Website Template & HTML editing (noob question)

Art72

Art72

Marketing Dope
Jan 4, 2011
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Florida
I've been gaining a greater understanding of HTML/CSS by spending an hour or so per day on w3schools, but I really want to learn to use Window's Office Professional to create rich landing pages, and then format it to upload to my site, but I'm lost.

Can you design an entire site using Office?

What program will allow me to add a word document into a html format to add features to the document like drop tabs, etc?

I created word document with backgrounds, border, pics, rich text, etc last night. If I can use this as a base I'm halfway there. Now I need to figure out how to add tabs, sitemap, etc...

Can this all be done using Window's Office, or would I need another source to template the HTML, and in essence create a website from an existing office project?

I am looking to purchase either Dreamweaver or Xsite Pro later, but for now I'm trying to start with free tools.
 


you can get by with notepad, but I doubt you're at that stage.

imo just try finding some "free" templates and work with editing them, that might be easier for now
 
thanks bauss, i'll give that a go...although you're right, prob not ready for all that yet,

just anxious to learn the whole; build from scratch method, so I create unique sites.
 
Learn from scratch really is the best way, I simply used templates and cut up and learnt that way - Maybe not the best way either but it did work for me!

You know that most hosts will have sitebuilders these days anyway!

To practice set up a local host on your pc by using something like xampp so you can see your site "live" and play about before sticking it out live! Nothing like the panic of breaking a website while people are looking at it!
 
Get down and dirty with the code in some free templates. See what you can do, using what you have learned. As well as your hour a day on w3 schools. think about where you can spend another hour. And another. This takes time but if you stick at it you will get there.
 
Yeah, as others have suggested I highly recommend learning HTML / CSS. Sitepoint has a really good book if you are someone learns from example. I'm someone who can't just read and determine how something is used, I have to be shown how it is used in a real situation so I know where it can be applied later on. If this is you, you might check it out.

Once you learn HTML / CSS (you don't have to be an expert) you will be able to do several things that will make your life a lot easier down the road when managing your websites.
 
wannabie said:
To practice set up a local host on your pc by using something like xampp so you can see your site "live" and play about before sticking it out live! Nothing like the panic of breaking a website while people are looking at it!
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I needed. Thank-You!

In short, most of my prior experience was with Blogger. Found a "Tips & Tricks" site that guided me through blog template tweaks like adding columns, scrolling menu's, drop tabs, buttons, etc...

If the same principles apply in a standard web template, I'm getting there. The biggest difference being, blogger self publishes, so I didnt need to know file associations and locations. Having a domain has 'forced me' to learn and explore FTP's. (Ongoing task for sure)

In the meantime, I gotta wonder; if I come across a "bad ass" website, is it "legal" to view source, copy and paste it into a non-published location or 'local host' where I can strip it down, remove any "existing" personal or copyrighted info/links/text etc...then modify it with my own text, links, pics, and content?

I cetainly don't want to infringe on another's work or personal/business information, naturally.

Honestly, I've done this with buttons, link "collections" whereby, I removed the id or aff info, registered to the resources I saw as valuable, replaced with my own id/aff info, and saved a "massive" amount of time!

I certainly don't want to break any webmaster's "silent" creed or anything, as it does seem a bit immoral...but is it LEGAL? :drinkup:

PHP...not so much a big "reader" in the sense that I believe in the "hands-on" methodology, for sure. I'll give Sitepoint a glance over, and see if I can extract anything useful...thanks
 
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