Web Authoring Software Suggestions?

[David Kaye]

Okay, I have either hand-coded web pages back in the day when they were
understandable, or I've used Microsoft Front Page, a fairly intuitive
authoring program that came as part of MS Office. Okay, they've replaced it
with MS Publisher, which I don't like as much, so I'm looking around for
something else to use.

The basics: I need to be able to fix and update web pages, so direct HTML
access is important (a pleasure with the 3 views (authoring, HTML, and
Preview) that Frontpage had).

But I also need something where I can apply some very nice looking templates
and generate stuff quickly. This is where MS Publisher and Frontpage let me
down. They're dull, not very changeable, and they don't sparkle.

Here are some examples of what I'm talking about:
http://www.sfgames.org/ was done with no Frontpage template, but took some
time to get it right;

This next one is closer to what I want to do. I used a Frontpage template
but it took forever to get it right. Also, if I go back and change
something, Frontpage threatens to reformat it back to the original template,
thus I have to edit the html parts directly to be sure it doesn't revert:
http://www.robodj.com/

So, any ideas? Since I'm not intending to be a fulltime web developer I'd
prefer to use something easier than Dream Weaver. I've looked at it and the
learning curve is just too steep for me now.

Ideas?




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[Bhairitu]

Post by David Kaye
Okay, I have either hand-coded web pages back in the day when they were
understandable, or I've used Microsoft Front Page, a fairly intuitive
authoring program that came as part of MS Office. Okay, they've replaced it
with MS Publisher, which I don't like as much, so I'm looking around for
something else to use.
The basics: I need to be able to fix and update web pages, so direct HTML
access is important (a pleasure with the 3 views (authoring, HTML, and
Preview) that Frontpage had).
But I also need something where I can apply some very nice looking templates
and generate stuff quickly. This is where MS Publisher and Frontpage let me
down. They're dull, not very changeable, and they don't sparkle.
http://www.sfgames.org/ was done with no Frontpage template, but took some
time to get it right;
This next one is closer to what I want to do. I used a Frontpage template
but it took forever to get it right. Also, if I go back and change
something, Frontpage threatens to reformat it back to the original template,
http://www.robodj.com/
So, any ideas? Since I'm not intending to be a fulltime web developer I'd
prefer to use something easier than Dream Weaver. I've looked at it and the
learning curve is just too steep for me now.
Ideas?
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You looking for a CMS? I have been playing with Joomla. My current
sites have been done by hand with PHP and HTML with the PHP serving
items as HTML in the site via PHP. Joomla in a way seems like overkill
but does do something easy I wanted to do: one site for PC and mobile.
It's also free.

[David Kaye]

You looking for a CMS? I have been playing with Joomla. My current sites
have been done by hand with PHP and HTML with the PHP serving items as
HTML in the site via PHP. Joomla in a way seems like overkill but does do
something easy I wanted to do: one site for PC and mobile. It's also free.

Thanks! I'll look into it.




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This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
http://www.avast.com

[Thad Floryan]

Post by Bhairitu
[...]
You looking for a CMS? I have been playing with Joomla. My current
sites have been done by hand with PHP and HTML with the PHP serving
items as HTML in the site via PHP. Joomla in a way seems like overkill
but does do something easy I wanted to do: one site for PC and mobile.
It's also free.

Interesting. I didn't know what Joomla did and a quick
Google search found these on the first page of hits:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joomla

Joomla! Documentation
http://docs.joomla.org/

qlwiki - Joomla! Extensions Directory
http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/social-web/social-edition/wiki-integration/23266

Joomla (Wiki) setup in 10 minutes! | Life in the fast lane...
http://shoaibmir.wordpress.com/2010/05/28/joomla-wiki-setup-in-10-minutes/

Joomla! 1.5 Cookbook
12.6MB, 340 pages:
http://e-psso.zapto.org/ebooks/Joomla/Joomla_Cookbook.pdf

Joomla! Search Engine Optimization
4.56MB, 116 pages:
http://dl.it-college.org/download/ebook/open%20source/joomla.pdf

Comparing Joomla, Drupal, Wordpress
416kB, 5 pages:
http://core.kmi.open.ac.uk/download/pdf/960655.pdf

The Complete Beginner's Guide to Joomla
2.51MB, 41 pages:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/complete-beginners-guide-joomla-pdf/

Thad

[Thad Floryan]

Post by Thad Floryan
[...]
Interesting. I didn't know what Joomla did and a quick
[...]

