Is there a program that I could open my existing wordpress site in and visually edit it? Like not have to code very much. Not dreamweaver though.
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Wordpress real time editor
- Thread starter Rob587
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I believe what he would like to do is edit the look of his website using a visual editor (think FrontPage). Insofar as that is concerned, I am unaware of any such app. Have you looked through the themes directory? There is quite a collection of them at this point and a few Google searches will yield even more results. Other than that, you may want to start reading up on the way WordPress themes are handled by the software and what coding would be necessary to make your own (yes, there will be coding involved).
There is actually a piece of software which will let you creat a wordpress theme in a similar way to frontpage. Though it is Windows only and whilst the themes aren't bad that it produces, you can tell they've been made by it. It's called Artisteer. If you've got a Windows machine or an install of some kind on your mac via virtualisation or bootcamp, it might be worth a look - I think there is a demo.
Let us know how you get on!
/Doug
I have two solutions for you!
#1 An online WYSIWYG WordPress theme editor
From the page promoting the online software:
"...lets you tweak every nook and cranny of a theme then spit it back to your server to go live. You can add columns, change fonts and backgrounds, even throw in a customizable tag cloud--all with no coding experience required. All you need is a little creativity and some working knowledge of drop-down menus."
#2 Adobe ThemeWeaver (it's a Dreamweaver extension)
From the page promoting the downloadable software extension to DW:
"...you can edit a WordPress theme instantly in realtime. No server configuration is needed and you can work offline. Now you can use Dreamweaver’s powerful design tools to edit, enhance, customize and create personalized WordPress theme."
I know you said no DW, but I assume you have DW and hate the design view mode like most people. This extension makes theme editing much easier, so it's one of the most powerful techniques out there to do EXACTLY what you want to do. If you don't have DW, follow the other advice posted by me and others, of course.
-jim
With MAMP and Wordpress you can edit the CSS file and refresh in the browser window. It's virtually the same thing as live editing.
Possibly this is the best advice overall, because essentially the OP would be setting up a local sandbox on their Mac so they can test and tweak the design, then simply publish it back to the webhost when completed. Live editing is not always the best thing for complex edits - unless the editing interface on the back end or admin screen has a preview, which is very rare. For simple editing, no prob.
Hmmm... just thought of another way... Faking a preview can be done, too, i.e. copy the default theme with another name and assign to the admin account only for editing/view. Then when done editing make it the default them again for all users. Get the idea?
-jim
Duplicating a theme (renamed) is a good idea when you want to edit right off the server.
I edit my wordpress theme using MoWes Portable which I ran on my USB (thus I can work wherever I am and even on different computers). And just re-upload the edited theme when I'm done with it.
Yes, Artisteer so far is the only software I know that you can use to visually edit wp themes. It's demo version is unusable (unless you just use if for learning purposes) because its output is watermarked.
I edit my wordpress theme using MoWes Portable which I ran on my USB (thus I can work wherever I am and even on different computers). And just re-upload the edited theme when I'm done with it.
Yes, Artisteer so far is the only software I know that you can use to visually edit wp themes. It's demo version is unusable (unless you just use if for learning purposes) because its output is watermarked.