Everything I have done on my web site, I have taught myself (scary – and it shows!) I have tried to learn the basics of Dreamweaver to create a few simple intro pages. Also, I have taken advatage of provided HTML “cut and paste” to integrate things like Bloglines blog roles and Furl Bookmarks. I have even loaded some wonderful Open Source CMS products on my server including Moodle (I love it!) and Drupal (I really love it!). So, here I sit trying to figure it all out. Where do I go from here?
At my stage of “learning” about web design, I am at a fork in the road. Do I push forward creating a basic (dull) web site on my own with Dreamweaver? Or, do I take advantage of the power and functionality of one of the Open Source tools? I know the answer, but . . .
Since right now I want a web site to act as my online education journal, I want to concentrate on ways to easily add content. Therefore, I will likely set aside using Dreamweaver and work on customizing Drupal. At this stage for me, using Dreamweaver feels a bit like reprogramming Word everytime I want to write a letter. I don’t know nearly enough about Dreamweaver (or web development for that matter) to take full advantage of its advanced capabilities. However, I am sure I will continue to tinker with Dreamweaver and other development software as it has been a great way to learn about the workings of a web page. That just won’t (for now) be my primary way to create content for my site.