Choosing the Right Web Page Editor

When choosing a Web page creation package, be sure to compare features and consider your needs. Look for Web sites that compare available features then read the information on the developer's Web site. For online information about publishing Web pages at UD, visit the Ideacenter. If you need on-campus support for learning to create and manage your site, you'll want to consider products supported by Information Technologies:

KompoZer for simple pages (free)
Macromedia Dreamweaver for larger sites

When choosing a Web page editor, be sure to consider the scope of the project, who will be maintaining the project, and how complicated it may become. Look for familiar features--formatting tools, drag-and-drop text editing, spell checkers, image tools--as well as advanced options such as tools for creating forms, site management tools and ready-to-use JavaScript Actions. Most editors provide a way to modify HTML code. As you increase your skills or begin to work on complicated Web sites, you will need to understand and use HTML. To learn more about using HTML, review online resources.

In addition to considering the features of a package, you should also understand the process of creating and publishing Web pages since each editor will have slightly different steps for transferring files to the Web. You must also know the directory in which you will publish your site and the name of the host (server). For most pages at UD, this host is copland.udel.edu. The publishing location for student organization Web pages is /home/copland/usra/www/docs/stu-org/your_directory_name.

KompoZer

You can download a free copy of KompoZer. KompoZer allows you to edit or create simple Web pages in an environment similar to many word processing programs. If you are a first-time publisher or are publishing a simple, one-page document, try KompoZer first. If you find that your page requires more control than what KompoZer offers, you'll want to consider a more sophisticated editor and learn HTML code. Make this move cautiously, however, since using more than one editor on a page may cause problems.

Instructions for using KompoZer are available at http://www.udel.edu/topics/learning/tutorial/index.html

Adobe Dreamweaver

Advanced users, faculty teaching Web design, graphic design students, and departments creating and maintaining large department Web sites may want to consider a more powerful tool such as Adobe Dreamweaver.