Quick question regarding beginner web design

I

IceWeasel

[H]ard|Gawd
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Aug 15, 2004
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What is the easiest way for someone to pick up and create a web site?

I'm in the networking field, and I am somewhat familiar with HTML. A friend and I are going together in a business venture, and I'm responsible for creating the site. I've downloaded the 30-day trial of Dreamweaver, but I wanted to see if that's the best route to whip something together.

I'm looking for a blend of simplicity and expediency! I honestly don't have a ton of spare time to work on this, so it needs to be able to be put together relatively easily.

Here are some examples of sites he or I like the design of:

http://www.digitalsanctuary.com/tech.html
http://www.phoronix-test-suite.com/
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5242116.html
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343
http://www.puppylinux.org/ (I believe this was done in Joomla)
 
the main point of the site is to provide a portal for our product. it will mainly contain a bunch of information regarding the product and its features. there will also probably be a forum on it.

it won't require the any kind of shopping cart mechanism. the only interaction on the site should be a few file downloads and the forums.
 
my advice would be first to plan for the things you are planning to implement... you don't have to implement them if you don't want to, but don't design your page in such a way that you'll have to redesign most of it if you want to add a feature.

if all you want to do is to promote a product, then a static page will do. honestly, this is probably safest for a brand-new designer anyway. what you're using is fine if you like it and you can get what you want out of it.

if you want to add a forum, well then you open a whole new can of worms. i wouldn't attempt coding one of these on my own if i didn't have to. while the basic concept isn't difficult to code, it'll get rough to build such a big project for a new web designer. i recommend looking into vbulletin (probably most widespread forum software) or else a free alternative. you may consider building your site from the same language/technology that your forum is built in.

beyond that, i'm not much help. i hate web programming. i can't stand twiddling with things until they look just right. i much prefer bit-flipping or algorithmic work... or otherwise designing something... just not the mundane work that you need patience piles as high as the moon to do.
 
i'm not too worried about the forum, i've hosted a few of those before, the kits for vbulletin or phbb are very straightforward.

i appreciate your replies to my post, as well!
 
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