Hi guys! I plan to design a web page for my self but I still new in the fields. Last time I use to design a web page for my project using frontpages during collage but that was like a child works. Now, I plan to create a better web page.

But first, I need advice on which is the best tools to design a web page for beginner Frontpage or Dreamviver as they said DV have more feature than FP.

Other tools that I plan to use will be Flash 7 & Photoshop 7 as MX were too powerful for beginner.

I will be graceful if anyone can provide if anyone can provide advice. BTW, is there any links where I can learn how to use Flash, Photoshop, DV & Fp online as the books were too expensive. Thank.

u got many options...

flash, to create more interactive webbie,
FP, to manage ur html lot more easier...
DV, for me, it's complicated, but ya, true, got more feature than FP
if u got skills, try use Adobe instead,,.. simple..

Thread moved from software forum

nowadays ;p mostly use flash

try to make a flash site
with mostly flash interface

combine tools of Dreamweaver+Flash+fireworks
it works perfectly

Fireworks - to slice layout
flash - interactive User interface
dreamweaver - html coding

*takes out knife and cuts your throat*

WE DO NOT NEED NOR WANT FLASH SITES.

I'm speaking as both a user and a web developer.

If you want to use flash for your site, that's fine. But flash should be an optional component of the site not the main part of the site. You can have a flash menu, but make sure that even if flash is not installed a normal menu would take its place.

Now that i have gotten that out of the way.... lets get back to the topic at hand.
From the way you phrase the question i don't think you want to be a web developer(back-end), but you want to be the web designer (front-end).

I would recommend you learn xHTML and CSS. DO NOT USE POWERFUL SOFTWARE YET. You should learn first by coding manually. You can start using tools like dreamweaver once you are comfortable with building an entire site(xHTML/CSS) with a simple text editor. If you use such a powerful tool from the start, you will miss alot of basic things you need to know.

The paragraph before is mostly about structuring(xHTML) your site and then presenting(CSS) it. You will still need to graphically design your site, most professionals use photoshop but any graphic tool would do. As said before, without skill even the most powerful tools are useless.

Here are a few sites to help you out.
http://www.w3schools.com
http://www.sitepoint.com
http://www.alistapart.com

Sadly though, none of these sites are going to give you a step by step guide to become anyway near good. Their articles are normally spread out so you will need to read and learn yourself. I really should get started on writing a step by step guide to help newcomers to this field...

Anyway, best of luck to you
Have fun learning about the complex field of web design & development

Thank for the advice & links guys. I will try my best to learn how to design a better web page. Feel interested in design another 1 after that project but it take time also.

Yes, Dreamweaver indeed has much better features than Frontpage. I think the new versio allow Dreamweaver to go with ASP.NET too.

Flash and Photoshop is what you need. MX is about the same. Dont make your website too complicated. Important things are:

- Design (which you can do in Flash with just boxes, text and line - Animate it professionally)
- Color (readable text assured)
- Content (most important of all)

You want e-books? Try downloading from Limewire, eDonkey or BT links.

^^ Please listen to this advice.

Don't put Flash on your site just for the sake of it. The belief that you need Flash to have more interactivity on your site is out-of-date now thanks to AJAX.

Using Flash for things like games is fine, but coming across a site that uses Flash just for a drop-down menu makes me want to go out and kill kittens.

i agreed with that too

Actually, its true - I dont notice it until he wrote it. Everytime I surf a site with flash, I will sien...

tats rite..
sumtimes it takes so much time to load..

I'll move this to Art & Design since it's more to do with design rather than coding.

If ur good, u can use notepad..

you can try bowsing http://w3schools.com . then after you have understand the concept, you can code by hand just like myself.. very easy what.. for begginers i think its best to use frontpage.

i'm sure you meant text-editors (general term for applications that work like notepad, for example text-edit on MAC OS)

but if you're smart you won't use notepad. use stuff like Crimson Editor or other available "smarter" text-editor. they come with multi-tab support (like browing on firefox) and also comes with color coded tagging. very useful for programming.

using frontpage - what can they learn? i would suggest start from the basics, understand the concepts of HTML.

then later migrate to frontpage / Dreamweaver. one you're there, at least you're familiar with HTML to do fine tuning if necessary.

one thing i don't like abou MS FP and such is that they tend to add a lot of un-necessary codes for HTML. this is very obvious when someone does webpage on MS Word / Publisher.

i've once stripped a 300kb++ HTML file (much thanks to my friend using those applications) down to like what - 20k? LOL..... it's insane really.

kekek.. since everyone has touched the techie side of things.

i'd just like to add.. plan your website process before you begin chiselling away at the bare stone. every great artist needs a vision to guide them to what they want.

and when I say planning, it's more than just thinking what your design needs to be. the world of website development today is a whole new level thanks to people who've voiced concern over usability and accessibility.

that's why, use Flash if it brings value to your users of your website.

Cheers.

flash add more interactivity. and about the loading time.. it depends on the user whether he know or not how to optimize the flash website.

hello dude.. if you're not allowed to use notepad cuz you're too 'smart'.. and u can't use FP because you aren't 'begginer' enough..then what the hell is he's going to use... using FP or DW is the best options cuz its offers layout view.. i started with FP and right now, i can code just using notepad.. FP offers both codes and layout preview..

yes sir....

no body said that.

no body said that either

like DUH. what did i say earlier? use text-editors........ i didn't say CANNOT, please don't change the meaning of what i mentioned.

if you wish to disagree with me on how newbies to webpages should start off, and thinks they're better off with MS FP then it's up to you. i'm just telling you what i THINK is the better way, that is to start off with basic HTML taggings.

EDITED : you could also refer to post #5 by Silverhawk, which is essentially what i'm getting at.

This post has been edited by goldfries: Feb 11 2006, 12:16 AM