[G4] Safari web site troubles

[Tony Johansen]

On 25/7/2006 6:17 AM, "Richard Ramsowr" <r.ramsowr at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> BY THE WAY TONY...
> 
> What software did you use to build your web site?
> It's good looking! 'm looking for a good low cost
> software solution for my business site. And I don'r
> have much experence in wes site building.


Rich,
Like with anything, there is a learning curve, but it is not so steep as
many people imagine.

Firstly go to a computer bookstore and find a good book on web page building
basics. Sam's Teach Yourself To Create Web Pages in 24 Hrs is good but
getting so long in the tooth that it may not be printed anymore. The basics
haven't changed however.

Second, make sure you have Netscape installed. It has a built in WYSIWYG
editor called Composer that is free, and can do 95% to 100% of what you need
to do. You will discover that even if you get an expensive programme that
you will still use the Composer just because it is so easy and fun to use.

Do you have either Adobe creative suite or Macromedia Studio? Because to get
a bit more sophisticated you will need either Go Live or DreamWeaver, but
they are not essential, especially at first.

Flash is used to create moving effects but as you can buy templates with
Flash animations already made, having and learning the app is not essential.
Swish is an easier to learn alternative if you have a Windows machine.

Images need to be reduced below normal jpeg levels. Photoshop has an extra
program called Image Ready for doing this although the absolute best is to
have MM Fireworks which can squeeze files to the smallest possible size.
However, this is not essential as Photoshop has a fairly good built in 'Save
for Web' function.

Planning is the essential component of web design. Though not essential,
Inspiration at   http://www.inspiration.com/home.cfm    is an education
oriented (but great for the rest of us too) mind mapping app, has an
excellent built in section for planning web sites. Download the 30 day free
trial and try it. I find mapping web sites hugely valuable.

Best advice: Keep it simple, don't go for too many flashy effects, use a
template, expect to use up lots of time, don't believe people who swear that
you have to have the most expensive gear.

Start with a book ($30), a good template ($20 - $70), Composer (free), and a
mind map (free trial then $70), and add other things later if you think it
necessary.

Best result: You will gain a degree of real control over your best marketing
tool that cannot be bought at any price.

Tony