Website builder

General Discussion
1

I have been building websites very happily with Serif`s WEBplus X4. Now that i have converted to Ubuntu can anybody recommend a comparable Linux alternative which I can download and play with.

2

There are 3 (static) WYSIWYG webpage authoring applications that I know of, but have no idea how they compare to Serif WEBplus X4.

  1. Kompozer (available in the Ubuntu package manager(s))
    Homepage:
    http://kompozer.net/
    Features:
    http://kompozer.net/features.php
    Screenshots:
    http://kompozer.net/screenshots.php

  2. Amaya (NOT available in the Ubuntu repo’s, so will need to be compiled from source)
    Homepage:
    http://www.w3.org/Amaya/Overview.html
    Overview:
    http://www.w3.org/Amaya/Amaya.html
    Screenshots:
    http://www.w3.org/Amaya/screenshots/Overview.html

  3. Bluefish (Available in the Ubuntu package manager(s))
    Homepage:
    http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/index.html
    Features:
    http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/features.html
    Screenshots:
    http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/screenshots.html

I also hear that some versions of (Windows) Dreamweaver work quite well in WINE:
http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=183

The bad news is that Serif WEBplus X4 DOESN’T work in WINE… it is rated as “garbage” in the WINE application database… this is not a reflection of the application itself, just how well it runs in WINE:
http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=11132
so if you want to stick with WEBplus, your only options are to dual-boot Linux/Windows, or to run Windows in a virtual machine inside Linux.

Personally I’d ditch static authoring and switch to CMS based authoring, such as -
Wordpress:
http://wordpress.org/
or
Joomla:
http://www.joomla.org/
or
Drupal:
http://drupal.org/
etc.

The Linux.co.uk website is a wordpress site :wink:

Just in case this helps in the future, there is a list of Linux alternatives to popular Windows software here:
http://linux.co.uk/2010/06/linux-alternatives-to-windows-software/

3

I’m gonna go with Mark here and say this. Definitely switch to CMS based authoring. I switched to Wordpress and loved it so far. Far easier for me to use, rather than compiling a template and coding it.

4

Yup, why not take a look around BkS’s site for another example of a Wordpress based site :wink:

Just click the “globe” icon on the left of his posting(s).

Wordpress makes adding pages, video, pics, articles, and/or editing your content SO much easier… and as you edit your site through a web browser it’s OS/platform agnostic, can be edited ANY time, from ANYWHERE, and from ANY device with a web browser.

Not to mention, if you get a decent theme/template it can immediately make your site look more “professionally authored”.

Why not take a look through some of the sites listed in the Wordpress Showcase:
http://wordpress.org/showcase/

Then Google wordpress themes, and you’ll see there are 1000’s of themes/templates available… from free ones, to “premium” commercial themes… or take a look around somewhere like themeforest:
http://themeforest.net/category/wordpress
for examples of what can be achieved.

5

((Wordpress++)**)^10

6

I just installed wordpress, It’s brill. Easy to use and I have never used it before nor am I a web designer. I have found plenty of good tutorials on-line that are relevant. I would recommend it to anyone.

7

Mark.I am self-improving and following your advice from Peppermint to WordPress.I downloaded & I installed with synaptic. But where can it be found? I am looking for an interface? My only encounter with web design so far was using FrontPage some considerable time ago.What should I be looking for?

ps
My daughter has just just revived her PC by getting Peppermint2!

8

Ooops … sorry brian, this posting must have slipped past me … I know it’s old, but I’ll respond anyway as even if you’ve sorted the problem it may help others.

Wordpress shouldn’t be installed on your local PC (unless it is acting as a web server) … it is intended to be installed on the web host, so you’ll need to get in touch with your hosting company and ask them how to install Wordpess in your web hosting package.

Once installed on the web host, it is accessed as a webpage, where you can log in (with the password you created) in any web browser to “administer” your new website … such as adding pages, editing text, adding pictures, changing the theme, etc.

9

Update -

Google now do “Google Web Designer” (currently in Beta) … available free for Mac 10.7.x or later, Win 7 or later, Linux (Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora/openSUSE)
http://www.google.co.uk/webdesigner/