help with catch up | WPDFD.com Forums

Locash said:

10/01/04, 275 00 2004 2004:%i:1096642858 11:00:58

I would like to update my site. I am a music producer/composer and wish to have a simple site where multiple videos and mp3s of my work can be displayed. I have limited web programming experience and my latest site i did all iin photoshop and fireworks and dreamweaver (mx). i need to make my site more easily updateable (adding my music and videos). right now its like a 30min process to add one new video.
http://www.redemptionaudio.com is my site.

I love this layout
http://csszengarden.com/?cssfile=/118/118.css&page=1
however would change the size of text and color scheme obviosly to match my site.

I have dreamweaver mx but am unfamilar how to laout a page properly like the above (css). i familiar with dreamweaver.

so my questions is how can i layout my page like the above and make it easily updatable. thanks

Joe Gillespie said:

10/01/04, 275 43 2004 2004:%i:1096645419 11:43:39

I have dreamweaver mx but am unfamilar how to laout a page properly like the above (css). i familiar with dreamweaver.

so my questions is how can i layout my page like the above and make it easily updatable.

These are two entirely separate issues. Creating a page like this with Dreamweaver can be done although it's not, IMHO, the best environment for CSS layouts, especially if you don't know much about CSS.

There are several good CSS editors available, depending on which platform you work. Westciv's StyleMaster (Mac and PC) and TopStyle (PC) are two good ones that don't cost a lot and will go a long way towards what you want. You will still have to learn the basics of CSS and here is my CSS from the Ground Up.

Updating. Produce a standard template with placeholders for the variable parts.

variable bits go here

At worst, it's a manual replacement and resave to make changes like this. It's easier done with a script of some kind. It might be worth spending a little to get someone to do a script for you that, say, changes all the titles and links in the standard template document. Then it only takes seconds to produce a new page or page section.

I use AppleScript for this on a Mac. On Windows you could use Python or VB. Or, the whole thing could be done with PHP if you are prepared for the learning curve.

Being 'familiar' with Dreamweaver is a bit like being familiar with a car. You know how to make it go - but you also have to know the route to where you are going

Baxter said:

10/01/04, 275 06 2004 2004:%i:1096661164 16:06:04

A layout like the one you linked to is pretty much tailor-made for a content management system (in particular I'm thinking of wordpress).

Porting that design over to the existing WP architecture would be pretty easy, and you'd only have to do it for one page. A CMS would also be relatively easy for you to update and manage.

However, Joe's right... you can't build a CSS-based site without learning some CSS.

Locash said:

10/02/04, 276 48 2004 2004:%i:1096757324 18:48:44

thanks for the comments.
i will do some more reading on css.
i dont mind it taking 5minutes upadating a couple links. i wouldnt know where to start or have an applescript do this (im on a mac too).

there is a template on the macromedia site that i think i might adopt.
http://www.flash-mx.com/farm/
its simple and clean.
i really need 4 pages thats it. the one page is the one which i need to display all my videos and mp3. (http://www.redemptionaudio.com/samples.htm) is what it is currently.

anyways....thanks for any more help