Website Software

[Steve]

Hi folks,

A co-worker asked for my opinion on what software programs are available for creating websites. Since I have absolutely no experience with this, I said I would ask.

He wants to create a website for a medium size construction firm. He is internet savy. Smart. And I figure can handle middle of the road to advanced software.

Does anyone have a recommendation?

TIA :)

[Paul Komski]

Some reviews that maybe worth reading HERE (http://www.webdevelopersjournal.com/software/softlead.html)

I think there are only two serious contenders for a professional looking DIY website. FrontPage2000 and Dreamweaver3. FP is good if you want to integrate well with other M$ apps but it is (obviously) geared towards M$ and the use of IE for browsing. FP can sometimes change HTML tags that you have written without telling you.

The complexity of the site is more relevant than the size of the company and also whether it is going to be interactive in any way or just a source of information.

[Steve]

Thank you Paul,

I appreciate the info. I can now sound alittle more knowledgeable on Monday! I don't know if the site will be interactive or not, but knowing this guy, there WILL be a website before to long!

Any more tips? :)

[JUAN DOS]

Try the web site creation tools within MS Word 2000, or MS publisher 2000. I’ve used them successfully for basic sites.

[Paul Komski]

Yep. Publisher can set up a nice basic site very quickly using its wizards. Adding specific HTML is done in a fragmented way, which can be a bit of a drawback if this is required.

If not already done, then get him to do a lot of research on who to get to host the site and who to register any domain name with. Particularly so if they will eventually be using asp, cgi/perl, php, frontpage server extensions, secure pages, email servers or sql databases. Other considerations in this area are whether the hosts provide a static IP address and the use of sub-domain/host names.

Websites themselves can be moved around easily enough but getting the domain name moved or using redirection may be subject to various delays; from hours to sixty days.

THIS (http://www.webhostmagazine.com/) will give you a few leads. A good starting point can be to register a domain name with a Web Host Manager - but check whether they will allow both direct redirection AND url-masking. Both have their advantages/disadvantages. That way it is easy to try-out a number of different webhosts (loads of free ones + a banner ad). Only disadvantage is that you may miss-out on a good deal when registering a domain name when you sign up to the definitive web host.

Be wary of registering with joker.com. They have been accused of bumping-up the domain name registration charges on renewal and making it very difficult to move the domain name away from them.

[Steve]

Thanks for the replies. I'll pass on all the info. I guess the guestion of registering and hosting will be coming up in a while. ;)

Thanks for the link, Paul. Looks like lots of good info. :)

[Paul Komski]

The reason I brought in hosting at this stage is that although you can setup the way a site will look on your own pc, you won't be able to test things like simple form submissions without the site being on a server somewhere. ;)

[Steve]

Oh, OK. I see. Very good point. It's info like that, that you only get from someone experienced. :) I'll make sure I pass that on. Thanks.

[Mitch Hatfield]

Hi Steve

I've looked at quite a few FREEE Web Hosts and I like Tripod, which is associated with Lycos. See: www.tripod.lycos.com/

Quite a few Hosts are less than hospitable!! These are more trouble than they are worth, especially if -like me - your friend is just feeling his/her way into Web sites.

Hope this helps :) :)

[Steve]

Hi Mitch,

That's a very interesting site. I have a question. Would it be better for him to buy a software program, like Dreamweaver, to create the site or use the site building tools provided by the host? What are the pros and cons here?

TIA :)

[david eaton]

Steve Using the tools found on these webhosts can be a bit limiting, and make use of a template that is used by a lot of other people. Using a program on your own machine, and uploading the finished pages lets you design them the way YOU want.

As far as software is concerned, no good asking me! If it can't be done with notepad and Paint Shop Pro - It won't get done! :D

Seriously though, if you have the time, notepad is a really good way of writing HTML. No excess coding/ non-standard tricks, and a page that will display on ANY browser.

David

[Steve]

Thanks David,

That's sort of what I was thinking. The provided tools are probably helpful, but limited. I'll let him decide. I'll even suggest that he learn HTML and use Notepad! Although I think that might not be his solution. :rolleyes:

Thanks again :)

[Mitch Hatfield]

Hi again Steve

As David implies, there are drawbacks in taking the "easy" route, not the least of which using templates and looking like a lot of other sites.

At the end of the day, it's all about choice, for the short run and the long run.

Put more simply., it depends your colleague is more interested in having a web site - and soon - than in learning to build his own - and that probably takes him/her to Dreamweaver.

It's a bit like a PC really - buy or build????

Anyway, I took the easy option, with the proviso that I'll learn all about HTML et al, later - much later!:D :D

[Steve]

Thanks Mitch,

I'll fill him with ALL of this info and see what he comes up with. He's a "go for it" kind of guy and I'm sure he'll put this information to good use.

