Approaching Dreamweaver with an outlined plan usually yields the best results. As you start studying and working with web sites you will start to hear the term workflow. Workflow refers to the process in which you do things – with the web becoming more complex, workflow becomes more important and often crucial in terms of getting work done on time and without issues. Below is a brief outline as to how to approach building a web site in Dreamweaver – NOTE: we will continually talk about workflow during the course.
- Start with a plan : have your folder structure with files names outlined – create a site map!
- Determine how many templates you will need to make
- Determine which files will use which templates
- Create your folder structure on your hard drive
- Define the site in Dreamweaver pointing to your root folder
- Start by creating your template – even just saving a file as a template with nothing on it is good enough to start.
- Create all of your pages based off of your templates – They will update as you work on your templates
- Create your layout on your template. Add everything you can without adding specific content. You will add the specific content on the individual pages once the template is finished.
- Once the Template is finished, define your editable regions. DO NOT DEFINE YOUR REGIONS BEFORE THE TEMPLATE IS FINISHED. Once editable regions are defined, those regions will not update from the template – you have to manually make changes to editable regions.
- Once Editable regions are defined add your content to each page until the site is finished.
NOTE : it sometimes may make sense to save a duplicate of the site folder at various stages incase anything happens to the originals.