On Wed, Jan 12, 2011 at 10:36 PM, SBS Engineers Research < research@sbse.net.au> wrote: > Good morning, > I am starting a new website with rootsweb (A One Place Study). > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bluetownkent > > I don't want to have to do everything myself in html code.... is there > another way? > > Kind regards > Ann Spiro === Hi Ann, The Internet is built upon 2 methods: HTML code, or External CSS with some HTML code. Either way, you'll need to know (or learn) some HTML coding. Although that can seem daunting, it isn't terribly hard -- just need some time, patience, and desire to learn it. Many once-novices on this list learned HTML when, like you, we wanted to make a website. People on the list -- from experts to newer webmasters -- help each other figure out how to make "a page" and then "a web site". I think you'll be surprised at how fast you'll learn. If you stay on this List, you'll find people who really know how to write code. Everyone is willing to help. Besides getting a WYSISYG program, one thing people haven't mentioned is that using a template helps a lot. A template page already has the code set up; you'd pick the colors you want (or use the pre-picked colors) and find / use certain features if you want them (such as 1. counter, 2. a JavaScript, 3. an online search tool, etc etc.) After picking a template you like, the most important thing would be understanding the most important code that makes THAT template work, so in case something breaks or fails you know how to fix it. You'd also need to change the template by setting up the META tags in the HEAD area (topmost, inside the code view). Using a WYSIWYG ~and~ a Template together, it becomes so much easier to put text or images onto the template, name the file, edit/change the TITLE, DESCRIPTION, and KEYWORDS in the HEAD of each page, and you're done. Pat Greary offers free templates. Also, I learned a lot in the beginning by using a tool to pick a double background or a triple background from "Backgrounds by Marie" at http://www.artistic-designers.com/bkgds/ Way down at the bottom of her page is a paragraph-like section of teeny tiny links, two of which are | *Triple Background Maker*<http://www.artistic-designers.com/bkgds/mixnmatch.html>| *Triple Background Maker Page 2*<http://www.artistic-designers.com/bkgds/mixnmatch1.html> On those pages, you can use radio buttons to pick and choose 3 backgrounds that go together, and download the images. You also copy the code that is given after you make your choices. Once you've picked those images and if one or two of them are solid colors, a member on this list can help you find a color code to replace the "gif" image -- then instead of having to load 3 images, your page might use 1 or 2 images with a color code for the other image(s) -- (switching to a color code helps decrease loading times). When I first started, all my pages were white background, plain as a white man's handkerchief. Then, I found "Backgrounds by Marie" and thought "perfect solution for me". But after that, Freepages members on this List did a lot of tweaking to the code. One website I have uses images from "Backgrounds by Marie". As time went on, a 2nd website used images from Marie but with code changes. Then, the more websites (areas on Freepages) I wanted to make, the new websites changed even more as people helped me and as I was able to learn more about the changes that people made or suggested. Then, my last 3 or 4 web areas used templates personalized for me by people on the List, such as Pat Greary and Barry and many other people who took time to look at my page or site and make suggestions or even send me the re-written code. I was a huge novice when I started; I thought I could just make a real fancy "professional-looking" site without hassle. But I *had* to take time to learn ~~something~~ about coding. My first lesson was: Do NOT use MSWord or MS Excel to make a page-- it makes heavier (bloated) code that is harder to fix and its tables use heavier code as well. Using a WYSIWYG Web editor, I could see what I was doing and the effect. By making mistakes, I learned how to fix mistakes. I'm by no means an expert, but I'm much further along now that I thought I was capable of doing or learning. When I started, I spent hours (more than 1 day) to complete 1 page. Now, with a template, I can do several or more pages in 1 day which is okay by me; I see it as improvement over how I was when I first began. So, in closing, there's no completely easy way. You'll need to learn some basics about code to do a "webpage" and a "website". But, with choosing a template you like, getting help from people on this list, and learning how to use the code that makes your template and what parts you need to change on every page, you'll soon go from having just one page on your site, to having many pages in your website. Judy