[thelist] can someone build a 100-page website with only HTML/CSS skill?

Tue Nov 11 09:00:47 CST 2008

Personally I would use this development as a way of furthering knowledge base. I'd go about it via a CMS approach but in the past I have tried to do something smaller than this just with html and i know it can be quite time consuming, hence it led me to look into building my own CMS, its still a work in progress for myself, however it might be something you wish to look into.
Dreamweaver is very good for html editing and css editing directly, so my personaly oppinion, use it as an opportunity to step up in knowledge

I'm sorry that this isnt particularly helpful, however it is my 2cents

good luck with the project

> Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:30:11 +0800
> From: zhangweiwu at realss.com
> To: thelist at lists.evolt.org
> Subject: [thelist] can someone build a 100-page website with only HTML/CSS	skill?
> 
> Hello. I am helping my girlfriend to start a web-design carrier. I am a
> 4-year web developer in PHP, she was fresh to HTML knowledge before
> started. I have no web design experience or know-how but knows all
> technology needed for a web project. (Lucikly I understand knowing web
> technology is not knowing how to do a web project! There are many other
> things to look for.)
> 
> We managed to let her capable of creating small websites using pure HTML
> editor and CSS editor. She also did a few small projects for small
> websites. She does all these with simple gedit (from gnome), because her
> XHTML tutorial book was written assuming user using pure text editor
> ("Head First HTML and CSS"), also because I also work in this way.
> 
> Recently we are trying to get a bigger project of about 100 pages of
> HTML. Then a lot of management requirement may rises that make the job
> difficult to do without CMS or website building tool with management
> features. By "management requirement" I mean:
> 
>    1. re-organize navigation bars or add new item to navigation bar;
>    2. inclusion of 2 navigation bars into 100+ web pages;
>    3. easily rename an HTML page while automatically update all links to it;
> 
> I am not sure if I should introduce a CMS because
> 
>    1. it adds complicity, learning curve and require my attention from
>       me when she hits problems;
>          1. CMS also add whole lot of complicity of having to set up
>             MySQL in her workbench and maintain it,  mess with DB error
>             when it might happen;
>          2. Learn configuration files and the concepts of templates;
>          3. she has to work with a web server on her notebook instead of
>             just opening the project locally with browser, and I am
>             going to have to add and maintain that web server;
>          4. backup become more difficult than just drag the website to
>             DVD driver (that's how burning DVD is done in Gnome) and she
>             has to learn them.
>    2. the website is maintained by her, HTML skilled, instead of by
>       customer themselves, making CMS less demanded. And it's not
>       frequently updated neither.
> 
> Maybe I introduce CMS later, but is there a way to work easily without CMS?
> 
> 
> I am thinking, should I just start to work with her with a CMS, or just
> use some management methods to make us workable on HTML level without
> CMS? For sure that depends on the task. One example of the task is to
> maintain the 3-level navigation bar.
> 
> For static HTML websites the navigation bar sometimes is done by simply
> a server-side include:
> 
> <body id="aboutus"><!--- below are included from navigation.html_seg -->
> <ul id="nav">
>   <li class="home"><a..>Home</a></li>
>   <li class="aboutus"><a..>about us</a></li>
> </ul>
> 
> Currently highlighted navigation bar item is highlighted using:
> 
> body#aboutus #nav .aboutus { font-weight: bold; }
> 
> For this method to work with a 100-page website the navigation bar is
> probably long (50 lines, because half of the pages are not supposed to
> be accessible through navigation bar but only when user opened some
> page), and the corresponding CSS highlight file is also long. I start to
> think without good text editor automation support this is hard to do &
> maintain. A CMS seems inevitable in this case.
> 
> How do you think? Should we start with CMS or with plain old HTML? I am
> thinking the place for HTML-based website nowadays are those websites:
> 
>    1. do not update frequently (thus the HTML-skilled ones can do the
>       updates);
>    2. mid-to-small size. But how big is "mid"? Is a 100-page website
>       "mid-size" or "big-size"? I dealt with much bigger ones using CMS
>       and know CMS is mandatory, but having no idea how much work is
>       necessary if maintain 100-page website.
> 
> -- 
> Real Softservice
> 
> Huateng Tower, Unit 1788
> Jia 302 3rd area of Jinsong, Chao Yang
> 
> Tel: +86 (10) 8773 0650 ext 603
> Mobile: 159 1111 7382
> http://www.realss.com
> 
> -- 
> 
> * * Please support the community that supports you.  * *
> http://evolt.org/help_support_evolt/
> 
> For unsubscribe and other options, including the Tip Harvester 
> and archives of thelist go to: http://lists.evolt.org 
> Workers of the Web, evolt ! 

_________________________________________________________________
BigSnapSearch.com - 24 prizes a day, every day - Search Now!
http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/117442309/direct/01/