I mean HTML, programs for doing it, carts, etc... I am so lost.

I had soemone make me a site, but when I followed the instructions on editing, the pages popped up password boxes, or cut off parts of each page. THe shipping didnt work and when I asked for help I could not get a reply.
So I need to do this myself so I can get a website up and running again and actually UNDERSTAND what I am doing. Even if it takes a year.
Where do I learn this?

Homestead.com. It's the best thing ever. I don't know any HTML or anything but I was able to easily use it. It's all drag'n'drop stuff. My site, www.punkymoms.com was totally built with it and I would never use anything else. I've been with them for about 2 years now.

Good luck!

I second Homestead as being super easy to learn. Even my computer challenged DH has managed to make a web site for his graphic novels using homestead. It's especially good for a visual person who wants to see what everything looks like. So many other programs/providers don't let you see it while your creating it.

Good luck.

Chole

I orginally started with a very easy program that was hosted online (very similar to the ones mentioned above). Eventually I changed from one to another for various reasons, learning all along the way. Now I have my own software program and I do it all myself. It has taken 4 years to get to this point and a lot of frustration along the way. If you need any tips or help, I can try to answer.

Debby

I don't know how to do anything with mine. That is why almost nothing I have is listed. I am still waiting until my friend and I have enough time and energy to add stuff.:(

Have you tried switching to an easier setup or perhaps hiring someone to do it for you? I know there are wahms here who do that.

Lol. I just realized I don't even think mine is html!! I just have to remember which thingy to push to get where!

:p

Microsoft FrontPage and love it. It was confusing as h*ll at first. but now i'm a pro!!:)
And once you master that doing it in html isnt so bad.

Dreamweaver is the best program by far for creating pages. I use adobe phototshop for image editing/logo creation, etc. Kristarae, email me if there is anything I can do to help :D
heather

I use Dreamweaver as well and really like it. It's not an easy program though - you have to have knowledge of website creation and html, etc.

It took me 4 tries with different websites to get a look I'm happy with. My first one was total template built and was generic, I didn't need to know any html. My second, I learned a little html, but still used some drag and drop stuff. My third I wrote all the html, VERY time consuming, difficult, frustrating. One thing that helped me was by viewing source on pages that I liked to see what kind of html they were using. My fourth, I finally got dreamweaver, love it, highly recommend it, but you do need to have prior html knowledge...you don't need so much to know exactly how to write html, but you need enough to understand how it works.

My advice is trial and error, lots of internet reading, you can purchase a book and ask questions.

for a SUPER simple site, www.builderspot.com to get up and running. Homestead is awesome as well, but the ecommerce side of it can be a pain. I'd build one with dreamweaver, it's actually very easy, and allows you to see the coding at the same time with split screen so you kinda learn as you go with html.

also, a super easy place to learn lots of bits and pieces is http://www.w3schools.com/ it's free and there is SOOOO much information, and help there, it's really the best place to learn without costing a fortune.

I'd say get a host, and if you can use homestead you can use dreamweaver. publiush your site or use templates. And then add on a shopping cart. Anymore info needed let me know! I'll answer what I can.

Originally I started with Yahoo's free webpage builder and then switched around to get more and more control and now I use either FrontPage or Dreamweaver, and Photoshop to make the graphics. I'm really trying to get away from FrontPage though because the code is just horrible.

If I'm just coding the HTML by hand I'll use 1st Page 2000, which is great.

For a beginner, I would say Dreamweaver is the best way to go. The WYSIWYG style makes it pretty easy to work with. Don't even bother with Front Page. It's a POS--trust me.

NOw, however, I find myself almost never using Dreamweaver, except as a site management tool. For coding, I'm finding that I prefer to code by hand since I'm using more compliant code (Dreamweaver's code is not compliant) and working almost exclusively with CSS for positioning. You can use layers in Dreamweaver, but the rsults often aren't pretty.

Anyway, enough babble. YEs, for a beginner I would say Dreamweaver all the way. For serious coders, I would say Homesite. Both are MAcromedia products.

I just wanted to say I am SO impressed with all the mamas that have taken the time to learn how to create their own sites. You all just amaze me! :thumbsup:

I second that builderspot is super easy. It is $20 a month and has shopping cart built in. The only thing wrong with it is that it doesn't automatically keep track of inventory but unless you are a super-busy and successful site, this isn't a big deal.

I knew NOTHING when started and I set up my site in 15 minutes. It wasn't as nice as it is NOW, but functioning nonetheless. There are people there to help when you ask questions and often it only takes an hour or so for them to get back to you and often they just fix the problem for you and tell you how they did it. Emily, who works there, has even fixed cosmetic things for me for free, using her own personal software!
(Still have lots of work left to do, I know.)

The best thing about is that they have collected info on the easiest and free thumbnail programs and the best place for info on this and that and they set up deals with other companies like authorize.net (I think that is what it is called.) to set up credit card authorization for little money. The have an easy to read list of the best resources.

As soon as you make a change to your site, you see it right away. You can try it for free, and I highly recommend it. I have turned a few people onto it. To see some sites that I, knowing NOTHING about this stuff, have done, visit www.tickled-pink-designs.com (my site) and www.kboychuk.com (my friend's site). I know they aren't amazing or anything but they are pleasing to look at, easy to read and easy to navigate.

Best of luck!

Natasha.

I make gorgeous, SAFE nursing necklaces! Also, funky jewelry for mom!www.tickled-pink-designs.com (http://www.tickled-pink-designs.com)

At first I used wahmshoppes, but I wanted more customization.

I use Frontpage or just HTML -- I got HTML for Dummies and read it while my dh's family was cleaning a deer they got a few seasons ago LOL.

I tried using Dreamweaver but my brain won'tt wrap around something new yet.:o I like using PhotoDraw and Photoshop for different aspects of my site and designs.

I would make my own page through FrontPage then use Mal's cart if I were to do it all over again. I also am learning to use PHP and am pretty happy with how easy that is, plus free is a great price LOL

:)

I started out doing my own on the Geocities free sites using templates. I out grew that really fast and upgraded to the Premium geocities which worked for awhile for me just usign their pagebuilder. During this time I taught myself alot of HTML using various websites like www.htmlgoodies.com and www.lissaexplains.com . I then hired a webdesigner (www.sleepingbaby.net , Jan, shes awesome!) Jan took all my ideas and designs and put it all into css format so its all strictly html. At first I was really scared to try to edit my own pages but because geocities is so user friendly I can now maintain them with the basics I know about html. I really recomend learning some basics and then having someone do the hard stuff for you.

I think the key is getting the right format set up initially and getting comfortable doing the basics. Its not as scary or as hard as it looks. It cansometimes be time consuming but with practice it gets better. As far as the graphics, I use PSP8 and I think my web designer uses Adobe Photoshop. Graphics are the fun part!

Goodluck!!