Wanna be a web designer

[CathieHarris]

Hi everybody.

I've been in the commercial art/printing field and doing graphic design and prepress for a gazillion years...ok, only 30+ - but I'd really like to try building websites. I can't afford Dreamweaver and am wondering if anyone knows of a good WYSIWYG web building software that is hopefully free or at least with a free demo that in the end is affordable.

One forum mentioned Microsoft Expression Web 4, which is a free download. I guess the deal is that most graphic design jobs anymore require some bit of web work, and I could lie about that on my resume, but can't talk the talk or walk the walk. I'd like to up my income a bit by adding this skill so I could apply to more positions, but I'm a hands-on kinda gal - that's how I learn best and after all these years can learn a new program pretty darned fast.

I have both a Mac and a PC at home, so something for either would be fine. Actually, I'd love a pirated version of Dreamweaver since that's what most companies are using, but alas, my conscious won't allow me (plus I can't find one).

Any ideas? How have you upgraded your skillset? And please don't suggest one of those seminars - I've done those and unless you can get back to your own computer and utilize what they've taught immediately, it's useless.

Thanks fellow PrintPlanet-ers.
Cathie

 

[Joe]

I use BlueGriffonâ„¢ for the Mac. And it is free.

It's free to download (current stable version is 1.7.2) and is available on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

BlueGriffonâ„¢

 

[Stephen Marsh]

The advantage of WYSIWYG HTML editors is that you don't see the source code/markup.

The disadvantage of WYSIWYG HTML editors is that you don't see the source code/markup.

These tools facilitate the process of making web pages, however they are not a replacement for knowing how things work at the source code level. Most visual HTML editors have both a visual and a code view. I just checked out BlueGriffon (thanks Joe) and it does have a nice HTML syntax highlighted source code view (colour coded to quickly separate the content from the code).

With this in mind, a great learning reference for HTML and CSS can be found here:

W3Schools Online Web Tutorials


Stephen Marsh

 

[CHM]

You could checkout these guys:
Softpress » Rather good web design software for Mac
With your graphic experience this should be a walk in the park. And the price is OK to.

 

[FileJockey]

Second the W3Schools tutorials. They are clear, well organized and up-to-date. As far as WYSIWYG, the best I've seen is Muse. Not free, though. And even then, you would be completely hobbled not knowing code. Be prepared to play the long game, hunkering down with HTML, CSS, and Javascript. It's challenging compared to print design, since it is changing constantly and rapidly (think how long print design went without even small changes to the technology - Postscript, anyone?).

 

[Alith7]

As far as web design, decide whether you want to be a "Web Designer" or a "Web Developer".
A Designer makes pretty website layouts that are basic informational, with nothing fancy.
A Developer writes complex "behind the scenes" code to make all the fancy forms, and interactive bits work.

That said, Designers are everywhere, good Developers are worth more. If you have a head for coding/programing, I would recommend looking into basic coding classes at your local community college, NOT an "IT specialist" college. 9 times out of 10 they are screw jobs.
Once you get HTML and CSS under your belt, then work your way in Java Script, AJAX, PERL, and the more complicated scripting languages. Just keep in mind, they are a "language".

Basic HTML and CSS though, you can learn from home. as already posted, the W3 schools website has the best tutorials and information out there.

---> forgot...
Even though I have Dreamweaver, I still use an outside text editor for my scripts as it presents better. I prefer TextWrangler.
http://www.barebones.com/products/textwrangler/

 

[CathieHarris]

Thanks Alith.

I have coding books at home (HTML for Dummies, CSS book, etc.) and should start on those. I took a Webmaster Certification course many, many years ago and remember some coding from that. I will look into the classes and my books. I also have the course materials from my Certification course that I could go through as well.

As for a plug-in for CS6, I have CS3 and CS4 at home on my Mac, but no Dreamweaver, just the usual InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop.

Thanks for all your suggestions. Don't hesitate to keep them coming.
Cathie

 

[michaelejahn]

@ Cathie,

What kinds of sites are you trying to build ? Who is your target type of customer ? Any one can build a website using Google Sites for free, but unless you are basically after doing 'welcome to our web site, this is what we do' type sites, not sure you can change very much for that ( tough to make a living )

Have a peek at this slide show ( from my old roomate Brian Childers )

Discover WordPress

You might decide to do a 'deep dive' into world of WordPress - lost of stuff you can use already built into templates.

One area our PressWise customers are always asking for help with are building storefront templates for their Web2Print sites.

Hope that inspires you, and best of luck !

I am 58, now I work with SOAP and APIs for a software developer - you can teach and old dog new tricks !

 

[CathieHarris]

Hi Michael. Thanks for all the information. I guess I'm not totally sure what I'm after. You see, I've been a graphic designer for 30+ years, like I said, but would like to find a position that they call Graphic Designer/Web Maintenance - or something like that. Most companies have their website, they just want someone to do their graphic design AND maintain their website. I don't think I can claim to maintain one unless I've built one.

So I'm trying to get in the door of a new type of position where they want someone with both graphic design and web knowledge. I'm rockin' on the gd but, well, not so much in the web area. Not even sure how much they would want me to know!