RootsChat.Com
General => Technical Help => Topic started by: Amy K on Wednesday 22 September 04 09:48 BST (UK)
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I think I finally have enough info to warrant trying to build my own website. However, I have NO experience in this area at all. My boyfriend was going to help me but then we broke up. Deciding not to be deterred I went to the library and borrowed "Building a Website for Dummies" (yup that's me!) but I still don't know what they are on about. I think I would be able to manage using a piece of WYSIWYG software, but are all SO expensive.
I know what I want the site to do and what I don't wnat the site to do. I have chosen a domain name, and have decided on how the site should look.
Can anyone give me some tips on how to make my webite a reality??
Which books are useful? Which software is good etc etc.....
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Hi Amy,
join the club !
Have you seen these thread already:
"Slightly off topic": http://www.rootschat.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=11030.0 and
"Your free Webpages on RootsChat.com?": http://www.rootschat.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=5703.0
It's basically the same thing: There is a lot of interest, and lot's of people are saying "... would love to, but need help".
So there is a wish for "technical help" , and tech-help type of board.
I had a PM from RootsChat recently, saying that it is changing servers, and when that's done, they will be introducing some new boards. Hopefully this will be one of them.
Probably as soon as RootsChat starts the web-pages service, the "technical help" will start coming ...
And once we have our web-pages, there are a lot of good tips on this thread, about what to put on them:
"presentation": http://www.rootschat.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=12461.0
p.s.
Calling RootsChat: Any timetable for the web-pages, yet ??
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Timetable? Do you think we plan things?!
The Long Answer:
We have the new server running, but we still haven't made the jump yet (from the old one) becasue it might mean RootsChat will be down for up to three days. Scary. There is however a way where we can make sure the site is only down for about four hours (in the quiet hours), but we're not 100% confident enough yet to do it. Even with a four hour shutdown, attachments may not look right for a few days while everything gets into synch.
The Short Answer:
We're not too sure when we will do the switch, but we are hoping it wil be in the next few weeks.
Fingers crossed,
Trystan
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Thanks, Trystan, for the info.
As an IT professional constantly working with software and hardware updates, I can only say:
- allow far more time than you've planned !
- post it on the "Welcome" page in BIG, BIG Letters well beforehand,
- and, Good Luck !
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Hi
Thanks to Trystan, and with Trystans help, I have been putting together a web page through rootschat
www.rootschat.co.uk/history/hastings
Am quite pleased with the way it is going, and it is getting between 100 and 200 hits a day - which cant be bad - its only 3 weeks old
Chris in 1066Land
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I think I finally have enough info to warrant trying to build my own website. However, I have NO experience in this area at all. My boyfriend was going to help me but then we broke up. Deciding not to be deterred I went to the library and borrowed "Building a Website for Dummies" (yup that's me!) but I still don't know what they are on about. I think I would be able to manage using a piece of WYSIWYG software, but are all SO expensive.
I know what I want the site to do and what I don't wnat the site to do. I have chosen a domain name, and have decided on how the site should look.
Can anyone give me some tips on how to make my webite a reality??
Which books are useful? Which software is good etc etc.....
Amy
I never had any experience with web page making at all. I bought two books - (1) HTML for the World Wide Web by Elizabeth Castro. (2) Sams Teach Yourself HTML 4 in 24 Hours. I don't know where you are, but I am in Australia and I belive they are world wide available books.
Now, I downloaded a FREE HTML program from this site http://www.arachnoid.com/arachnophilia
I did a very simple web page a few years back and you can see it at http://johnson.reg.tripod.com/
There is also another FREE HTML website maker too - goto: http://www.chami.com/html-kit/ I must admit I haven't given this one a real hard look as yet.
Fortunately my genealogy program (The Master Genealogist) has a companion program (called Second Site) that makes a web page very quickly. Some people like the style, some don't. I haven't put it up on the web as yet because of incomplete data etc.
Hope this helps.
