The very best technique is to learn to hand code the site first. Some
excellent Windows programs include EditPlus(.com) and HTML-Kit
(http://chami.com) (FREE!).

If you must start with a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) program, the
very best is Macromedia's Dreamweaver (http://macromedia.com).  This
software writes reasonably compliant HTML behind the scenes and also allows
you to switch easily to a code view so you can see what your actions
produce.

Both the preceding paragraphs actually refer to the design of a web page as
opposed to a web site. The web page is written in (X)HTML (http://w3.org)
and I am sure you know it is what you see in your browser window.  The web
site is actually comprised of all the web pages as well as their supporting
files (images, stylesheets, JavaScript files, applets, etc.) and "designing
a web site" would most accurately refer to the way you organize and manage
these files.

There are reams of information on these subjects online with even the
simplest of searches.  Some interesting sites:

/
http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/ (right-side menus)
http://www.alistapart.com/stories/

I think the most important thing I have to say on the subject is that you
should take the time to learn the code at least enough so that you are not
totally lost when needing to debug a problem. I used to teach an adult ed
class that covered all the basics in 16 hours, so it's not rocket
science...:).

I also recommend you focus on learning version XHTML 1.0 and on using CSS
(Cascading Stylesheets) to control your page's display layouts.

You did, BTW, pick an excellent starting place to ask for help...:).

D


----- Original Message -----
From: "tammy crosby" <tammyc1975(at)yahoo.com>
To: <hwg-basics(at)hwg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 12:18 PM
Subject: programs


What is the best program to design a website?

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