, which other editor do not have. If you do go with frontpage, though, just make sure to get FP2000 and not FP98 or below, IMHO pre 2000 FP's were more of a hassle then a help. FP2K is a very solid product, though. <p>John Vogel<br><a href=mailto:johnvogel@homepage.com>johnvogel@homepage.com</a><br><a href=

http://johnvogel.homepage.com>My

HomePage</a><br>WebMaster - DataBase Administrator - Programmer<br>

 

[jnicho02]

Hey John, I never thought that I'd see the day when it was possible to get a TipMaster vote for recommending a Microsoft product ;-)<br>
<br>
Does FrontPage 2000 still mangle ASP code like its predecessors? and does it still have those BOT things that force you to use an ISP using IIS?<br>
<br>
I agree with the advice though. Using something like FP2000 means that you can get up-and-running in a very short time. I like to back this up by using an html editor such as Arachnophilia ( <A HREF="

http://www.arachnoid.com"

TARGET="_new">

http://www.arachnoid.com</A>

).<br>

 

[MartyLogo]

I would advise against using FrontPage only because its programming is - for lack of a better word - weird! You have to remember that people will view your sight from different browsers besides Microsoft's Internet Explorer. So you will have to be able to make sure that your pages are read-a-ble no matter what browser people are using. I like using Macromedia's products especially Dreamweaver. It isn't a cheap program but it is well worth it.<br>
<br>
If you're going to make your own pages, graphics, etc inhouse then you better be prepared. Especially for graphics which is quite tedious - especially when you're making them from scratch.<br>
<br>
You will need a good html editor plus it would be a good ideal to learn some basic html at least because there may be times when you're going to have to &quot;tweak&quot; your pages regardless of what html program you will be using. <br>
<br>
As far as graphics is concerned a good program to at least start off with is Paint Shop Pro. I mention this program mainly because it uses and can convert so many graphic formats.<br>
<br>
MartyLogo<br>
<A HREF="

http://members.xoom.com/marty188/my-comp.htm"

TARGET="_new">

http://members.xoom.com/marty188/my-comp.htm</A>

<p>MartyLogo<br><a href=mailto:MartyLogo@netzero.net>MartyLogo@netzero.net</a><br><a href=

http://pages.ivillage.com/misc/marty188/main.html>Welcome

to my Main Page!</a><br>Logo & Web Page Designs Inc.

 

[Guest_imported]

Frontpage 2000 is completely reliable for use with differant browsers. As a matter of fact there is a setting in FP2K that allows to choose what you would like your web page to compatible with. <br>
I think alot of people are still judging FrontPage by their previous products. I have written several pages (sites) with Frontpage 2000, and though I have had a few problems with <b>my</b> coding being cross-browser compatible, normally, I can view the pages in Opera, Netscape, IE, and even WEbTv and have no problem. <br>
jnicho, no it no longer uses the bots, the interface is very nice, and there are so many improvments over older versions, that you could look at FP2K as a brand new product. As I said earlier, I hated frontpage prior to 2k (I used it, only because I was forced to). Now I absolutly ADORE FrontPage. I think it is one of the easiest, fastest, and most reliable web editors I have ever used. But don't take my word for it. Get the free 45 day trial, and see for yourself <p>John Vogel<br><a href=mailto:johnvogel@homepage.com>johnvogel@homepage.com</a><br><a href=

http://johnvogel.homepage.com>My

HomePage</a><br>WebMaster - DataBase Administrator - Programmer<br>

 

[robherc]

Actually; I've not yet found ANY software that quite outdoes Netscape Composer & Notepad when used together...get the start-out for the page made in Composer; then &quot;soup it up&quot; with your own JS and code optimizations in notepad...Composer has about the cleanest code output I've seen from any WYSIWYG HTML editor on the market (although CoffeeCup's HTML editor is a close 2nd & has a few features that set it above & beyond...I just prefer the free stuff myself...go to <A HREF="

http://www.coffeecup.com"

TARGET="_new">

http://www.coffeecup.com</A>

for free Shareware Versions of their excellent web tools) <p>-Robherc<br><a href=mailto:robherc@netzero.net>robherc@netzero.net</a><br><a href= shared.freeservers.com/searchmaster.html>SearchMaster Interface...11-in-1</a><br>Wanting to learn Assembler; please e-mail me any tutorials or links for it that are useful to you

 

[Judland]