Reg
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Fortunately my genealogy program (The Master Genealogist) has a companion program (called Second Site) that makes a web page very quickly. Some people like the style, some don't. I haven't put it up on the web as yet because of incomplete data etc.
My genealogy program, Roots Magic, has this included. It produces lovely pages, with lots of choice on style, layout. There are hypertext links and indexes too. I was very impressed.
Kazza.
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Amy,
I use the old boring notepad and do the html codes myself but I do know of some who say the other html programs are too hard to workout but they all say how easy is the Coffeecup html editor is. It does frames, tables etc etc for you much easier than the way I do it but you got to be careful as tables that work in IE won't work in Netscape so you got to fiddle and fart around. Give the Coffeecup a go
you can download it to see how you go and as you use it you can actually view the html so that way you can see what each code does
heres the url for it
http://www.coffeecup.com/
If you want the very basic html codes I will be happy to give them to you so you can at least get something started
Shanko
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Amy,
you can download it to see how you go and as you use it you can actually view the html so that way you can see what each code does
heres the url for it
http://www.coffeecup.com/
Just to add to Shanko's suggestion, I would go for the Coffee cup Visualsite Designer
http://www.coffeecup.com/designer - its also free and is a little easierwhen first starting out.
But if you are only going to use it for your family tree than I would be more inclined to look at something like Kazza suggested- Roots magic or similar
Adrian
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I'm a notepadder as well - I learnt a few codes and nicked a few source codes - :-[
What I have noticed is Word and Powerpoint have an option to "save as HTML" I haven't done a lot of testing to see if it is any good but it is a starting point.
Pam
;D
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Pam
You can and you can also edit the html code. Need to select edit with Word under File option, then under View select Html source.
Having used Frontpage and Dreamweaver I find its very clumsy and difficult to get the page how you want it.
Adrian
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I have also used Frontpage. It has the disadvantage that it adds loads of code you don't want, and suffers generally from the "Microsoft knows everything better" Syndrome. I also couldn't control the output very well, but that could be the learning curve.
I then got a 30 day trial copy of Dreamweaver from a computer magazine (german version, so don't ask !) and tried that (every day, for 30 days - there is counter that tells you how many days you have left !).
I was also reading a book about HTML, so by the time the trial ran out, I had switched back and forth between WYSIWYG and raw code so often, that I then carried on, writing code in an ordinary editor. NOTEPAD will do, although I use the "work" editor, as we also have it programmed with macros which make life easier.
The main thing is, give it a try. You can build a "web site" without actually putting it on the web, so keep practicing, try out anything that takes your fancy, and when RootsChat Webpages goes live, we shall all be ready and waiting ....
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Amy,
you can download it to see how you go and as you use it you can actually view the html so that way you can see what each code does
heres the url for it
http://www.coffeecup.com/
Adrian
I am afraid Coffee Cup Designer is NOT free. It is a 10 session trial then you have to pay either $49 or subscribe to a website with a monthly fee.
Reg
Just to add to Shanko's suggestion, I would go for the Coffee cup Visualsite Designer
http://www.coffeecup.com/designer - its also free and is a little easierwhen first starting out.
But if you are only going to use it for your family tree than I would be more inclined to look at something like Kazza suggested- Roots magic or similar
Adrian
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there are numerous programs "out there" and just as with genealogy there is often a dispute over what is the perfect program to use as the tool for the job.
Microsoft Frontpage is an extremely powerful program capable of working for the novice or the full blown professional site builder (especially the most recent version) . However it can prove daunting to the absolute novice.
Dreamweaver is often the tool of choice for a large number of professionals but the learning curve is steep and both programs are expnsive.
If you are not interested in learning the raw html then a publishing program such as Netobjects Fusion is a good starting point .... you create the pages as you want them to look and the program does the boring bit of the work (the coding) although the latest version is around £100 some computer magazines were giving away earlier versions on their cover disks over the last few months.
