Ask The Pro: How can I update my website myself?
This month‘s Pro is Kristen Day, Internet Marketing Consultant at OnYourMark, LLC Kristen discusses options allowing you to update your website on your own.In the early days of website design, knowing HTML and graphic design were essential to creating webpages. As interest in web design spread to the general public, WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get) programs came into the market. Adobe GoLive, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Microsoft FrontPage and NetObjects Fusion are popular WYSIWYG programs. Using simple operations, fledgling webmasters can create a simple webpage with a WYSIWYG program.
Most WYSIWYGs work like Microsoft Word or Publisher, allowing users to add text fields and drop in images. Behind the scenes, the WYSIWYG program creates the HTML essential to displaying the page on the web. The problem with most WSYWIG programs is that they create awful code! Many pages created in a WYSIWYG do not display properly across different browsers. WYSIWYGs are also limited in their capabilities, forcing the user to create simple, often amateur-looking pages. While some WYSIWYG programs have been updated to allow HTML editing, the average user usually doesn’t have the HTML experience to know what should stay or go in the website’s code. Many websites created in a WYSIWYG end up in rehabilitation with a professional webmaster for code clean-up!
Programs like Macromedia Contribute create a comfortable medium for both professional and novice web designers. Contribute allows a website template to be created and uploaded into the system for the end user. A professional webmaster can create the template and hand-code advanced features like navigation and effects. These features can then be “locked” by the professional, rendering them uneditable by the general user (read: you can’t goof the navigation up!). The template is then turned over to the website administrator, who can use Contribute’s WYSIWYG features to add content, including text and images, at will. Simple text effects like bold or italics are easy to add in the Contribute interface, which is very similar to Microsoft Word.
We have deployed several Contribute sites for clients with great results. Using Contribute, clients can update their sites on-the-fly, keeping information fresh and relevant. Contribute is also used in conjunction with eSponse, our HTML email marketing program. Contribute makes the upload of HTML and images to eSponse a quick and easy process.
Another way to update a website is to use a Power Tool developed by OnYourMark, LLC. Power Tools are password-protected, self-updateable website options that allow you to add content yourself! All of our Power Tools have been created based on client need. Web Calendar is a web-based calendar for company events, trade shows and occasions. A Scrolling Marquee adds action to a webpage with scrolling text, and can be installed in a vertical or horizontal version. Career Opps allows human resources to post up-to-the-minute job listings online.
Descriptions of additional Power Tools can be found on our website at OnYourMark.com/services/powertools.html. We also utilize many Power Tools on the OnYourMark, LLC website for our own use!
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The Scrolling Marquee Power Tool
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The administration of a Power Tool is simple to use. For example, Career Opps allows the user to enter text for job titles, job descriptions, requirements, benefits and more. All the user needs to do is type information into the fields. Information that is already typed in a Word document can be cut and pasted right into the Power Tool’s fields. Because Power Tools are web-based, they can be updated from any computer with a browser connected to the Internet.
Some of our more advanced Power Tools, like Photo Gallery/Portfolio or the Resources Page allow users to upload PDF and image files. PDFs are easily created with Adobe Acrobat. Image editing software like Adobe Photoshop Elements gives users more than enough options to optimize images for the web and create simple graphics. At $99, Adobe Photoshop Elements carries less sticker-shock than the full version of Photoshop at $649!
If you are interested in updating your website yourself, please give us a call. We can discuss many options to find the best suited for your needs. We’re always looking for new Power Tool ideas, too!
Links Mentioned in this Article:
- adobe.com/products/golive/
- macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/
- microsoft.com/frontpage
- netobjects.com
- macromedia.com/software/contribute/
- esponse.com
- onyourmark.com/services/powertools.html
(Links to all Power Tools on the above page)
- adobe.com/products/acrobat
- adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin
What would you like to ask the pro? Email your questions to askthepro@OnYourMark.com!