I actually combined today's Google search with results stored
in a file from way back in 2011. Some of the URLs are no longer
good and I was surprised to find MakeUseOf's book here today:

http://manuals.makeuseof.com.s3.amazonaws.com/for-mobile/Joomla-Guide-Final.pdf

I do have a copy of the comparing Joomla, Drupal and Wordpress
document here for download:

http://thadlabs.com/FILES/comparing_Joomla_Drupal_Wordpress.pdf

I should have verified *ALL* the URLs first -- the several I tested
were fine; sorry 'bout that.

Thad

[Bhairitu]

Post by Thad Floryan

Post by Bhairitu
[...]
You looking for a CMS? I have been playing with Joomla. My current
sites have been done by hand with PHP and HTML with the PHP serving
items as HTML in the site via PHP. Joomla in a way seems like overkill
but does do something easy I wanted to do: one site for PC and mobile.
It's also free.

Interesting. I didn't know what Joomla did and a quick
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joomla
Joomla! Documentation
http://docs.joomla.org/
qlwiki - Joomla! Extensions Directory
http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/social-web/social-edition/wiki-integration/23266
Joomla (Wiki) setup in 10 minutes! | Life in the fast lane...
http://shoaibmir.wordpress.com/2010/05/28/joomla-wiki-setup-in-10-minutes/
Joomla! 1.5 Cookbook
http://e-psso.zapto.org/ebooks/Joomla/Joomla_Cookbook.pdf
Joomla! Search Engine Optimization
http://dl.it-college.org/download/ebook/open%20source/joomla.pdf
Comparing Joomla, Drupal, Wordpress
http://core.kmi.open.ac.uk/download/pdf/960655.pdf
The Complete Beginner's Guide to Joomla
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/complete-beginners-guide-joomla-pdf/
Thad

I'm also using the free version of the Sourcerer extension to run some
PHP code that generates HTML that I want in the site since it is also in
the current site.

http://www.nonumber.nl/extensions/sourcerer

Currently running Joomla on a Linux machine with Apache server and when
my test site is ready there some easy steps to put it on the hosting
service (we'll see about that).

I did have to mess around with permissions in my Joomla directory to get
things working right. You may have to go as far as 777 then change them
back when publishing to the web.

Some of the third party blogs and wiki may be better at explaining
things than Joomla's own documentation (typical with open source software).

[Travis James]

Post by Bhairitu

Post by David Kaye
Okay, I have either hand-coded web pages back in the day when they were
understandable, or I've used Microsoft Front Page, a fairly intuitive
authoring program that came as part of MS Office. Okay, they've replaced it
with MS Publisher, which I don't like as much, so I'm looking around for
something else to use.
The basics: I need to be able to fix and update web pages, so direct HTML
access is important (a pleasure with the 3 views (authoring, HTML, and
Preview) that Frontpage had).
But I also need something where I can apply some very nice looking templates
and generate stuff quickly. This is where MS Publisher and Frontpage let me
down. They're dull, not very changeable, and they don't sparkle.

You looking for a CMS? I have been playing with Joomla. My current
sites have been done by hand with PHP and HTML with the PHP serving
items as HTML in the site via PHP. Joomla in a way seems like overkill
but does do something easy I wanted to do: one site for PC and mobile.
It's also free.

If you're comfortable with HTML and CSS, not crazy stuff, basic use,
consider hand building using Bootstrap as your guide.

http://getbootstrap.com

Read the first page and then the sections about the nav bar and the grid
system. Try some of the examples. The beauty of it is, you start with
their standard setup and then override CSS to your personal preference.
If you use the grid the right way, it all looks great on mobile and
tablet too. By the way, Google Chrome Canary is a great test browser.
You can quickly test look and feel on many devices. Firefox has that
too, but I find Canary is a bit better.

Assuming your web host has FTP or SSH access to the pages, get an
account at http://codeanywhere.com and you have a ready to go online
editor any time you need. (I use it all the time -- free!)

Anyway, just another angle to consider.

