How To Start Building Web Pages In Adobe Dreamweaver CS4

September 2, 2009

By system

Dreamweaver CS4 by Adobe has become one of the most popular tools around for assembling and managing all the different types of element required to develop and maintain web sites. There are basically two types of software tool which can be used to create a web site. The first type only allows you to edit the HTML code which will produce each of your web pages. The second type offers you a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface in which you can work with the text, images and other objects as they will appear on your pages. As you do so, the program automatically generates the necessary HTML code. Adobe’s Dreamweaver CS4 falls into both categories. It contains all the tools you will need to create, manage and update a web site and allows you to work both visually and in code view.

You can use the program to create and manage web pages containing HTML, CSS and JavaScript. However it also offers tools for database connectivity and the creation of data-driven web pages.

Although it is possible to work on each of your web pages in isolation, it makes far more sense to treat them as a site: a unified whole. To enable Dreamweaver to do this, you begin by creating a new site.

To start with, create a single folder representing the entire site, which should contain nothing but the files which will eventually be uploaded to your server. Within this folder, create as many subordinate folders as necessary, representing different sections of the site or different elements such as buttons, thumbnails or photos. Dreamweaver refers to this folder as the “local root folder”. Inside the local root folder, it is also a good idea to create a folder for images. Dreamweaver refers to this folder as the “default images folder”.

Having created the local root folder, you can now return to Dreamweaver to define the site.

1. Choose Site – New Site.

2. Enter a name for the new site. Choose a name which identifies your site and distinguishes it from any other sites you may create thereafter. The site name is for your own reference only. It will not visible to the site’s audience and is not subject to the same limitations as file names.

3. Click on the browse icon next to the box labelled “Local Root Folder”, locate and open the root folder (the folder which will contain all of the files relating to the site), then click the Select button.

4. Click on the browse icon next to the box labelled “Default Images Folder”, locate and open the root folder, open the images folder, then click the Select button.

5. Enter the root domain name for the site in the box labelled “HTTP Address”.

6. Activate the option “Enable Cache”. The use of a site cache speeds up the automatic updating of links. For a brand new site, it is usually a good idea to switch this option on.

Once you have performed these steps, you are ready to start building the site. At a later stage, when you are ready to upload the site to the server, you can return to the Manage Site dialog box and enter the “Remote Information” necessary to enable Dreamweaver to upload your web pages to the server.

Click here for Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 courses in London or call 0800 1950 502.

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