Web Authoring Tools & TechniquesNow that you know the general steps required to build your Web site, it's time to take a look at the tools and techniques you can use to get the job done. The way I see it, there are two ways to go about creating Web pages: the hard way and the easy way. The Hard Way: Editing Raw HTMLThe hard way to create a Web page is by typing HTML tags and text into a text editor or word processor. If you take another look at Figure 8.2, you can get an idea of the kind of fun that would be. Tip To edit raw HTML, you need to know HTML. There are lots of books that can help you learn it, but one of the best for beginners is HTML 4 for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide , a Peachpit Press book by Elizabeth Castro. You can learn more about it at http://www.peachpit.com/books/catalog/K5950.html. If you know HTML and want to build Web pages the old fashioned way, you don't need special software. Any text editor ”such as WordPad on Windows or SimpleText on Mac OS ”will work. You could also use a word processor capable of saving documents as plain text ”like Microsoft Word. Just remember to save the finished HTML document with the correct filename extension: .html or .htm . The Easy Way: Web Authoring SoftwareIt may come as a surprise to you, but back when I started building Web sites in 1995, editing raw HTML was the only way to create a Web page. Then a little program called PageMill hit the scene. It revolutionized the way Web authors created pages by offering WYSIWYG editing. You'd build a Web page with a word processor-like interface and PageMill would write all the HTML code for you. WYSIWYG Stands for What You See Is What You Get. For Web authoring software, a feature that enables you to see how a Web page will look as you edit it.
Nowadays there are several software packages that do pretty much the same thing. Here's a quick look at them, along with information about where you can learn more. Adobe PageMillAdobe PageMill was the first of the WYSIWYG Web authoring packages and it still has a loyal user base. It's a great package for beginners because it's intuitive and extremely easy to use (see Figure 8.5). Its built-in site management and FTP capabilities, along with a "lite" version of Adobe Photoshop, make it an affordable solution for most basic Web authoring needs. Figure 5. PageMill's Edit mode offers a word processor-like interface for creating Web pages.
Site Management A feature of some Web authoring software that enables you to view and work with the organizational hierarchy of a Web site. PageMill doesn't support all of HTML 4.0 (the current version), but it does allow you to edit the HTML it writes to add unsupported tags and features. This makes PageMill reasonably powerful in the hands of someone who knows HTML.
Although PageMill has been officially discontinued by Adobe Systems (see sidebar "They're Not Dead Yet!"), you may still find it in stores or mail order catalogs. Learn more about it on the PageMill pages of the Adobe Systems Web site, http://www.adobe.com/products/pagemill/main.html. Tip If you're looking for a great book about using PageMill, I hope you'll check out PageMill 3 for Macintosh & Windows: Visual QuickStart Guide , a Peachpit Press book by yours truly. You can learn more about it at http://www.peachpit.com/books/catalog/K5900.html. FileMaker Home Page (formerly Claris Home Page)Claris Home Page was another one of the original WYSIWYG Web authoring packages. Since then, Claris Corporation has been dissolved back into Apple Computer, Inc. and Home Page was spit back out as part of the product line of the newly formed FileMaker, Inc. Like PageMill, Home Page doesn't support all of HTML 4.0, but it does offer built-in HTML editing. It has FTP capabilities, but not site management tools. As a Web authoring tool, it would probably have died by now if it wasn't for one great feature: built-in support for FileMaker Pro custom Web publishing commands known as Claris Dynamic Markup Language (CDML). This makes Home Page an indispensable tool for putting FileMaker Pro databases on the Web. Home Page is available for both Windows and Mac OS users. You can learn more about it on the Home Page pages of the FileMaker, Inc. Web site, http://www.filemaker.com/products/hp_home.html. Tip Looking for a book about Home Page? Try Claris Home Page 3 for Windows & Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide , a Peachpit Press book by Richard Fenno. To my knowledge, this is the only book available about the program. Learn about it at http://www.peachpit.com/books/catalog/69647.html. Microsoft FrontPageMicrosoft FrontPage is the third of the original three WYSIWYG Web authoring tools. Like PageMill, it offers an easy way to create Web pages, along with site management and FTP capabilities. But unlike PageMill, it supports all the current Web technologies, including HTML 4.0, DHTML, JavaScript, and more. That's a double-edged sword; if Page Options are not properly set for each Web page, it's possible to create pages that include Microsoft server-specific codes which may not work on your server. FrontPage is available for both Windows and Mac OS users ”with a catch. The Mac OS version has not been updated since its original release several years ago so it lacks most of the features available in the Windows version. For this reason, I do not recommend the Macintosh version of FrontPage. You can learn more about FrontPage for Windows on the FrontPage pages of the Microsoft Corporation Web site, http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/. Tip Another program, another Visual QuickStart Guide. For FrontPage, try FrontPage 2000 for Windows: Visual QuickStart Guide , a Peachpit Press book by Nolan Hester. Learn more about it at http://www.peachpit.com/books/catalog/K5914.html. Macromedia DreamweaverOddly enough, when Dreamweaver first appeared at computer shows, it did not include a WYSIWYG editing tool. Instead, it's main focus was on site management and the Web designer was required to code in HTML. (This was back in the days right after WYSIWYG Web authoring programs first came out and some silly purists insisted that raw HTML editing was the "right" way to create Web pages.)
Nowadays, Macromedia Dreamweaver has both WYSIWYG and HTML editing. (What's really cool is that you can view both the WYSIWYG window and the HTML window at the same time, make changes in one, and see the effect of those changes immediately in the other; see Figure 8.6.) It still has great site management tools, as well as both upload and download FTP capabilities. It supports all of the current Web authoring technologies and is extensible through the use of "objects" that can be added to the program. (Many of these objects are available for free right on the Macromedia Web site.) Figure 8.6. Dreamweaver is a full-featured WYSIWYG authoring program that supports all of the current Web technologies.
Dreamweaver is not for everyone. It's a bit advanced for new Web designers, although its relatively intuitive interface makes it easy to use. It's the kind of program that can grow with your Web authoring skills ”but it can also get you in trouble if you don't know what you're doing.
Dreamweaver is available for Windows and Macintosh. You can learn more about it on the Dreamweaver pages of the Macromedia Web site, http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/. Tip If you're looking for a book about Dreamweaver, try Dreamweaver 3 for Windows & Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide , a Peachpit Press book by J. Tarin Towers. You can learn all about it at http://www.peachpit.com/books/catalog/70240.html. Adobe GoLiveGoLive is another powerful, feature-packed Web authoring program. Originally developed as GoLive Cyberstudio by GoLive, Inc., it joined the Adobe family of products when Adobe Systems, Inc. bought GoLive. One name change and two revisions later, it's a popular package among professional Web designers. GoLive includes Web authoring, site management, and FTP capabilities. It supports all the current Web technologies, making it a good tool for building Web sites with the latest and greatest features. The guy who shows off the product at computer shows gives a great demo that has the audience drooling. Unfortunately, the program's interface is far from intuitive and, when you get the product home, you wonder how he did it.
GoLive is available for both Windows and Mac OS. You can learn more about it on the Go Live pages of the Adobe Systems Web site, http://www.adobe.com/products/golive/main.html. Tip You'll need a good book about Go Live if you plan to master it. Try one or both of these:
New versions of these books may be available by the time you read this. OthersThere are other WYSIWYG Web authoring packages out there. The ones I've mentioned here are just the most popular of the bunch. Check the Web sites for your favorite software catalog stores to see what's available. Then visit the sites of the software developers to get more information and trial versions. |