Adobe Dreamweaver CS3: Building A Basic Web Site

Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 has been empowering computer users to build their own web sites for over ten years now. In that time, it has grown to become a feature-packed and complex piece of software which can be a little scary for new users. This article aims to show users the key steps necessary to creating a basic Dreamweaver web site and the essential tools they should be using.

It's always a good idea to sketch out a plan of how the site will work and what kind of user experience it will offer. Dreamweaver will not give you any assistance at this stage, so just use pen and paper. Start by building a basic site, one that you know you can complete without getting bogged down in technologies that you do not understand.

Next, create a folder somewhere on your hard disk or desktop which will contain all of the files which will make up your site. Dreamweaver refers to this folder as the "local root folder". It should contain nothing but the files pertaining to your web site and will become a mirror image of your actual site when the site goes live.

You should also add an images folder inside the "local root folder". It can have any name you like but later, when you set up the Dreamweaver site, it will be designated as the default images folder and will help to ensure that your visitors don't see any blank image icons on your pages.

Now, finally, we launch Dreamweaver and create a new web site by choosing New Site from the Site menu. Click the Advanced tab ("Advanced" here simply means manual, so don't be intimidated.) You will notice a series of categories on the left of the screen. Only the first two categories need to be completed: Local Info and Remote Info.

The first element required in the "Local Info" section is a name for the new site. This goes in the top box. Next, use the folder icons to browse and locate the "Local Root Folder" and "Default Images Folder" respectively.

Now activate the Remote Info section on the left. If your website will be an intranet, choose Local/Network from the Access Method drop-down menu. Click on the Browse icon then locate the server and sub-directory where your intranet resides. For a public web-site, choose FTP. Enter the appropriate information in each of the boxes. These details are available from your web hosting company and will have been emailed to you when you signed up.

Before you start entering content in your pages, it is useful to create and save all the sub-directories and pages your site will need. Create each page (leave it blank) and save it in the appropriate folder with the appropriate name. Creating and naming every page in your site offers the benefit that you will now be less likely to have problems with links since, whenever you want to link to a file, the file will already be there; you can just browse for the file and Dreamweaver will automatically create the link for you.

Naturally, you will want to ensure that there is some consistency within your pages with some elements that remain the same as visitors move from page to page. One of the best ways to achieve this is to create at least one Dreamweaver template. Templates contain the basic design and layout that you want each of the pages to have as well as editable regions which can be modified each time you apply the template to a page.

When you have finished your template, you can finally begin entering content into your web pages. When you open each page, begin by applying the template to the page. Then enter the page content into the editable regions. If you spot an error on the main layout, just go back to the template to correct it.

Article Source: http://www.articlegoldmine.com

The writer of this article is a developer and trainer with TrainingCompany.Com, an independent computer training company offering Adobe Dreamweaver Classes at their central London training centre.

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