need advice on what software i require to update website

[trickytwista]

hi guys sorry to be a pain but im needing advice on what software i require to update website.. a good friend of mine who married my kid sister sadly died a few years ago and a good buddy i chatted alot to online at the time created a simple website for me and with a guestbook etc...however my sister has now asked me if i can update it for her but i have no idea how to do it or what software to use (the easiest the better as its new to me) costs is no issue as i know it has to be done due to tyler(their son- my nephew) is older and wiser now and does visit the website so i would like to update it for him too...anyway back to the topic, anyone suggest/recommend any software preferably an all in one suite that could let me update /edit the site and add/delete photos and guestbook etc? i hope this make sense to you guys as i really need to do it for them and me as well as robs family... i cant ask guy who created the site as not seen online for a couple of years thank you, gaz..i have all login info to the website control panel

Edited February 17, 2007 by trickytwista

[DigeratiPrime]

Its difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.

Personally I am not too familiar with managing the backend of a website.

Only software I can think of is Nvu.

Nvu (pronounced N-view)

Finally! A complete Web Authoring System for Linux desktop users as well as Microsoft Windows and Macintosh users to rival programs like FrontPage and Dreamweaver. Nvu (which stands for "new view") makes managing a web site a snap. Now anyone can create web pages and manage a website with no technical expertise or knowledge of HTML.

http://www.nvu.com/index.php

[Ludwig Von Cookie Koopa]

I use a text editor but I would use web publishing wizard that is built in if not the other program I forget that is built in.

[phkninja]

i use notepad myself, but for someone who doesn't know HTML etc i would suggest First Page 2006. It has the option of letting you at the code, or to edit like frontpage (open the page and drag n drop components etc.

[Jeremy]

Not all web sites are coded the same and not necessarily with only one langauge. For example, you've got HTML, CSS, XHTML, PHP, etc. If the website is years old, I'd suggest either DreamWeaver which will allow you to view what your code looks like while you code it, or NotePad++ which has syntax recognition and highlighting, as well as a tabbed interface.

If you're unfamiliar with coding, a great website to start you off is http://www.w3schools.com. If you're taking this seriously, I hope you're better at interpreting web code than I am.

Me + Modify + Save = FUBAR (F..cked Up Beyond All Recognition)

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. Don't fret too much though, they're still around... you just can't see them now.

[CoffeeFiend]

Honestly, I'm not sure it's a "what editor to use" problem. Asking what software to use is a bit like asking what word processor to use to write good books, or what hammer to use to make nice houses. Some are easier to use, but like most easy to use tools they have their drawbacks too.

Perhaps you'd be better off using some type of php script or such to hold the photos (like gallery or such). It'll make it easy to add/delete/sort/organize photos and all that. Or even some type of CMS (which may have some photo gallery thing built-in) - some of those are pretty easy to customize and style too.

"Updating" could mean a LOT of things, from just changing a couple colors, to changing the whole back end, content and everything else (using different technologies altogether). It's like saying you're doing renovations (which could mean anything really).

If you want to design something nice from scratch (new site look/layout/colors/logos/etc) it'll take a fair amount of time and learning (XHTML and CSS mainly). For all we know, it could be some old CGI-based website that uses frames and such (you'd basically want to throw everything away but the content itself). Luckily there are some templates you can use to make a new site from scratch, but that will require a fair amount of work regardless, especially if you don't know basic markup and such.

Without knowing what you have and what you want to make, it's hard to make recommendations of any kind.

[trickytwista]

hi guys/gals and thanks for the replies..still looking into the info that was provided in previous posts.....i basically just want to update just a couple of photos and the guestbook as 2 of my sisters left comments and mistakes in birthdays on each anniversary (yep i spelt it wrong but hope ya know what i mean).. so its just basic things i need to do just like updating mistakes in guestbook and refresh/post a couple of more images onto it..not too bothered about the layout as i know that would be even more so beyond me.. its a netfirms.com account if it makes any difference.. i just need a simple solution so i can update it and not just 4 myself but 4 my family and my late best mate..or maybe someone trustable could even update it for me at a cost? just dont know what the options are...thanks guys/gals gaz not sure at present if i can post th website address without me getting my a** kicked out of here so i will double check or aske beforehand although i would not be spamming i just like to check 1st.

Edited February 20, 2007 by trickytwista

[DigeratiPrime]

of course you may post your personal page here, you're not trying to promote or sell anything.

[trickytwista]

ok thanks for the head up bud the site is here http://www.just4rob.netfirms.com/ if someone could please check and tell me if i need specific software or whatever to modify/edit the site that would be great...thanks again

[phkninja]

it was originally written in frontpage, so Nvu or First Page 2006 would suit you fine.

The guestbook is part of your hosting, so i cant help you there. But usually there are web tools as part of your hosting account that will allow you edit the guestnbook info.

[poor_kenny]

@trickytwista

I took a look at your web hosting plan (what I assume it probably may be anyway) -- and it looks like the FrontPage software is provided with the package. All you really need is the account details (login info and password). You may not need to have the software installed locally on your computer. Sign into the "Control Panel" (actually the link to yours is on the top-right of the page I noted) ---- and look for a link like "WebsiteBuilder" or something of the sorts. That should give you access to what's called a 'WYSIWYG' editor (what you see is what you get).

There should be instructions on how to upload photos and all that. As for the Guestbook, in my service it's listed under 'Basic CGI's' (along with forums and counters and the like). I'm not sure how you'd go about updating it. There should be a way to clear posts that aren't wanted and stuff. I took a quick look at the guestbook (not to be nosy or anything!) and noticed that it wasn't being 'spammed' (which is good of course! -- There are bots now that can automatically fill in comments and stuff. Usually just a bunch of links to other websites to increase their Google ranking.)

Anyway, I'm not sure if your Guestbook has a way of forcing 'human verification' (I forget what it's called) -- that code you have to enter -- you might want to check into that. I also noticed when I glanced at it that the entries aren't automatically date-stamped. Maybe that option isn't available.

It was mentioned just using a text editor to edit the page (and then uploaded via FTP to the site). That may not be an option if the page is done with a web hosting service's web site creator. You basically would have to take the site down and maybe disable the the hosting services' "FrontPage" extension and upload the new pages via FTP. (Which is a heck of a lot easier than it sounds!) The positive side to doing that way is that you have a lot more control over what the site looks like and get more features. (For instance;. Purple Yin Guestbook has a lot of features and is freeware. It just needs to be uploaded and configured.) --- It's also a much quicker task to edit pages locally and then upload them to the server with FTP software.

I'm sure you don't want to get into all of that now, but if you want to get into in the future I have a little info on what I picked up on this page. --- With any page you can go to your browser's menu bar and click on "View" > "Source" or "View" > "Page Source" to see the HTML code. -- (if you do that on my page please ignore the "Geocities" stuff ) --- HTML isn't very hard to learn, it actually is pretty logical.

Edited March 7, 2007 by poor_kenny