Web site help!!!

[Xander]

Hey Guys,
i am trying to set up my own website (complete novice). It have been using both Nvu and frontpage 2003 (i know but it was free and well i cant justify £300 for dreamweaver and that is like 1/2 a months travel if not more!!)... The site was built mostly in FP, and is hosted by 1&1 (i dont know what info you need)

Anyway.. When i launched the page in explorer it looks fine (not perfect.. but as a first crack it good enough).. but then I opened it in Mozillia (which is my preferred browser) and it is all over the place..i have found the no text box fix.. but it does not stop the rest going where it wants???

so my question is how do i fix this? Can this be fixed. Reading the web has not helped as they all talk in html speak which means nothing to me. And it seems that dreamweaver has the same problem. :confused1::confused1::confused1::confused1::confu sed1::confused1::confused1::confused1::confused1:

[DougieB]

different browsers (ie vendors) implement the 'standards' in different ways. mostly it's different Explorer versions that chop and change how a particular attribute works, causing endless pain for professional web developers. it's not likely to be anything you are doing, and the fact you used FP probably explains why it works in IE.

if you are a novice then you're unlikely to want to get involved in writing the exceptions that you need to get it to work on all browsers. Have a read on CSS, it's partly the answer and the problem. But you can also make your site as simple as possible, and hopefully avoid using the more buggy options (floating boxes, positioning elements, etc).

erm, to answer the question.. yeah, you can fix it. you need to find all the CSS bugs you have and put in the exceptions (which you'll find on various websites). or greatly simplify your site. it will take you some time though.

[Alexlebrit]

Post up the address, and we can have a look if you'd like.

Oh by we I mean me and all the other nosy people, not we as in the royal we.

[Redboots]

I would suggest you stick with Nvu to create pages. It is/should be, cross-browser friendly.
Or, use something like Textpattern and grab a template that you like and use as-is or modify.

FP is really a bag of poo and uses to many propriety function instead of W3C standards Try reading the html it generates... full of filler and absolutes. Crap

Cheers,
John

[kentfallen]

I built my own site using NVU. It's a fine program and almost as powerful as some which cost £300. I understand it has been replaced by KOMPOZER.

For what it's worth I think NVU is FAB.

[AtlasRider]

This depends on the nature of the content you want to post, but Wordpress might be an easy solution for you. It's a blog publishing system that allows you setup static pages along with individual posts that will vary from time to time. It's easy to setup and for most things no HTML or coding knowledge is required.

You can learn more here:

WordPress › Blog Tool and Weblog Platform

[Frank Warner]

KISS.

Doing all those fancy things .. just makes compatablity more of a problem.

There is a tool called 'tidy' that checks compatablity - reports some (all?) the things done against the standard. Some things are 'warnings' others are 'errors' .. fix the errors. Common for M$ stuff to generate 'errors' against the standard .. works with other M$ products .. but is not compliant.

Personally I use HTMLkit ... yes you'll need some HTML speach ... but you have control of everything .. bet your code carries 40% formating rubbish that just takes up download space .. I don't bother with fonts ... bold and italics and underlines and sizing are about it for me .. gets the information across and does not bloat the download too much ... Take a look at your code .. use a text editor to look at the proportions of the formation stuff (you won't understant it) to the stuff you want to say (the stuff you actually wrote) .. bet it is 60% format 40% information.

Good luck.

[beddhist]

WordPress is good, but our students are finding it confusing. I use Google Pages, point and click web page building, never bothered to learn any HTML.

[klaus]

...is a great idea! Especially because it is free (upto a special limit) and even I understand how to use it!

Another option (that I am using, too), is YAHOO homepage builder (USA). It runs something like $10 a month and gives you lots of options!! Plenty of storage space, bandwith and you can always upgrade.

To see what I am talking about, just check my homepage (see below) or my new Geocities page at ¤¢¤Ê¤¿¤Î¥Û¡¼¥à¥Ú¡¼¥¸¥¿¥¤¥ È¥ë. (sorry, most of it is in Japanese, but it should give you a general idea).

Just my little bitty thinking.

[TobyJug]

or install urself a JOOMLA site....

Easy to install and easy to change....
I do this for a lot of novis clients of mine, works the treat...
Changing ur site is as easy as posting on here and JOOMLA is all free....
Here is there site....

Joomla!

Hope this is of any help..
If u want a copy of dreamweaver or something I can get u a legal on as I have a few licences left...
I'll e-mail u it if u need it....

[PocketHead]

I did mine with wordpress because I didn't want to spend the time making one and this way I don't need a dedicated web host, just a domain name. It is a bit confusing at first because of the bad menu layout but once you know where everything is then it's great.

[Xander]

Hi All thanks for your suggestions.. At this point I have gotten most of the bugs out.. Still working on others and seem to fix one only to find another.. oh well it is all learning and getting to be kinda fun .. okay a challenge anyway.. I'll post the URL when it is more complete but it will be a constant work in progress