Templates

[lizsmith]

I've been web managing for years and I'm ready to create my own site for my web management business. I have Dreamweaver, but I'm kinda curious what you all think about using Mambo, Joomla, Wordpress, or some other template program. What are the pros and cons?

Any feedback is appreciated!

Liz

[scadesigns]

I'd say wordpress!!! It's really easy to set up and there are thousands of themes out there that you can modify or even design your own if you know how. There are plugins that you can use to make your site even better.

[lizsmith]

With all the free templates out there...is Dreamweaver even necessary?

[scadesigns]

Since I discovered wordpress about 5-6 years ago, I haven't used it that much.

[Sophia]

In your case, maybe not as any editor will do for management purposes. However, it is a program that is necessary for the avid designer/developer. It's not just for creating CSS/XHTML templates.

[lizsmith]

I don't know...I'm on the fence about Dreamweaver. I've had it as a free trial for almost 30 days now and it seems to do just as well as PageBreeze or some of the other free design programs. Not to mention that hand coding with an html editor is really better when I'm modifying a site that I did not design. I don't want to buy the full version of Dreamweaver if I can easily design my own site with wordpress, which is free right?

Think I kinda answered my own question...don't think I'm gonna go with Dreamweaver and instead just find a nice template from WordPress that is simple to edit. I don't want to spend a bunch of time and money on this, as my biz has survived for years with just word of mouth and no website to reference.

Just out of curiosity, are Mambo and Joomla totally outdated now? I never hear much about them anymore...

[Sophia]

Yes, Dreamweaver would definitely be an overkill if you only need to modify layouts. There's much more to using that program. Here is how I mostly use my copy. Other that creating web layouts from PSD/Illustrator mokups, I also use it to create/edit PHP scripts, JavaScript, flash elements, and XML files for some flash elements - and that is just the tip of the iceberg on what this software can do.

With respect to Wordpress, it is not a design software but a web content management software. You would still need to create your own design from scratch and integrate it unto the platform or modify any preexisting GPL/Business Licensed theme for your clients.

[lizsmith]

Originally Posted by Sophia

Yes, Dreamweaver would definitely be an overkill if you only need to modify layouts. There's much more to using that program. Here is how I mostly use my copy. Other that creating web layouts from PSD/Illustrator mokups, I also use it to create/edit PHP scripts, JavaScript, flash elements, and XML files for some flash elements - and that is just the tip of the iceberg on what this software can do.

With respect to Wordpress, it is not a design software but a web content management software. You would still need to create your own design from scratch and integrate it unto the platform or modify any preexisting GPL/Business Licensed theme for your clients.

I have been enjoying using dreamweaver. I wonder if there's a Dreamweaver for Dummies book.