A web page editor is a program on your computer. It resembles a word processor (like Microsoft Word.)
You use it to build your web site, and put it on the internet.
You need to have bought web hosting and a domain name before you can do this step. Go back to the previous step if you haven't done so.
Using a web page editor gives you complete control over your website, but it takes a bit more learning and work than using WordPress.
A website made in a web page editor has no system for organising pages, or allowing comments. It's not suitable for blogs.
A free web page editor program is available here. A much better editor is available for trial or purchase.
This is a screenshot of the Sunrise website template. It's a simple website layout I made in a web page editor.
Creating a whole new site isn't easy, so you'll be using this pre-cooked website as the starting point for your new site. You can customise and edit this layout in any way you wish.
This is Adobe Dreamweaver CS5, showing the windows you'll likely want to use. At the top left, you can see a list of all the files in the website. Below that is the CSS Styles window. This is where you can edit the site's layout.
The big box at the top is the site's HTML code. You don't need to deal with this code if you don't want to. You can just work on the graphical version of your site, below.
Other web page editors will look similar to this.
To make a basic website, and publish it to the internet, all you need to do is follow these four basic steps, in this chart. If you're not with FatCow, you may need to consult your web host's documentation, as their setup may be different to FatCow's.
| DREAMWEAVER | EXPRESSION WEB / FRONTPAGE | TRELLIAN | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choose and install a web page editor
(If you don't already have one of these four installed.) |
Adobe Dreamweaver is the best and most popular web page editor. Get the 30-Day Trial Version here. |
Microsoft Expression Web is a modern web page editor. It can be bought at most computer stores, but I'd recommend just downloading Dreamweaver instead. (Frontpage is an old but satisfactory web page editor. It's part of Microsoft Office 1997-2003. Dust off the CD and install it.) |
Trellian Webpage is the only decent free web page editor. It's not as good as Frontpage, and nowhere near as good as Dreamweaver. Get it here. (7MB) |
| Get the Sunrise template |
Click here to download the Dreamweaver version of the template. Then unzip it to a folder on your computer. |
Click here to download the Expression Web version of the template. Then unzip it to a folder on your computer. (Frontpage: Click here instead.) |
Click here to download the Trellian version of the template. Then unzip it to a folder on your computer. |
| Open the template |
Load up Dreamweaver. Click Site > New Site. |
Load up Expression Web. (Or Frontpage.) (In Frontpage, click View > Folders.) Click File > Open Site (Open Web in FP.) Find the folder you unzipped the template to, and click Open. |
Load up Trellian. Click View > Site Explorer. This is where the pages you make will appear. If Site Explorer doesn't work, type C:\ in the box at the top. Look around in the Site Explorer, until you find the folder you unzipped the template to. |
| Put your website on the internet
(or update pages you've changed.) Go to Live Chat (on FatCow website), if something goes wrong. |
In the Files window, click a file or folder. Click the arrow that points up. In DW CS5, the first time you do this, it will ask you to define a remote server. |
Click File > Publish Site. Remote Website Location: type in ftp://username.fatcow.com (replace username with your FatCow username.) Username, Password: You chose these when you paid. Type them in. Click the Publish Website button. (FP: Do this instead: File > Publish Web. ftp://x.fatcow.com (replace x with your FatCow username) OK. Type in your FatCow username and password. Publish, wait.) |
Click the big red X, then Publish. Click Connect. FTP site name: Type in FatCow. Select all the files in the left hand window, then click the little green arrow, to upload them. |
Congratulations! Your site is now online. Use your browser to visit your site, at whateveryourdomainnameis.com
If you visit your site, and it doesn't work, then your domain name is probably still "propagating". Your internet company doesn't know it exists yet. Propagation will likely take a number of hours. In the meantime, you can visit your site at yourusername.fatcow.com (replace yourusername with the user name you chose when signing up with FatCow.)
So far, you've just uploaded the template site, without altering it.
You can easily change the text on the pages of your website. Just double-click one of your site's files, to open it.
This second chart is a list of things you'll likely want to do.
| DREAMWEAVER | EXPRESSION WEB / FRONTPAGE | TRELLIAN | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Insert a picture
Consider resizing large images (in any image editor) first. |
Drag it in. Click Yes if it asks to copy the file in. |
Just drag it in. |
Click Insert > Image. |
| Make a paragraph header |
Select some text. |
Select some text. |
Select some text. |
| Make a link |
Select some text. Right-click it, and click Make Link. |
Select some text. Right-click it, and click Hyperlink. |
Select some text. Right-click it, and click Create Link. |
| Add an email link |
In the Insert window, click Email Link. |
Just type it in. |
Just type it in. |
|
Open your site
(if it goes away.) |
Click the little drop-down box at the top of the Files window, and choose your site. |
Click File > Recent Sites. |
Double-click one of your site's files, in the Site Explorer window. |
|
Create a new page
(The best way to do this is by duplicating an existing page.) |
Click on a file in the Files window. Press Ctrl+C. (Cut) Press Ctrl V. (Paste) |
In the Folder List, right-click a file. Click Copy. Right-click again. Click Paste. |
Open a page. Click the big red X. Click Save As. Type in a new name, and press Save. |
|
Rename a page
Don't rename index.htm |
First, close the page (if it's open), by clicking the little X at the top. Click it twice, in the Files window. |
First, close the page (if it's open), by clicking the little X at the top. Click it twice, in the Folder List. |
First, close the page (if it's open), by clicking the little X at the top. In the Site Explorer, right-click the file. Click Rename. |
| Edit the title or menu |
Open layout.dwt, in the Templates folder. After you've edited layout.dwt, reupload it and all your htm files. |
Open layout.dwt, in the Templates folder. After you've edited layout.dwt, reupload it and all your htm files. (FP: No easy method. Just change the title or menu on every page.) |
Trellian has no "template" system, so you either have to make the same change to every page, and then cut and paste, or you can just change one page, make copies of it, and then paste the appropriate text into each page. |
|
Change colours or layout
This is optional. |
In the CSS Styles window, click All, then double-click one of the styles. You can look in the css.css file to see or edit the CSS code if you like. The css.css file also contains some pre-made colour schemes you can use. |
In the Apply Styles window, right-click one of the styles, and click Modify Style. (FP: Format > Style. Click the List box. Choose User-defined Styles. Click a style. Modify. Format. Click anything.) You can look in the css.css file to see or edit the CSS code if you like. The css.css file also contains some pre-made colour schemes you can use. |
You can just select text, and use the toolbar icons to change it, just like Word. However, I recommend looking in the css.css file instead. All the layout information is in there. You can make changes much more easily by changing the CSS than by using the toolbar icons. |
| Problems? | If you're having trouble with any of these instructions, or you want to do something that isn't described on this site, or you can't get your site to look how you want it to, then please go to the More Information page, and contact me. I'll be able to help. |
||
You've reached the end of the three steps to getting a website onto the internet. However, there are lots of extra things you can do, to make your new website a success. Read about them in the More Information section >>
If you've just been reading through this guide, and you feel like you're now ready to start creating your own website, then click here to sign up for web hosting and a domain name. Then come back here.