Thinking about creating a website but your coding skills aren’t top notch? Dreamweaver Made Simple supplies brilliant tutorials on how to make a website but there are other ways out there than just coding from scratch. Two other ways you could think about are using Joomla and Wordpress. You simply install them onto your web server and they supply an admin section to your website for putting more content on there. Learning how to code is a difficult process particularly if it’s your first language. Fully understanding concepts such as syntax isn’t simple. Joomla and Wordpress should be well considered if you don’t think you’re ready to create your first website.
Pre built content management systems are a substitute from coding from scratch. Wordpress has it’s advantages and it is mainly used for blogging purposes. There is a tonne of free customizable themes you can assign to your site very swiftly. You can add widgets such as a twitter feed or list of post tags with just a button click. Another worthwhile choice is Joomla, especially if you’re looking to do more than just blog. It’s been created to handle more than just blog posts and you can make more advanced additions than just widgets such as integrating ecommerce systems and communication tools.
So with all these advantages you’ve got to be thinking why use Dreamweaver in the first place? Do these online tools have disadvantages? The primary one is that they don’t leave a whole lot of room for creativity and originality. Content management systems don’t provide a blank canvas for you to code on. In addition if you want to build something very simple then you might not even require all the extra functionality that Joomla and Wordpress provide. If you are a big organization then building a site via a template might give the wrong impression. It could possibly compromise the credibility of your organization. Personal use however, this is less of an issue.
So lets consider your knowledge of code and what the best option is for you. The most vital thing to consider is what exactly are you trying to build. If it’s a blog for personal purposes then Wordpress is just the ticket. If it’s a company website, Joomla can also suffice but you need to consider the complexity of your website. If you’re just trying to get basic information across (text, images etc.) then Dreamweaver is a worthwhile option. You don’t need a massive amount of coding knowledge to put a simple, original site together quite quickly. However if your website requires something as complex as an ecommerce system then you’re going to need some serious knowledge of many different types of coding. Anything where people’s money is involved is tough stuff and if done incorrectly could put your website at risk from hacking or even violate laws. If Joomla supplies ready-made tried and tested code then it will probably be the better option.
So to sum up, if you know what you can and can’t do you can make a good decision on how to go about a project. Look back to the things you’ve created previously and compare them to the project you are about to undertake to establish the best way to go. Coding from scratch is a good route to go down because of the freedom it offers but it is a time consuming and sometimes difficult process. Be sure you’ve looked into all the options available to you before beginning your project.
