HOME to http://www.ohioweddingmusic.com/sommer/

 

Using Dreamweaver MX

I .              Organization! Like real-estate,  its all Location Location Location.

 

·        Create a folder on your Desktop and call it "mysite".  This is where you will work on your web site.  All your .htm files will be at the top level of this "mysite" folder. 

·        Open the "mysite" folder and create another folder inside it called "media".

·        Place any graphics, sounds, or video you wish to use on your website into this folder.

·       DO NOT move these sources files after you have linked to them in a web page. Moving files can result in broken links.

 

 

II.          Starting Dreamweaver (Creating a New Site for the first time) Once you've created this site Dreamweaver will open it by default next time.

 

·        Go to Start > Programs > Macromedia > Dreamweaver.

·        At the top menu bar go to Site > Manage Sites and click NEW and choose Site.

·        Name your Site "mysite"

·        Select No and Click Next.

·        Select Edit local copies on my machine. Then click the folder on the right and navigate to the "mysite" folder you had created on your desktop. Open it and click Select. Click Next

·        Make sure your connection is listed as Local/Network.

·        Click the folder on the right and navigate to the "mysite" folder as before. Open it and click Select. Click Next

·        Click No for enable check in and out. Click Next

·        Click Done!

 

 

III.         Designing Your Site.

 

·        At the top menu bar go, File > New> Basic HTML > click Create.

·        File > Save As> “index”

·        Fill in a title in the title bar

·        Modify page properties (background, text and link colors)

·        Repeat this process and create a new page.

·        Create a link to the new page and a link back.

·        Start creating and linking pages as needed, try inserting images from your media folder where appropriate.

 

   

IV.            Content Tips:  Who are you designing for?  If you are designing for a business the following info may be appropriate:

·        About us – overview of the company? How long in business? Who do you serve? What do you produce/sell?

·        Location –  Address and map to business (perhaps there are multiple locations)

·        Products or Services (this could be a long or short list, but you should try to provide a virtual sample of your work on line with pictures, flash, audio or video)

·        Contact – email and phone for sales, customer service, tech support, web master…

·        Client comments (letters or email endorsements from satisfied customers)

 

V.                  Design Tips: 

·        Keep Navigation simple and consistent from page to page.  You can place navigation buttons in a separate frame, or if not using frames, keep them consistently placed at the top, bottom or side of your pages. A table may also be used to accomplish this.

·        Keep backgrounds from becoming too distracting.

·        Keep text readable by choosing appropriate contrast between text and background color.

 

VI.       File Types.  There are typically three characters (visible or not) at the end of a file name (following the period). These indicate the file type, and are called file extensions.  File extensions are crucial for your web page to be understood correctly by the browser. If possible keep file names short, under 8 characters, and avoid special characters.

·        .htm  indicates that the file is a web page

·        .jpg, .gif and .png are image files most commonly used in web pages because they maintain good quality with a small  file size.   If you are using .tif, .psd, .bmp image files obtained from your digital camera, chances are they are too big for web use.  Convert them with a photo editing program.

·        .mid, .mp3, .wma, .ra  indicates an file that is commonly used to play audio on the web.  If using .wav or .aif  audio files, try to keep them only a couple seconds long, since those formats have large file sizes.

·        .mov, .wmv, .rv  are common video formats.  Be careful when putting video on your site!  They tend to be large in size. You must scale videos down so they will stream easily on most computer systems.

 

VII.        File Size.  Always use the smallest file you can.  You may want the highest quality image, audio, or video, but the   client surfing the web does not want to wait for it to load.  You must compromise and use files that will load as   quickly as possible.  Warn the user if you link to a big download, or give them options for smaller but similar files.