Design At Home

I mentioned in a previous entry how I had used a web site builder package that my hosting company had. You simply build a web page by choosing a template and entering data. You do this through accessing the package using your web browser. It's all done online.
The advantage of this system is that it is quick and easy. You do not have to know anything about html or ftp. The disadvantage is that it reduces your flexibility.
HINT: I found that most people who build websites do not do this.
So, the question I started asking was exactly how do people do this?
The traditional approach is to use a text editor or html editor and enter html tags as you enter your data. For the beginner, this is daunting. With a little bit of study and experience, it can be done. Lots of people do it this way.

Is there an easier way?
Yes, you can use web page design software on your computer at home to build websites. WSIWYG - it stands for What You See Is - it means that you are looking at the web page as you build it. You do not need to use HTML. How easy can it be?
As I mentioned earlier, you can build a web page in lots of different software. Even a word processor can build a web page and it will look ok. Microsoft Word lets you save a document as a web page. Open Office can also save a document as a web page (maybe even a little better than Microsoft Word), and it is free software. But it is easier if you use software designed for the purpose of producing web pages.
Dreamweaver is a highly regarded package, but I am told it has a fairly steep learning curve. Some people like Microsoft Front Page as an entry level program.
I prefer Kompozer - it's an open source program, and it is really quite good. You can download it here
Now that I have told you how easy it is, maybe you'd like to have a try?