Really cannot decide on a sitebuilding program

[JolieCat]

For days I've been reading everything I can on which sitebuilder to choose to continue maintaining my site, which has not been touched since I got my Mac in November.

I've downloaded Rapidweaver and Sandvox and each have their pros and cons. Sandvox was supereasy which was very appealing, but I have to make a lot of concessions. Rapidweaver was more flexible but I got frustrated very easily.

I'm coming from FrontPage2000 which I used for years and even though I'm drawn to anything that looks like FP, I have to confess I never really learned how to use that either and often found it confusing.

I looked at Kompozer, which apparently is the old Nvu, and that looked a little off-putting too. Maybe because it looked a lot like FP.

I honestly don't know what to do. I would rate my expertise and experience about a 5 on a scale of 10. Maybe a 6; I did take classes at a local computer center that were quite expensive but not sure how much stuck. I know a tiny bit of html and have about a half dozen books to refer to, but I really want something very easy BUT with some features on it like scrolling marquees, drop down menus (this is kind of a must, since it's a large site), the ability to embed YouTube, able to resize pix (apparently can't do that on Sandvox).

Aaaargh - tearing my hair out. Want to make a purchase but am so afraid of buying something I end up hating. I already have a great hosting company so I'm not changing -- just need new software to be able to update my site.

Thanks.

Jo

 

[miles01110]

Ability to embed youtube has little to do with the platform; all you have to do is copy/paste the code they give you next to each video....

 

[disconap]

I'd suggest spending your research time learning the basics of PHP and HTML. Not only will this allow you to build sites in a graphic program, then build the code yourself, but it will also help you decide which program works best for your needs...

 

[angelwatt]

You rate yourself a 5 or 6, yet only know a tiny bit of HTML. We must use very different scales. You really should learn HTML and CSS inside and out if you want to make a decent site. I use a text editor (BBEdit) and nothing visual. If you only work in a visual editor manner, you'll be limited in what you can create and stifle your learning. Apps that can go between visual and code views are decent though, like DreamWeaver.

For other app ideas check out the stickies in the web design and development forum here. There's lot of good resources there to help you learn the skills you need.

 

[disconap]

I'll second BBEdit.

And I'm with Angelwatt--learn the languages. You can learn HTML and CSS in a couple of days, and that's all you need for a static website. The only builder app I use is Flash, and I still generate the base code myself. It's not hard at all, there's a WORLD of difference between mark-up languages and, say, C++ as far as difficulty is concerned.

EDIT: also, for drop down boxes and the like, you can do that in HTML, DHTML, CSS, PHP, really almost any mark-up language. It's a matter of tags, as the browser generates the actual objects..

 

[JolieCat]

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, AngelWatt - I should have clarified my self-rating score - that's for visual editors. I have no experience with building sites from scratch and the only program I ever used before FrontPage was something called First Page which did require html and I nearly went bald over that one too. That's when I switched to FP.

I'll check out BBEdit. Dreamweaver is out as it is too expensive. And I'll check out the stickies on the web design forum.


And disconap, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I'm pretty sure it would take me more than a couple of days to learn html! You guys know what you're doing - I'm not in that league at all.

But I do have some books on html and I will start reading them again to see if it's less intimidating this time around.

Thanks for the feedback.

Jo

 

[disconap]

Honestly it took me less than a week to learn HTML from never having used it before while working full-time and living with a gf (so in my very limited spare time); I didn't even use a computer for most of it, just copied the structures and commands by hand into a notebook and then tried them out all together later. It's a very simple language and all you need to learn is the structure; I keep a commands "bible" at my desk to look up things when I need (or I google them). I used the SAMS "Teach Yourself HTML in 24 hours", it's 24 1-hour lessons. Most of the first 5-7 can be skipped if you've, like, ever used a computer.

 

[BlueRevolution]

I'm sorry, you can't rate yourself higher than 2/10 if you still think scrolling marquees are a good idea.

 

[JolieCat]

I'm sorry, you can't rate yourself higher than 2/10 if you still think scrolling marquees are a good idea.

BlueRevolution -- ROFL!!!

DiscoNap, I actually got my books out and I had also bought one of those html laminated cheat sheets and you're right. I even went into the source page on one of my pages I created with the Sandvox trial and changed some of the code to see if it worked and it did.

The book I have is called "Teach Yourself Visually HTML" and it's pretty thorough, plus it's got a jillion color pix which I need. I'm going to take it to bed tonight and maybe some of it will sink in as I sleep...

I'll check out the "Teach Yourself in 24 Hours" thing too.

Thanks.