Another source of a free program is Serif who have made available version 6 of their program webplus for a free download or available for the delivery costs have a look at http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/serif/wp/wp6/index.asp
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Some online tutorials are also available at
http://www.tashian.com/htmlguide/index.html
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/
http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_tables.asp
http://www.chami.com/html-kit/
(also the home of html kit a very good editing program)
http://www.at-frontpage.com/
a frontpage tutorial site
http://www.dynamicdrive.com/
for DHTML
http://www.iboost.com/build/software/dw/tutorial/786.htm
A dreamweaver tutorial
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I write this a non-expert on computer programme although I use many of them in my work.
If a simple web authoring programme is available then trying to set one up by learning to write html code is rather like knitting your own socks and far more exhausting than baking your own bread. Or, putting it another way it is like cutting your lawn with a table knife.
Some years ago I started out that way and then bought the much maligned Microsoft Front Page. Within 3 days I had my site working. I have had several problems since but they have mostly been of my own making although there was a period of malicious interference with site by someone at my old hosts. My site is
http://www.southernprints.co.uk
There are quite a variety of small free programmes including those given away as cover promotions of computer magazines. All of those are WYSIWYG and more than adequate for publishing your own family web site although some are limited to 3 pages in the free mode.
Most Family History programmes incorporate the facility. Sooner or later you will buy one of these if your hobby takes hold of you. If you are maintaining your family history on one of them it makes sense to use it for compiling a web site.
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Another really good tutorial site that I used when I was first learning html & php:
http://webmonkey.wired.com/webmonkey/authoring
It has a fairly good section on the various types of software you can use if you don't want to write your own html. From personal experience, I found Dreamweaver very easy to use as a novice, but it's expensive.
If you do decide to write your own html, a really good way of learning is to find a web page you like the look off, and then go to the View menu of your web browser and select View source to see the html code that was used to write the page. It's much, much easier to understand what's going on when you can see it used in practice.
Hope this helps,
Hannah
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Amy
If you are not a technical person (and I'm not) you might wish to try a package that I use. You can do a trial free for 14 days still I think.
For details see www.moonfruit.com
This allows you to build up a website through a set of tools provided by this company and you can make quite elaborate sites in a very short space of time with very little knowledge.
Please have a look at my site to see what you think - www.tymon.org
Hope this helps. If you decide to use this and want any help please let me know.
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Hello Ticker
That's a really impressive website!
I can see I will have to pull my head out of the sand and have a go!
Newbie
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Newbie. Thanks for those comments. Glad you liked my site.
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If you want a web site which simply displays your family tree and various tidbits of genealogical ramblings, 'Family Tree Legends' family-tree making software publishes your family tree in realtime to GenCircles.com and you don't have to worry about creating web pages yourself, although personally I enjoy doing it. However, Frontpage can often be a hassle.
My family tree is at GenCircles, and I think it's great. I'm so pleased that I baught this product because if gives my research a professional look and feel to it which I would never be able to recreate using web page publishing software.
;)
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Well I mentioned it in passing before, but RootsChat is currently testing a system that allows you to publish your family tree on the web, where you just upload a GEDCOM or build it online from scratch if you wish.
Trystan
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Trystan. Sounds good. I would definitely use the facility.
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Amy, the system mentioned by trystan sounds excellent.
However if you still want to test the web site water ... I have a spare copy of Netobjects Fusion MX which was given away on a computer magazine last year .... all you have to do is register the software at their website and you will be sent a serial number for its use.The program is completely unrestricted and has a full manual on the CD as well......
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Bob,
I have used NetObjectFusion MX too - I got it bundled for free with webhosting, and it is pretty good and easy to use. I've built a few sites for others using it, and started the basics of a couple of my own too using it.
Trystan
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Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply to this thread. I have got ANOTHER book out of the library, downloaded a free program (nvu) and someone is giving me a copy of Dreamweaver tomorrow with an instruction manual.
So, watch this space!!!!!
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Go for it!
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Free Webspace on RootsChat is HERE
OK, for those who fancy uploading pages to free webspace, then RootsChat is now delighted to offer it. It's totally free of charge, free of pop-ups, and it's yours for the asking.
