Web Publishing: HTML for 'Switchers'

[Striderji]

I just 'switched' ( three weeks ago after some thirty-four years with, well- 'The Other Guys'.

Suddenly I find the need to put up a couple of simple, yet attractive Web sites
( In the mid-sixties I designed type-faces for a living; back when you used pen, ink and a lot of rubber cement ).

The first thing I discovered was that Mac's no longer had a really simple little 'Paint' application on-board ( So you'll find a thread or two in other topics about the joys of networking Win98 and XP Professional Machines with G3's & G4's ).
It's not pretty!!

The second thing I found was ( maybe it was third-see below ) that there is no simple HTML editor on-board either- No developers tools appended to IE 5.2.2 ( 5010.1 ) for Mac

Adobe & MacroMedia tools are 1.) Expensive and 2.) Complicated

Everytime I venture out on Adobe's Web site I come back more confused about their products than when I 'walked-in'.

[ I just discovered TeX and Gimp, X11, and the like but the learning curve for pure Linux, Unix, or Gnu is Well - Steep. )

I just want to build a really clean looking Web site, a small one to get started and I'd like to put up a simply 'Blog' to go with it-

If nothing else to share this entire 'switching' experience <Grin>

Suggestions? Solutions?



Striderji
mailto:unicity@mac.com or unicity@cvip.net

< alias = kas65@csufresno.edu >

[mr. k]

I suggest learning some simple xhtml and css, not incredibly technical markup languages, but very useful for setting up webpages. There is not a WYSIWYG html editor that can create websites like xhtml, css, and a little bit of typing.
Here are some resources - xhtml and css.
It will probably be a little harder to actually learn the language, but put in the time and when you look back it will be a lot easier to design a web page if you know the language of the web.

[RacerX]

Originally posted by Striderji
Suggestions? Solutions?

For my web design (the stuff I get paid to do) I use GoLive with Photoshop, ImageReady, Acrobat and LiveMotion.

But, before putting a ton of work into someone site, I make a demo version for them using Stone Design's Create. It is not that expensive for the full version, and it lets you create multi-page documents or web pages. The export as web page feature is enabled even when running in demo mode so you should be able to create a basic site.

I also use OmniWeb for any additional coding. It comes with a source editor built into it.

Hope that helps out a little.

[Striderji]

" It'll probably be a little harder ....."

<Grin>

Thanks for the tips, and the timeliness. I appreciate it.

[ In the meantime- I'll just start with whatever .Mac has to offer and build from there ..... ]

That's what prompted me to explore 'blogs'- But the first one I tried 'blew-up' when I hit the 'publish button' and they ( support ) haven't answered my eMail yet. ( No, I can not remember which one it was. Alzheimer's- Really ).

" Create" and " OmniWeb"

Ditto's !! Any and all suggestions and referals will be deeply, deeply appreciated!!

Hopefully everyone won't have switched over to GNU or Linux boxes before I get my Web site up and running ......


Eric
( Striderji )

------------------------------
G3 ( v.2.2 ) 'Blue & White' w. 120 GB Maxtor HD & _ NEC DVD+RW - OS X v.10.2.6 ( 6L60 ) 1 GB DIMM RAM - <iPod 30 GB & iSight equipted >
G4 (v.3.3 ) 'Chromed Drive Bay' w. 80 GB IBM & Toshiba SD-R1312 DVD+RW OS X v.10.2.6 ( 6L60 ) 1 GB DDR SDRAM

[Dusky]

As you're learning raw HTML, this might come handy:

Taco HTML Edit
http://versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/15720

I use...
BBEdit Lite
http://versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/604

[nb3004]

i used taco for a little while and didnt like it too much, although the colored tags was a plus over BBEdit Lite, if you like to hand code, go with Taco to learn html/css/javascript then move to the full BBEdit if you can afford it.

[Striderji]

We're up tp four alternatives now ......

I'm still listening.

- - - - -
Is there any truth to the rumor that Plasma Screens ( Does that include the 17" Mac Cinema Display? ) 'Burn Out' in two to three years?


Stridi-the-exhausted

[Arden]

Plasma screens as in TV's? LCD screens don't burn out until after a long time, if ever.

• For pure HTML editing, use a simple text editor like TextEdit or BBEdite Lite.
• For simple WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors, you can use the tools in .mac, Geocities, or any other major web host. These will probably suit your needs for static web pages well, though they don't use CSS and aren't good for blogs.
• For complicated WYSIWYG editing, use a product like Adobe Golive or Macromedia Dreamweaver. These are much more powerful and flexible than the simple web-based editors and support PHP, Perl, CSS, Javascript, and more. However, they can be tougher to learn and the scripts produced usually need touching up for professional web designers, though it should be fine for you.

As for blogs, let me find the article.

In the July 2003 issue of Macworld, Scot Hacker recommends GeekLog and LiveJournal for personal use, and Movable Type and pMachine Pro for professional use. Blogger is easy to set up and use, but it doesn't offer very many features. Start with Blogger only if you want to get ahold of the basics of blogging and moving your logs isn't very important to you when you decide to upgrade (since it's very hard to move your weblogs from one service to another).