Easy way to create a professional-looking website for newbies

by 21 replies
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I came across the following:

1. I don't have the time to muck around with Dreamweaver even though I got the proggie

So which of the above would you recommend me? (Or any other alternatives you may know of).

Cheers.
#website design #create #easy #newbies #professionallooking #website
  • I wouldn't use any of these I'm afraid, I'd get a tutorial on how to create websites with html and css and learn to do it the proper way.

    Other way is to install Wordpress/Joomla and get a good looking free template.
  • The "easiest" way to make professional looking sites, is with knowledge. Or, with money. The tools used are ultimately not very important. All the software I use, except for Photoshop, is free software.
    • [1] reply
    • Thanks for your tips, guys.


      Care to share here which are they?


      Thanks.
  • take the time to learn wordpress - you can find lots of turtorial for free.
    it is the go to tool in the IM world, so you will be using it and running into it quite a bit.
  • Hav you tried Xsitepro latest version? Easy to use and it comes with many free templates!
  • To edit code, I use Aptana, which is a based on Eclipse. If I need to read Word documents or do anything with PDFs, I use the Open Office suite.

    Sometimes if I don't want to start a complete project in my editor, I'll use a separate FTP program, Filezilla. To make SSH connections, I use Putty. My SVN client is Tortoise.

    I don't really have other tools, besides Photoshop. I could use the GIMP instead of Photoshop, but Photoshop is just so darn good.
  • Oh yeah, and I almost forgot. I have a free copy of Apache installed on my computer. This allows me to occasionally test PHP and other files locally so that I don't need to upload my code to a server to know it works.
  • i'm also a newbie in making a website...thank you guys for all helpful tips!
    • [1] reply
    • If you have Dreamweaver, then you're all set! You don't even have to know CSS, just know how to link and create the js files within Dreamweaver. I'll put together a quick Camtasia for you this wekend if you'd like... I've created so many sites it's like being on autopilot now.

      With that said, I want to make clear that I have no present intention to monetize this - i just happen to know how to do it since I created massive amounts of sites for several record labels... then when I got into IM, these sites are cake compared to artist sites. What I do is voiceovers and that takes up enough of my time. OK - disclosure over... LOL
  • Try Sitegrinder
    It is a plugin for photoshop
    You can make a website directly from photoshop with this plugin.
    Once you have done design in photoshop, the plugin will convert it into xhtml and css files.
  • I would strongly advise that you bite the bullet and learn WordPress. In the long run the time you invest in becoming proficient with WordPress will pay itself back. It is quickly becoming the platform of choice for most Internet Marketers and if you're serious about this business you'll eventually be using it.

    It is very easy to learn, it's included with many hosting plans and there are thousands of resources on the web to help you along. There are more free themes and plugins than you'll ever need. And Google is very fond of WordPress installations.

    Trust me, learn WordPress and you won't regret it!

    Bill
    • [3] replies
    • I have used synthasite and I would say it is great however the templates are limited. I came across 90secondwebsite builder and tried it and the results are nothing but amazing. I am building professional looking websites to local business owners with good results besides the fact that my html knowledge is very limited.

    • That will be nice. Thanks for that.




      Which version? .org or .com?

      Don't mention wordpress direct because I don't like it, I am not into splogging.

      Cheers.
      • [2] replies
    • I second that, you can have a site running in minutes and then the look can evolve as you learn more without needing any special software or tools.
  • I would highly recommend using Wordpress on your own server... Install it.. and go theu the admin panel .. Its very easy to get the hang of it .. IMHO the learning curve with wordpress is not that steep compared to Joomla ... there are several help forums and if u ever get stuck u can Google up the problem and U ll get millions of support pages... Plus WP has several handy plugins which make life much easier... Hope that Helps!! Cheers!
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    • [1] reply
    • What is cpanel hosting and what it is used for?

      cPanel - The Leading Control Panel

      I mean is this a web hosting service that offers extra stuff. Enlighten me a bit please.



      I know and very aware of it, but I prefer to have control over my product.

      Very aware as well. I am going to get started with Dreamweaver which I heard is an excellent WYSIWYG tool but probably nothing comparable to coding. Anyway I don't have the time to become a computer rat so I stick to prepacked tools like that one.


      Thanks to everyone who has replied in this thread so far.
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  • Don't use any of those please. Just use dreamweaver or you can also use wordpress. Some will even use just notepad and photoshop. Any which way, I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot of tutorials.
  • NO.

    Cheers.
  • I use wordpress mainly with custom templates...
    Recently I tried Interspire Web Publisher and found it to be great!
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