I'm not a professional HTML programmer, but for the pages I've written, I haven't found anything that beats my QUE programming in HTML 4 book and MS Notepad.<br>
<br>
Recently, however, I started using CuteHTML for the coding, which does make the process easier. It doesn't have the interface that a WYSIWYG editor will give you, but I'd rather have the control Notepad and CUTE offers. Must be a result of all my highschool days programming in DOS ) <p>Judland<br><a href=mailto:judlandwaste@netscape.net>judlandwaste@netscape.net</a><br><a href=

http://www.crosswinds.net/~davidsguide>Canadian

On-line Shopping</a><br>

 

[johnk]

Since my original post last month we have decided to build our prototype with FrontPage2000. Mostly because we already had it as part of our MSDN subscription along with reports that pre-2000 versions were much improved.<br>
<br>
So far so good. We hired a graphics firm to do the logo and background graphics. Its not a time priority for us but hope to get it up in a month or so. Anyone stumbling on to it now will get only an under construction sign. I'll post when we get it up and will appreciate your (constructive) criticisms.

 

[robherc]

I'll agree with jud on the QUE book....I haven't read their HTML book; but their <u>Upgrading & Maintaining PCs 11th edition</u> book is EXCELLENT <p>-Robherc<br><a href=mailto:robherc@netzero.net>robherc@netzero.net</a><br><a href= shared.freeservers.com/searchmaster.html>SearchMaster Interface...11-in-1</a><br>Wanting to learn Assembler; please e-mail me any tutorials or links for it that are useful to you

 

[carpeliam]

Yep, I can certainly say that Notepad is the best software Microsoft ever came up with. However, Notepad obviously won't write your code for you. You have two choices if you're doing it inhouse- sit down with a book, or have a software program (like FP or some other WYSIWYG editor). Personally, I believe a book is the best choice if you want a successful site. Now don't tell me that FP sites are successful, I'm not saying they're not- but for maximum success, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.<br>
<br>
Currently, I'm working with a particular team who decided to make a website in Microsoft Excel. Because of this, a single html document is 1.5 MB. That's not allowed on the web. That's too big to run from your hard drive, really, let alone the 'Net. I'm charged with the task of turning that 1.5 MB into 200 KB, and I can assure you, I won't be doing that in FP or Excel. The cleanest code is the code written by a real human being. Nothing compares. <p>Liam Morley<br><a href=mailto:lmorley@wpi.edu>lmorley@wpi.edu</a><br><a href=

http://www.wpi.edu/~lmorley/>::

imotic ::</a><br>

 

[Judland]

I agree with you there, Liam.<br>
<br>
That's also how I'm learning Flash. Of course, I could down load a lot of pre-written Flash animations, but why settle for that when I can easily learn it for myself.<br>
<br>
I've helped a few people trouble-shoot their webpages that were written using FP, and it was Notepad in which I cleaned up their code. <p>Judland<br><a href=mailto:judlandwaste@netscape.net>judlandwaste@netscape.net</a><br><a href=

http://members.home.net/jdweb/jdintro.html>My

Flash proving ground...</a><br>

 

[ndogg]

It really has a lot to do with personality and experience. The best is to know HTML yourself and pair it up with a wysiwyg editor, but once you know HTML, it almost doesn't matter which editor to use. I do recommend against all word processors because their output becomes a little cryptic and hard to maintain (if you're using MSWord, forget about it being Netscape friendly, much less WebTV friendly). Frontpage does have a tendancy to make coding a little cryptic in nature (by including a lot of DHTML and JavaScript with weird variable names). JavaScript is best left to something like notepad or vi and really shouldn't be messed with by a wysiwyg editor due to its nature. This does not mean that you need to do the programming yourself. You can find scripts at places like <A HREF="

http://www.jsworld.com"

TARGET="_new">

http://www.jsworld.com</A>.

When you get it, copy and paste to your HTML code (be sure to have the &lt;script&gt; and &lt;/script&gt. <p>REH<br><a href=mailto:hawkdogg@crosswinds.net>hawkdogg@crosswinds.net</a><br><a href=

http://www.crosswinds.net/~hawkdogg>Powered

by Linux</a><br>Learn Linux and Leave out the Windows

 

[johnk]

I am now considering using Dream Weaver instead of FronPage2000. Anyone have an opinion on this?<br>
<p>John Kisner<br><a href=mailto:jlkisner@jlkisner.com>jlkisner@jlkisner.com</a><br><a href= > </a><br>

 

[TeaAddictedGeek]

I would recommend Homesite and notepad/textpad.&nbsp;&nbsp;I avoid all WYSIWYG editors like the plague. <p> <br><a href=mailto:aberman@thebiz.net>aberman@thebiz.net</a><br><a href= > </a><br>Database programmer and developer, fueled by peach snapple.

