whats a good web-building software for a novice?

backtothefuture · 03-05-2009, 13:08

Per title, looking for a good website building software, should be simple to use but powerful enough to incorporate snazzy menus, multiple webpages, media content etc

any suggestions?

thanks!

slh · 03-05-2009, 16:38

a website is normally a combination of the following componants: html, css, flash, javascript and a server side programming language eg PHP

there are lots of development environments you can use but ive never come accross one that just gives me full drag n drop WYSIWYG control without needing to understand the underlying technologies used to build the site. which is what it sounds to me like you're after. is this the case?

nigel_williams · 03-05-2009, 17:09

Might be worth looking at a content management system like Wordpress. You can customise the layout considerably using many themes and it will support all the media types you mention.

KeyserSoze · 03-05-2009, 18:44

I think Wordpress now includes a WYSIWYG editor.

slh · 03-05-2009, 19:09

i was thnking IDE, wordpress would be a good choice for an out-of-the-box website

backtothefuture · 04-05-2009, 03:15

yes WSIWYG drag and drop style is what I am really after

Guest 541 · 04-05-2009, 03:37

Check out Squarespace - http://www.squarespace.com

Chris Locke · 04-05-2009, 10:14

Serif WebPlus is free. Doesn't produce excellent results, but a fantastic WYSIWYG editor. Drag drop, etc. Lovely. You do have to register online though, and receive junk mails from Gizoo, but they can be stopped easily enough*.

http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/sof...us/default.asp

* You do get some nice offers though, eg, PagePlus X2 for �9, etc.

Guest 4088 · 04-05-2009, 11:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by AWaite

Check out Squarespace - http://www.squarespace.com

I haven't come across them before, but having just had a look, their own website isn't IE6 compatible which would worry me...

ozric99 · 04-05-2009, 13:51

As others have suggested, just use Wordpress.

If you want to start from scratch your best bet is a syntax highlighting editor like notepad++ and something to read like this. None of the pointy clicky website builders will teach you anything about what you're doing, the sites they make all look the same and will be utter pants.

backtothefuture · 04-05-2009, 16:35

cheers for the suggestions; I think I will use Wordpress for now for a quick fix website since need something to put up on a recently registered domain...

notepad++ is more of a long term learning investment, will use for future reference.

Guest 541 · 04-05-2009, 23:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by OliverScott

I haven't come across them before, but having just had a look, their own website isn't IE6 compatible which would worry me...

I didn't know that, but to be honest I couldn't really give a **** about people who use a broken browser which is now eight years old.

I realise other site's needs may be different...

Remains · 05-05-2009, 02:46

I just checked the stats for one of our websites and over 1500 unique visits came from IE6 users yesterday. 69% of visitors are using IE of which 23% are still using IE6.

If you're running a business that's a lot of potential customers you might be losing so don't underestimate the cross-browser compatibility.

But this is going slightly off on a tangent and yes, I would recommend Wordpress too as a great place to start a website from, especially if you install your own version on your server (as opposed to a hosted version).

backtothefuture · 06-05-2009, 13:34

it seems that Wordpress is a blogsite... i.e not a website building software... installed it on my server and all I get is a blog..?

Guest 58450 · 06-05-2009, 13:54

Worpress is a piece of blog software accessed via a CMS that can be used to create the sort of website you're talking about. There's nothing that will build you the website you want without you having to customise it and spend some time working on it I'm afraid, but a blog does a lot of what you need to do from the outset.

Guest 19474 · 06-05-2009, 14:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by OliverScott

I haven't come across them before, but having just had a look, their own website isn't IE6 compatible which would worry me...

From https://www.squarespace.com/signup/

"While we do not support system logins from IE6, all Squarespace accounts will be guaranteed to be readable from IE6 browsers for the foreseeable future"

Guest 4088 · 06-05-2009, 20:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrBoombastic

From https://www.squarespace.com/signup/

"While we do not support system logins from IE6, all Squarespace accounts will be guaranteed to be readable from IE6 browsers for the foreseeable future"

Hummm...

Just fired up a test virtual machine installed with a clean copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 2 running IE6:

The text on their front page doesn't fit very well, and more seriously their Examples page is missing the ability to scroll down to see 90% of the page!