Some Basic Questions.

[fivetoadsloth]

A friend of our family's asked me to make a site for his business. He realizes I am no pro but offered me the opportunity, and depending on what I will come up with he will than hire a professional. I do know some html/css but my idea was to make a very basic site in iWeb export to folder and than edit the source to make some rather large adjustments. I would rather not spend any money on this so investing in more sophisticated software is out of the question. I realize I will get many "Why not just let a web designer do it?" But if nothing else this will be a learning experience. MY question to you is:

Would this system even work?

What makes a site look "professional"?

Any other tips at all?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ppc_michael]

Would this system even work?
In theory, but I don't think it's a good idea. Have you looked at HTML generated by iWeb before? It's pretty crazy. It would make editing harder than just starting from scratch. Additionally, iWeb turns some formatted text into images, which would be hard to keep track of manually.

What makes a site look "professional"?
Experience and knowledge. I can't answer that question directly, but basically, pick a font and stick with it, don't use crazy colors, animated GIFs are bad, and so is intrusive use of Javascript. Best thing would be to look around at some existing sites you think are professional, analyze them and maybe be inspired by them. (but don't copy, that's the least professional of all)

Any other tips at all?
Keep browser compatibility high in your priorities. When I'm working on a site, I have it open in Safari, Mozilla, and Opera, as well as *gasp* Internet Explorer 6 (running in Parallels). Always check your site in at least those browsers before you consider it finished.

Also, it's an extremely good idea to validate your code to make sure it complies with standards.

Good luck!

 

[fivetoadsloth]

Would this system even work?
In theory, but I don't think it's a good idea. Have you looked at HTML generated by iWeb before? It's pretty crazy. It would make editing harder than just starting from scratch. Additionally, iWeb turns some formatted text into images, which would be hard to keep track of manually.

What makes a site look "professional"?
Experience and knowledge. I can't answer that question directly, but basically, pick a font and stick with it, don't use crazy colors, animated GIFs are bad, and so is intrusive use of Javascript. Best thing would be to look around at some existing sites you think are professional, analyze them and maybe be inspired by them. (but don't copy, that's the least professional of all)

Any other tips at all?
Keep browser compatibility high in your priorities. When I'm working on a site, I have it open in Safari, Mozilla, and Opera, as well as *gasp* Internet Explorer 6 (running in Parallels). Always check your site in at least those browsers before you consider it finished.

Also, it's an extremely good idea to validate your code to make sure it complies with standards.

Good luck!

Thanks a lot, that was really helpful. A couple comments, Yes I saw the code iWeb generates it is pretty atrocious. Are there any similiar programs that generate more useable code that are free, or almost free? Thanks a lot for the that it was quite helpful.

Also, the validator found 4 errors in the apple homepage. ) Looking at what It looks like it is just places Apple "bent" the rules.

 

[ppc_michael]

Are there any similiar programs that generate more useable code that are free, or almost free?

I personally really like writing code from scratch, you should really consider it because you have so much more control (and understanding) of the code. But I do know it can be a hassle sometimes. My girlfriend took some web design class for a college course, and they had her using Nvu (free, open source, cross-platform). I think the UI is pretty horrible, but as far as I know, it's the closest free thing to Dreamweaver.

 

[zimv20]

depending on what I will come up with he will than hire a professional

what does this mean, that the pro will take what you've started and build on it? surely, anyone hired professionally will want to start from scratch, to use his/her tools, techniques, approach, standards, etc.

What makes a site look "professional"?

it's more than the look, it's also how the user interacts with the site. so information presentation, workflow, operability and features are just as important as to how it looks.

it's great that you want to start building sites, but i wouldn't start off with something where the expectation is it will end up being used in a "professional" context (whatever that means).

 

[fivetoadsloth]

what does this mean, that the pro will take what you've started and build on it? surely, anyone hired professionally will want to start from scratch, to use his/her tools, techniques, approach, standards, etc.


it's more than the look, it's also how the user interacts with the site. so information presentation, workflow, operability and features are just as important as to how it looks.

it's great that you want to start building sites, but i wouldn't start off with something where the expectation is it will end up being used in a "professional" context (whatever that means).

Sorry for the Misunderstanding. No The professional would not take have. He just suggested I could give it a shot, He will almost surely be hiring someone else to do the job, and I am treating it as a learning experience. I would like to be proficient in html/css/etc but have no plans of a career in it. I have helped a number of people with smaller web projects, but never anything really big. I have started from scratch a couple times but never on a big thing. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[toddburch]

I'm a geek too.