Hi,

Well, if you’ve seen my posts before here, you’ll probably know all about the fun & games I’ve had getting any form of internet service to work where I live.

1 - We live in a valley and can’t get wireless broadband coverage.
2 - We’re on a DOMO radio phone system, not fixed line, so sub-dialup speed (if any) there.

Solution…

I have a laptop and a Movistar 3G broadband connection. I now normally sit in my van out in the campo viewing the nearby antenna on top of the Parapanda mountain. So long as I’ve line of sight of that mountain, my connection speed is good (circa 1-3mbps). I’ll also go to one of the hotels near Loja where there are WiFi hotspots, as it’s a little bit more comfortable than sitting in the van, I get a good steady connection speed, and I can get a coffee at the same time!!

Anyway, now I’m back online, I’m looking to update my website - http://www.granadapropertyreform.com

Given time is always of the premium when I can access the net to use the online website design application that is included with my Bravehost.com account, I’m looking for something that I can download and use offline, then upload pages to the FTP facility.

Ideally I could do with something that’s WYSIWYG as my HTML knowledge is still fairly basic (but has a html editor included), easy to use, plus something that’s free and downloadable.

Any links or suggestions for free, downloadable web design software will be greatly appreciated. The only one I’ve seen so far is NVU (http://net2.com/nvu/) - but I’m looking for more if anyone knows any.

Yes, I could pay someone to maintain my website, but I run a tight ship financially (especially in the current climate) and I’m a small business. I prefer to update and manage my website myself so that I can instantly make any changes or updates as I see fit, without the need to wait for a third party.

I have also managed to make the website search engine friendly with the help of the following website - http://www.jimboykin.com - and it’s surprising how simple it can be to improve rankings on the main search engines such as Google, MSN & Yahoo. Obviously jurdyr and The Expatriator here at SpainExpat are pretty clued up when it comes to search engine rankings, as whenever I search for anything in Spain or about Spain, this website is up amongst the top searches, always!

So, back to my main request - if you know any decent free website design software, that can be used offline, please post any info here.

Thanks in advance

Heath

for FTP software filezila is great and free. If you have Word you can make minor mods to pages with that. Not sure about proper free HTML software though. Good luck in your search.

John

WIN SCP is good for FTP.

Alot of people with limited html knowledge usually go the template route… there are so many of them out there it is almost impossible to not find one that works for you. Alot o free web based WYSIWYG editors are crap so be careful! I searched everywhere for a decent one and just ended up getting Dreamweaver in the end (got the “Russian discount”  😉

Hi,  you could try http://www.joomla.org, IMO, one of the best free web building/content management systems out there.  You will need to be online though to use it, but it does not take too long to install and build a site. PM me if you require any further details or help.

Try http://www.synthasite.com/ - I used this to build a one-page personal web site, but it is quite sophisticated…

Chris

Thanks for the replies, I’ll give these suggestions a try.

My html knowledge is fairly basic, but not too bad if I want to make the odd specific change that’s not available through templates.

Like davyjones though, I might have a look at Dreamweaver, as I’ve been browsing some good torrent sites recently “to see what’s on offer” 😊

Oh boy Heath. I got a couple notes for ya:

Most of the best WYSIWYG solutions are going to be some sort of CMS entry system that require you to be online (like the above mentioned Joomla). That said, there are a number of blogging solutions that provide you with most of the tools you need to update and post new entries offline, that then synch or upload when you’re online. Google’s Blogger service provides this in conjunction with the Flock browser (a very decent browser in its own right as well). There are some wordpress editors that work offline too I believe, though I haven’t played with them myself.

Dreamweaver both sucks and yet remains the most popular way for WYSIWYG users to get their sites online using FTP. If you can get it then it’s probably fine for now. I think someone above mentioned Word. NO!!! Never touch a Microshit product if you can at ALL avoid it.  I’m serious.

I guess you’re already on a Windows machine, otherwise the obvious choice would be to use iLife’s iWeb for OSX. It makes gorgeous websites in no time and works offline.  Can you get a Mac?

carmenes - 06 February 2009 04:58 PM

Try http://www.synthasite.com/ - I used this to build a one-page personal web site, but it is quite sophisticated…

Chris

They do look good too I’d say.  Techcrunch’s review lists a couple more competitors to check out too.

I prefer to update and manage my website myself so that I can instantly make any changes or updates as I see fit, without the need to wait for a third party.

Take a good deep look into joomla..its free, and it really is the way to go. Content rich interactive sites drive visitors your way. CMS solutions like joomla get you there.

If you get yourself the offline local joomla server (free) you can develop and manage your whole site offline, then simply upload it to your webhost.

A little bit of learning would go a long, long way..

Best, K

I know it’s irritating when you only have a PC and all those Mac evangelists go on about how brilliant their world is - but then I treated myself to my first MacBook at the weekend and I’ve been born again as an Apple disciple.  iWeb is brilliant and if you use it a lot, it almost justifies the investement in the Mac.  Before I got the Mac I used Blogger, which is incredibly easy and free, although there is obviously the trade-off in that your site will always look and function like a blog.  Then I used Daily.co.uk, which costs about thirty-five quid or something, but that includes hosting your site for a couple of years.  The Daily templates are not brilliant, but they can be tweeked a bit and the whole experience is painless.

Check http://www.download.com - they have a wide selection of free tools for web pages. Took a look at the page and it does not seem like you have anything too complicated for the design- so basic tools should do you well.
then again there’s always notepad 😊

Time to update this thread for new online resources!!!

The Website Builder hPage.com has lots of website templates for you to use when you create a website with them. It’s free and I love the features as well. Paid package isn’t too shabby either since it’s relatively cheap for a website creator. No coding or HTML knowledge is needed too.

Check them out at https://www.hpage.com