Thanks again...:)

[Paul Komski]

Using "software" provided by such websites is not only limiting but they may also force one to edit one's own pages via their website (sometimes only when you are on-line) and not by uploading/downloading directly. Working on such sites offline is often difficult. Their "embellishments" can also lead to unnecessarily large pages, which are slow to load, etc.

The ability to keep a mirror of one's whole site on your hard drive allows one to work away offline. If you are using apps like FrontPage, there are also great navigation aids that allow the customisation of navigation toolbars on every page.

I have found http://netfirms.com/ (but they don't support asp pages, which I now want to work with) pretty good and they let you take control of your own site; they are free as long as you show their banner ad; $5/month to remove it.

[mjc]

I kind of remember earlier in this thread, something about the site being for a construction company...so since this site is going to be for a business, you might want to consider a low cost, paid hosting service. One of the worst things to encounter on a business site is a host of pop-up, pop-unders, banners, etc. Free hosting is ok for personal sites, but not really good for business.

[Paul Komski]

Couldn't agree more. There are so many free webhosts (http://www.google.com/search?q=free+webhosting&sourceid=opera&num=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8) out there, that it, paradoxically, makes choosing one problematic in itself. The one I suggested doesn't require you to register a domain name (so you can start-off with one of their free subdomains) and only has one discreet banner ad. So it is a good starting point for testing things out. You can always get your own domain name when you are ready, remove the banner ad for a small charge or move elsewhere if you are not happy.

I used to think geocities were good value, but they are no longer free if you wish to upload using your own ftp or want to use more elaborate methods on their server.

If there are other free hosts that peeps can recommend; I for one would love to check them out.

[Steve]

Hi folks,

Thanks for the replies so far. I talked to him today and he said that he had spent the weekend researching the project. He has decided on Dreamweaver for the software and is picking it up today.

He looked a little shell shocked as we talked about the hosting, but realizes the importance of deciding rather soon. He definately doesn't want anyones banner adds on the site, so we're gonna spend a few days looking into hosting. I even suggested that he get intouch with Pair, IXL's host. :)

[Paul Komski]

:D Just to add another hosting option. If the firm was by any chance going to be on-line 24/7, they could always host the site on their own server; of course they would have to know how to administer it.

LOL This is just one of my current projects; and I sure do keep getting stuck! ;)

[Steve]

Hi Paul,

Yes. The plan is to have the site up 24/7. This is a medium sized company. Does about $10 million in buisness a year. They do have a server and buisness network set up. What would it entail for them to host their own site?

TIA :)

[Paul Komski]

He he. I am going to rapidly get "out of my depth" if I'm not careful as this is fairly new to me and I am also an amateur at networking. Basically one would need the correct/preferred server software installed and this is generally WinNT or Linux/Unix based.

One can setup a single website using Win2K and multiple sites using Win2K-Server. Due attention would also need to be given to how it integrates with any intranet and to any security issues/firewalls etc. There are also other third parties (such as apache for example) that make such software.

One could also have a mirror site on the web (and also redirect to that mirror when doing any website housekeeping on one's own server) or use the "mirror" as the definitive site till one is properly setup oneself.

[Steve]

We are definately over my head here, but it is something I'll tell him about. We'll see just how deep he wants to go, here...;)

Thanks again. :)

[Paul Komski]

Well with Win2K (presumably XP too) one could set up MWS/IIS just to work-on and test ones own website - without actually publishing it on the net. This would enable one to test such things as mail servers, form submissions and even a BBS/Forum, without having to try them out in real time on the net. This is the stage I am reaching; but for me to try to have a server on my slow dial-up would be a non-starter - apart from the cost of being constantly on-line - and I expect that I would also need the co-operation of my ISP.

[Steve]

Yeh, I don't even know what kind of ISP they have. But it is an option I'll point out. :)

[sleddog]

If I may offer a humble opinion here it would be: do NOT set-up an Internet-accessible webserver on your company network. Doing so would open up your network to very serious (potential) security breaches. A company's LAN is critical for business. Protecting the LAN from intrusions should always be the top priority.

A company that does $10 million annual business can well afford to invest a couple hundred dollars per year in professional web hosting. Select a reputable web hosting company and let them worry about Internet security! There are many reputable and affordable hosting companies; I use and can recommend Site5 (http://www.site5.com).

By all means install a webserver (IIS or whatever) on the LAN for development and testing of server-sided pages, but be absolutely sure that that webserver is inaccessible from the Internet.

[Steve]

Sleddog,

Very good point! I'll pass that along. Hosting IS the most probable decision. I don't think the money is going to be a point. ;)

Thanks for the link. Looks good. :)