Web design templates

JaneCompti

I am trying to use a free CSS template in Dreamweaver but the design tab is greyed out and it will only show me the code. I am a completed web beginner in terms of setting up a site, so I was wondering if people could give me urls at which I can get free "good-looking" templates or, as a last resort, else a step by step guide on building your own one but to meet a specific template result.

In terms of the current CSS code and it's greyed out tab - I opened Dreamweaver, clicked "new" and then clicked "CSS" and pasted the code in from the stylesheet. Am I doing something wrong?

Once I have a look that I like, how do I put it online at my hosted domain name?

Thank you!!

smash

CSS isn't a web page, it's the attached file that styles the HTML layout. There is no design view.

Kenny Logins

TBH, I think Dreamweaver can make simple tasks appear very complex for a beginner...

JaneCompti

Oh dear. I didn't even know that about CSS. Dummies guide it is for me then

designbydan

JaneCompti wrote: »

Oh dear. I didn't even know that about CSS. Dummies guide it is for me then

You will need to create a html page and have the css linked to it.
There are loads of tutorials for free out there I'm sure you can find the one that suits you best with a simple google search.

for starting out from scratch learning the basics go to the w3schools website.

They will take you step by step through what needs to be done and what each part of the code does.

but just so you know :
HTML = the website/page itself, its the bones of the site.
CSS = the design, its what changes the site from being all white with just black text to what you'd consider to be a website style/theme/

But having css without the html structure in place will do nothing.

I'd also avoid dreamweaver. like said on here it can make simple things more confusing, also the autofill means you'll never really learn the code ( or will at least take longer to learn as you wont be writing it yourself)

best thing to start with is plain aul notepad. it wont highlight mistakes. . . . but that just means you'll learn to write the code correctly faster. ( IMO)

JaneCompti

What do I do with notepad once I have the html down? How do I attach it to a domain. I really should just upgrade my blog :P

ScumLord

Just use joomla or wordpage, it's a little bit more difficult to wrap your head around the initial concept of how it's working but in the end it makes maintaining a website so much easier.

designbydan

JaneCompti wrote: »

What do I do with notepad once I have the html down? How do I attach it to a domain. I really should just upgrade my blog :P

The first page of your site should be called index.html once you've made the whole thing, and linked it to your css file, you then upload both files ( and any other stuff you might be using like images or whatever ) to your hosting.

your file 'tree' or structure should follow something like this : [] = folder

[WEB] >>> index.html, [css], [images]
[css] >>> style.css
[images] >>> image1.png, image2.png, image3.jpg, image4.png

That would be the file structure of a very simple one page website with 4 images.
Its more difficult to explain correctly in a post on a forum, but I hope that makes sense to you.

To make your website 'live' online then you need to upload your files to the web folder of your domain on your chosen hosting package.


Lets say your website was named test.com . and you bought hosting from host.com/. you'd either use a FTP server to upload your files directly to the server. or you'd go onto host.com, sign into your account. , select test.com domain, and upload the files into the [web] folder from there.


if that last bit seems to confusing than sorry I'm prob just not explaining it very well. it is actually very simple when you're doing it.

JaneCompti

Hmm...so I can pretty much upload a template too (and just edit the html etc in wordpad?)

Your instructions sound a lot less confusing than Dreamweaver! I opened Fireworks earlier, got scared and closed it quickly

nager

Try wordpress - sounds like it will suit your needs. Once you get your head around setting it up - its a doddle.
There are loads of places to buy themes - like http://themeforest.net

No need to learn code. Highly recommended.

designbydan

nager wrote: »

Try wordpress - sounds like it will suit your needs. Once you get your head around setting it up - its a doddle.
There are loads of places to buy themes - like http://themeforest.net

No need to learn code. Highly recommended.

Yeah if you want to stay away from having to learn code than just buying a theme from Wordpress is def a great answer. it's easy enough to change stuff with that with minimal experience.

M.T.D

What are you wanting to achieve,
To learning how to code websites or to have a website that you can put your content on?

smash

Try this site Jane: http://www.snackwebsites.com/

KonFusion

I think this might help. It starts from the basics (videos are in order from bottom to top).

http://www.dontfeartheinternet.com/

JaneCompti

M.T.D wrote: »

What are you wanting to achieve,
To learning how to code websites or to have a website that you can put your content on?

To have a website to put content on. I'd like to know a small bit to get me by for a while but mainly need something up and running and would like it to be nice

M.T.D

JaneCompti wrote: »

To have a website to put content on. I'd like to know a small bit to get me by for a while but mainly need something up and running and would like it to be nice

Use one of the CMS (content management system) type sites, then you can concentrate on your content.
My preferred one is Wordpress, if it for a business where business income and/or reputation could be affected get it done professionally and get a second site set up for you to experiment and learn on.
If it is just for yourself for fun then decide how much your time is worth and how much you want to know about website construction, if you wanted to take drives in the country you would learn how to drive not how to build car engines.
Many companies will setup, select suitable "plugins", host a Wordpress site and give you an hour or twos coaching for a reasonable sum, or you can get the instructions/manuals, all available online, and spend a few evenings trial and error and do it yourself.
Regarding themes/templates, hosting etc. avoid the really cheap/free options they are usually more trouble ( take time ) and have less options than the pay ones.