Adobe Dreamweaver has brought the business of web development within the reach of everybody. However, it is still a sophisticated piece of software with numerous floating palettes which can be a little off-putting for the new user. So, in this article, we aim to show you how to find your way through the maze of features and create a basic Dreamweaver web site.
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.
Next, create a folder somewhere on your hard disk or desktop which will contain all of the files which will make up your site. Dreamweaver refers to this folder as the "local root folder". It should contain nothing but the files pertaining to your web site and will become a mirror image of your actual site when the site goes live.
Next, create a folder inside the "local root folder" which will hold your images. This will help you to avoid ending up with "broken images" on your site, where visitors are presented with an empty box instead of the actual image.
Now, finally, we launch Dreamweaver and create a new web site by choosing New Site from the Site menu. Click the Advanced tab ("Advanced" here simply means manual, so don't be intimidated.) You will notice a series of categories on the left of the screen. Only the first two categories need to be completed: 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.
The next step is to create all of the pages in your website arranged in the appropriate sub-directories. Don't put any content in the pages at this stage, just create and save each page into your local root folder. This is done, so that later, when you create links on any page, the page that you link to will already exist, so you can just point to it and automatically create the correct link.
Naturally, you will want to ensure that there is some consistency within your pages with some elements that remain the same as visitors move from page to page. One of the best ways to achieve this is to create at least one Dreamweaver template. Templates contain the basic design and layout that you want each of the pages to have as well as editable regions which can be modified each time you apply the template to a page.
Having finished your template or templates, you are ready to build the web pages that will constitute your site. Simply open each page, choose Modify - Templates - Apply Template to Page and then add the text, images etc. that make up the page.
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