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Creating A Basic Web Site With Adobe Dreamweaver
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Adobe Dreamweaver 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 is very important that you design and sketch out how you want the site to work and what information will be available for users to navigate their way through. It is also a good idea to keep your first project simple. Once you have completed a basic version of your site, you can look to expand your knowledge and expertise and then add enhancements to the site.
The second important pre-Dreamweaver operation is the creation of a "local root folder". This is Dreamweaver jargon for the folder that contains all of the files which form part of your site. You can create it anywhere: your desktop, your hard drive, a network volume, etc. However, it is important that you only put your site files in this folder and nothing else.
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 we can open up Dreamweaver and create a new web site. To do this, find the Site menu and choose New Site. When the New Site window appears, be sure to click on the Advanced tab at the top of the screen. Ironically Advanced mode makes it easier to select only the key options you need to enter. Of the categories displayed on the left, we will need to enter Local Info and Remote Info.
Local Info relates to your version of the site. In this window, first enter a name for the new site. Next, click on the yellow folder icon next to the box marked "Local Root Folder" and browse for the folder you created earlier. Repeat this step to identify the "Default Image Folder".
The second piece of information is Remote Info. In this section, you tell Dreamweaver how to connect to the server hosting your web site. Set you Access Method to Local/Network if you are working on an intranet site then browse to locate your intranet server. Choose FTP if you are working on a public website for the internet and enter your FTP login details in each of the boxes. This information will be supplied by your web hosting company.
Before actually putting any content in your pages, you should ensure that all the pages you mapped out in your original plan have been created and saved. So, instead of creating and completing a page at a time, you create and save every single page. This will prevent the creation of links that don't work properly because, when you come to create a link, the page you are linking to will already exist; you point to it and ask Dreamweaver to create the link.
Before you start work on the page content proper, you should consider creating one or more templates to achieve a consistent layout across all your pages. You create the basic design with all the elements that will repeat on every page (fixed regions) and then click in each area which needs to have unique content on each page and choose Insert - Template Objects - Editable Region. You can even have a hierarchy of master templates and sub templates.
Once you have your template(s) in place, you are ready to start putting the actual pages. Open each of the pages, apply the appropriate template then add your content. To test our page at any time, just press F12 on your keyboard.
About the Author
The author has been teaching training courses on Adobe Dreamweaver for many years. He is a training consultant with Macresource Computer Solutions, an independent IT training company based in London.
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