View Full Forums : Web Publishing Question


Dennis
11-30-2003, 08:43 PM
I have come up with a really cool idea for a website that won't take that much time (maybe 20 minutes a day) to keep current.. and I'd like to give it a shot.

y problem, however, is that I am not all that experienced in web publishing - just dabbled a bit here and there. I have used the high-end programs at previous jobs (Dreamweaver, etc) but I was wondering what software I should use. I obviously am not a HTML wiz-kid, so I'm looking for something more along the lines of the Dreamweaver software.

But before I go and invest the time in downloading the demos of the software, I wanted to know which one I should try first. My site is basically going to be fairly simple, but the main page will be updated on a regular basis with an archive kept of old pages (not necessarily intact, but rather each of the entries on the main page kept in a searchable archive).

The idea is a website that filters out the GOOD news from a number of mainstream news sources (cable news websites, newspaper websites, etc) and links to those stories in a Drudge Report format (but his website is decidedly UN-flashy - I want at least some style to it). I'm basically sick of hearing only bad news in the media, and I want to focus on just the good. There are good stories out there, but they are sometimes a bit harder to find through the piles and piles of negativity that prevails in today's mainstream press. Iraq, for example, is undergoing a huge process of change led in a large part by the U.S. troops who are on the ground there, but you wouldn't know it because a roadside bomb injured one of them today or a helicopter crashed and that is all you hear about.

I figure asking EQ people would be a good place to find out, because some of you run your guild's webpages, and the kind of site I will be running will be somewhat similar to those, I guess.

--Dennis

Fyyr Lu'Storm
11-30-2003, 10:17 PM
I would seriously look into a blog, www.blogger.com etc.

It would have the ability to do what you describe. And there is not real program you need for them to work. No real HTML at all, really. And the hosting of it is free(banner ad).

Frontpage is a great program for site building and management. The main reason that it ever gets any bad press is that it makes websites TOO easy to build and put manage.

I love Dreamweaver too.

Every program will have flaws or does not do things the way you want them to work. Dreamweaver, which you have experience with, has a 30 day time-bomb trial full-feature version.

Frontpage comes with most(all) versions of Office now. If you use Frontpage you need to make sure that your server has the current extensions installed.

Both programs are great for beginners.
I believe that Mozilla has a good editor built in, when you load the full program. I don't think it has management built in it though.

If you are a student you can get the Academic versions of the Macromedia programs for a fraction of retail($99). And if you are not, some computer shows have vendors who sell Academic versions to non-students. You said 'Dreamweaver like', which implied that there was a reason for not getting Dreamweaver itself, the only reason for not getting Dreamweaver is cost...($400 retail).

Dennis
11-30-2003, 11:04 PM
Yup, the $400 was it. I could probably swing an Academic version though..