 

[KernelTom]

Dreamweaver would be my choice.&nbsp;&nbsp;I have used FrontPage about 8 months and only played around with the Trial version of Dreamweaver but from what I see I like it better. The code it generates is much cleaner.&nbsp;&nbsp;Frontpage can do some weird stuff with the code especially if you are making changes in the wysiwyg to pages previously created. FP has some powerful features but you will need to clean up after it a good deal. I have used Drumbeat, another Macromedia product for database intensive web design and I really like it.&nbsp;&nbsp;But like the other people said,&nbsp;&nbsp;don't throw away the HTML reference and text editor!

 

[Zelandakh]

I use Dreamweaver alongside Flash for animation, Firworks and/or Photoshop for graphics and notepad for checking I'm not doing something too longwinded.<br><br>I find Dreamweaver to be an excellent product and very easy to get into. Didn't like Frontpage at all...

 

[Azmaramza]

I use the same programs and I find them to be alot more usful because they where designed to work together and Photoshop is a really good graphics program and 3D Studio MAX is a good one to<br><br>Azmaramza<br><A HREF="mailto:t__whitehead@hotmail.com">t__whitehead@hotmail.com</A>

 

[spike232]

Well, I'll put my 2 cents worth in this one, I like to use U-Lead's Cool 3D for graphics, I've used this since December of last year, and every time I have used it, it gives out really good clear graphics usually in .gif format wich EVERY browser excepts, even AOL and WebTV. <br><br>For Website development, if you want to spend a thousand hours on your site to get it &quot;JUST SO&quot; then yeah, Notepad is the way to go, replacing the HTML by hand with a WYSIWYG editor like FP2000 then yeah your bound to lose &quot;some&quot; quality...but unless your boss or in my case, pastor, is asking you every second of every day (or at least when you see them) &quot;How's the website coming?&quot; and you want to say &quot;It's up and running, all the links are up, and the graphics and pics are amazing!&quot; FP2000 is really the way to go, unless of course you want to say &quot;Well, it's not up yet, I know it's been 3 yrs but if you wait for another 6 months or a year it will be a killer site!&quot; then HTML by hand is the way to go...it's really by personal choice though...<br><br>spike232

 

[Guest_imported]

ROFL! Thanks spike, that's great! <br><br>I agree with spike, using notepad or whatever and designing your site by hand takes way to long in the professional world. And I don't know about anyone else, but I like to see what the page looks like as I design it, and the ability to change tables and such with one or two clicks.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;Sure, you need to know HTML and have the ability to program it by hand, this goes without saying. But, I think it is just takes too much time to have to reinvent the wheel everytime you sit down to design a web page. And when you start working with forms and processing data, you would have to be crazy to want to do it manually, when FP2000 can design a whole web page, complete with feedback forms, pulldown menus, etc. in about 2 minutes. <p>John Vogel<br><a href=mailto:johnvogel@homepage.com>johnvogel@homepage.com</a><br><a href=

http://i.winfire.com/s/isapiEng.dll/wf.exe?cmd=rl&452,20004878&wf.exe>Get

FreeDSL Service</a><br>[To a get FREE DSL Modem WITH FREE DSL Unlimited Internet Connection click the above link ]

 

[PetersWeb]

I've used most of the editors mentioned here (including good old Notepad), and my opinion is if you're after a WYSIWYG editor, you can't do much better than Dreamweaver (Version 3 is great).&nbsp;&nbsp;Unlike Frontpage, it doesn't require proprietry extensions or add &quot;code bloat&quot; to the site.<br><br>If you're looking for text editors, HomeSite (or Cold Fusion Studio) is great.&nbsp;&nbsp;I also recommend UltraEdit and if you're after a freebie, Arachnopilia (<A HREF="

http://www.arachnoid.com"

TARGET="_new">

http://www.arachnoid.com</A>)

is great.&nbsp;&nbsp;These text editors excel as they all have syntax colouring and macro buttons for repetive tasks.<br> <p>Peter Toby<br><a href=mailto:webmaster@petertoby.com.au>webmaster@petertoby.com.au</a><br><a href=

http://www.petertoby.com.au>PetersWeb</a><br>My

site is under construction