Porting a site from FrontPage

alanjhd · Dec 1st, 2007, 00:23

Hi,

I've written a website using FrontPage, it works OK but it's a bit klunky. There are only about 10 pages, it's not very complicated. I now want to enhance it a bit, maybe add some flash animation, online booking, better graphics.

So, I may want to start using Dreamweaver or some other tool to develop it, and have 2 questions

1 - Is Dreamweaver the right choice?
2 - If so, can I port my current site, or should I start from scratch?

Cheers,
Alan

JustinStudios · Dec 1st, 2007, 06:05

Hey Alan,

This is a question that a lot of people really dislike hearing the answer to but its the way it is. Everything you've done in Frontpage if it was drag and dropped needs to be discarded and you need to learn how to hand code websites. Not only can you produce websites 10 times faster by hand coding, you can also make it do exactly what you want it to do and not be limited by the number of buttons your software program has.

I'd suggest learning HTML, XHTML, and CSS. It will take a while but rebuild your site using those languages but the end result will be well worth it. A lot of beginners think that by adding a flash video to their site they will enhance the site's look. In all honesty it usually does the opposite and makes it look very amateur and unprofessional.

If you are serious about getting this site done right then lets start from the basics. We have a marvelous beginners resource library here at webforumz that will help you on your way. Also if you have any questions, get stuck, or need design ideas post back and we will be glad to help you out.

alanjhd · Dec 1st, 2007, 10:56

Hi Justin,

Thanks, sounds like good advice. Some of the pages are hand-coded already, so I think I'll be able to reuse the content. It's the navigation bars that FrontPage added that seem too complicated, so I'll look for a way of adding navgiation from scratch.

Cheers,
Alan