THIS IS "PART ONE" OF WHAT ROOTSCHAT CAN OFFER YOU FOR YOUR OWN WEBSITE.
Just send a personal message to me (trystan), with your requested password, and we will set up your webspace. All you will receive back is "FTP" details that you will need upload your website. If you don't have the foggiest what I mean then don't worry - in the coming weeks we are bringing out some other goodies for you (see below).
Your website will then be: (whatever your username is)
www.rootschat.com/~username
Your free webspace is available if you have two stars or more, and the site is related to family history, local history, or related in interest to these. Your webspace will be pop-up free, but we do reserve the right to include adverts to your site to cover our costs. What do we ask in returm? All that we ask is that you make mention of RootsChat on your site for us.
PART TWO: In the coming weeks we are also bringng you a really easy package for you to build your own website (RootsChatEasy) using no software at all - just build it using your web-browser online. As with everything on RootsChat, it will also be free.
PART THREE: We will also be providing a very exciting online family tree websites for RootsChatters too, with the ability to find links to other users trees. And again, this will be free too.
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There's a free website builder on the cover CD with Your Family Tree Magazine (November issue, just out this week) and in the magazine are instructions for how to use it. Haven't tried it yet though.
Trystan, you mentioned software to create a website from a gedcom file, when it's available will you set up a demo website so we can see what it produces?
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I would advise anyone to hold off and see what rootschat is bringing out as the systems and packages being described sound the ideal tools for many of the tasks described so far.
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Hi Everyone,
My website is ready! There is still some content,well quite alot actually, to be added onto some of the pages. But it is more or less ready.
I had loads of problems yesterday uploading it (Many thanks to Trystan for his patience during my little 'episode') so some of the links might not work. If ANYTHING doesn't work, (or if you spot any spelling mistakes as my spelling is appalling) please let me know.
I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who helped me with this.
Amy
Posting the blinking address would help wouldn't it!!
www.foliages.co.uk (http://www.foliages .co.uk)
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One thing though, how do I add a 'hit counter'?
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That's great !
Looks like it took a lot of work, and I don't mean just the "erm ... how do you ....." bits.
Looking forward to seeing more of the stories.
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Have you looked in this thread: http://www.rootschat.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=13720.0
lots more tips here, including a link to this site: http://freepages.computers.rootsweb.com/~pasher/dragndrop.htm
One of the themes here: how to add a counter !
and also: How to add a guest book
Hope that helps
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One thing though, how do I add a 'hit counter'?
www.free-counters.co.uk
www.freebielist.com/counters.htm
www.statcounter.com/free_hit_counter.html
They would have the codes that you copy and paste into your html doc
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Amy,
Just had a look at the site, very well done. Love the name, your philosophy is much the same as mine, bring them back to life with the detail I say. ;D
Kazza.
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Wonderful site Amy...Well done
;D
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Brilliant site Amy. You've set the standard for the rest of us.
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Amy,
It's a very well put together site, and very clear and to navigate around too. You've set a very high sandard for people's free websites on RootsChat! Well done. :)
Trystan
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Amy,
It's a great site, I can't wait to read the biographies!
Well done, I haven't got a clue where to start...Trystan help!
Newbie
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One thing though, how do I add a 'hit counter'?
Right, I added a hit counter and so far (only three days I know ::)) I've had, on average, 20 hits a day....
Also I did my first 'update' today!!
I can't thank everone enough for giving me the confidence to go ahead and try this. I'm sorry to keep going on but I never thought I'd be able to build a website, and I did!!
Thanks everyone!!!!
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Amy!! It's excellent and extremely well written. I loved it!
Can't wait for the next one.
Be proud of yourself you've done a wonderful job.
Fitty :)
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Amy
Well done - it looks good, I love the rollover bits.
my site through Rootschat
www.rootschat.com/history/hastings
started off with a just a few hits per day - now after 1 month I am getting 150 - 200 hits per day and rising.
If the interest is there - you will get the hits
Once again, well done
Chris in 1066Land