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authoring software

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is a strange beast. As far as codes go, it's very limited. Pages actually constructed in code often show just how cruddy it is as a programming language. If you used the web back in the early 90's, you may remember how ugly and clumsy web pages looked. Modern web-authoring software is still based on HTML, but through use of tables and other clever workarounds, they make it possible to produce sites that are still in perfect pure HTML code, but that look and function in a sophisticated way. Although there are "better" codes, HTML is still the core language of the web. If you use anything else, including it's derivitives, your site won't work in all browsers and on all platforms.

If you want to see what this page looks like in HTML, go to your browser's "View" and "Source". Aside from one little JavaScript rollover at the top, the rest of that gobbledegook is HTML. Horrible, eh? And this is a pretty simple-looking page. You can imagine the work in programming a site manually in HTML. Luckily these days, you don't need to do that.

You've probably heard of Micro$oft's FrontPage. I don't recommend it - partly because it puts in all sorts of hidden content that "optimises" your site for InternetExplorer. Oh, that's produced by the same company, what a coincidence! Gee, and the site doesn't work properly on Netscape or other Non-Microsoft browsers? How unfortunate.

The solution is to use software that produces "clean" code. For me, there is only one program worth using. Unfortunately, it's also one of the most expensive. Macromedia's "Dreamweaver". A fully functioning one-month evaluation trial is available for free, either download it from the Macromedia site or it's readily available on computer magazine cover-CDs.

If you're well prepared, you should be able to construct your site and have it fully functioning within the one month trial. You can then use any freeware html editor to continue to work on and update the site. Or, like me, you may be so hooked on Dreamweaver by then that you buy it. I don't often recommend expensive software, but Dreamweaver really is worth it.

+ + Buying Dreamweaver was the best investment I've ever made + +

Never use a Word Processing package to produce web pages. Sure, they say they can export as html - but if you think you'll ever be able to make the site look and work how you want it to, forget it! Just one look at the code should give you an idea of why this is NOT an option. Yuck. Three pages of proprietary tags and code before your content even starts - dare I suggest, mostly intended to make it only work properly in a particular company's own browser....

Another thing to avoid are proprietory "homebuilder" type packages where you build the site online. These are really easy to use and quick to build a simple site, but beware. You won't have your pages on your own computer, it will only exist in it's live form on their site network. If & when their site goes under, gets bought out or whatever, you may lose the lot and have to restart the site from scratch - I've seen this happen, even to government-sponsored "homebuilder" site networks.

What you want is control of your site. A real site, in real code that's portable between host, editing packages etc, and that you KEEP on your own local hard-drive.

Free HTML Editors are available at:
http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Software/Internet/Authoring/
Links to much freeware web-authoring software.

And of course you can find a huge range of freeware and shareware at http://tucows.com.