[Bhairitu]

Post by Travis James

Post by Bhairitu

Post by David Kaye
Okay, I have either hand-coded web pages back in the day when they were
understandable, or I've used Microsoft Front Page, a fairly intuitive
authoring program that came as part of MS Office. Okay, they've replaced it
with MS Publisher, which I don't like as much, so I'm looking around for
something else to use.
The basics: I need to be able to fix and update web pages, so direct HTML
access is important (a pleasure with the 3 views (authoring, HTML, and
Preview) that Frontpage had).
But I also need something where I can apply some very nice looking templates
and generate stuff quickly. This is where MS Publisher and Frontpage let me
down. They're dull, not very changeable, and they don't sparkle.

You looking for a CMS? I have been playing with Joomla. My current
sites have been done by hand with PHP and HTML with the PHP serving
items as HTML in the site via PHP. Joomla in a way seems like overkill
but does do something easy I wanted to do: one site for PC and mobile.
It's also free.

If you're comfortable with HTML and CSS, not crazy stuff, basic use,
consider hand building using Bootstrap as your guide.
http://getbootstrap.com
Read the first page and then the sections about the nav bar and the grid
system. Try some of the examples. The beauty of it is, you start with
their standard setup and then override CSS to your personal preference.
If you use the grid the right way, it all looks great on mobile and
tablet too. By the way, Google Chrome Canary is a great test browser.
You can quickly test look and feel on many devices. Firefox has that
too, but I find Canary is a bit better.
Assuming your web host has FTP or SSH access to the pages, get an
account at http://codeanywhere.com and you have a ready to go online
editor any time you need. (I use it all the time -- free!)
Anyway, just another angle to consider.

Thanks. I downloaded it and have been playing with it. I've written
apps in HTML5/JS and JQuery. Like I said Joomla seems a bit overkill
(its fairly large too). The nice thing about Joomla is that your
content is all stored in an mySQL database. Bootstrap it's separate
pages again but you can probably be clever with it. I don't know as all
I've looked at are the examples and run them in a directory on my server.

[Peter Lawrence]

You looking for a CMS? I have been playing with Joomla. My current sites
have been done by hand with PHP and HTML with the PHP serving items as HTML
in the site via PHP. Joomla in a way seems like overkill but does do
something easy I wanted to do: one site for PC and mobile. It's also free.

How does Joomla compare to Drupal?

https://www.drupal.org/


- Peter

[Thad Floryan]

Post by Peter Lawrence

You looking for a CMS? I have been playing with Joomla. My current sites
have been done by hand with PHP and HTML with the PHP serving items as HTML
in the site via PHP. Joomla in a way seems like overkill but does do
something easy I wanted to do: one site for PC and mobile. It's also free.

How does Joomla compare to Drupal?
https://www.drupal.org/

Hi Peter,

In case you missed it:

" I do have a copy of the comparing Joomla, Drupal and Wordpress
" document here for download:
"
" http://thadlabs.com/FILES/comparing_Joomla_Drupal_Wordpress.pdf

Thad

[Peter Lawrence]

Post by Thad Floryan

Post by Peter Lawrence

You looking for a CMS? I have been playing with Joomla. My current sites
have been done by hand with PHP and HTML with the PHP serving items as HTML
in the site via PHP. Joomla in a way seems like overkill but does do
something easy I wanted to do: one site for PC and mobile. It's also free.

How does Joomla compare to Drupal?
https://www.drupal.org/

Hi Peter,
" I do have a copy of the comparing Joomla, Drupal and Wordpress
"
" http://thadlabs.com/FILES/comparing_Joomla_Drupal_Wordpress.pdf
Thad

I did miss it among the links you had already posted. Thanks for the reminder!


- Peter

[Eric Weaver]

Post by Peter Lawrence

You looking for a CMS? I have been playing with Joomla. My current sites
have been done by hand with PHP and HTML with the PHP serving items as HTML
in the site via PHP. Joomla in a way seems like overkill but does do
something easy I wanted to do: one site for PC and mobile. It's also free.

How does Joomla compare to Drupal?
https://www.drupal.org/

Executive Summary: Joomla is better for simple stuff that will stay
pretty simple. Drupal is more work to set up, but expands better into
more sophisticated things.

At least the last time I looked at them.