[gnat]

Hey everyone I don't really know where to start and I don't want to sound like I am rambling but most likely I will.

I started out maybe a year ago making a simple website in a mac program called Iweb. But recently I have noticed how limited this program is for designing sites but I don't have the time or maybe urge to learn from scratch to learn the multitude of programming languages. But I can't stay in Iweb because it sucks so I've spent the past week or so working with dreamweaver CS3 to work on the next version of the site.

I have pretty much moved every point of my old site onto the new site but the pictures section. I cant find a way to set up an image gallery that doesn't lower the quality of the images to crap. Thats pretty much the biggest issue I am having and what I want to do right now, So if anyone could help that would be sweet.

I also am looking for some helpful hints on making my site not look as plain and boring, but I want it to look good without being very flashy, (because I can't do image design well either).

There's a lot more that I want to do with the site like learn how to do basic rss on the front page.

It wont let me post direct links so
Here is the old design that is open to the public
decayingyouth.com/Main/Home.html]Home[/url]
Here is the new design that I am working on
decayingyouth.com/dkuVersion2/]Untitled Document[/url]

Any help is help right now.

By the way I can look at most html code and know what it means, I just can't reproduce it on my own.

[Scott]

I don't really have the time to be posting a full response just yet but I'm sure others will.

Here is the links to your sites:

Old Design - still in use

New Design

It might be better for you to use something along the lines of a blog, there are plenty of free ones out there and you can then customise them to your hearts content with a little practice and effort.

Using design view isnt the way forward i'm afraid - learning how to HAND code proper xhtml and css is not that hard for the basics that you will need, have a look through this post: beginners web design

If all else fails, hire a professional.

[gnat]

Originally Posted by BlueSteel

It might be better for you to use something along the lines of a blog, there are plenty of free ones out there and you can then customise them to your hearts content with a little practice and effort.

I wanted to use the blog thing for the updates on the community home section of the site. Not to sound stupid but is there a way I can have the blog directly on the site with out linking to another site? if thats what you mean by free blog.

[Scott]

yes you just buy web hosting, its cheap. Install the blog on your server, this is normal.

[gnat]

Originally Posted by BlueSteel

yes you just buy web hosting, its cheap. Install the blog on your server, this is normal.

sweet thanks Ill get working on that. Are there any free blogs that you recommend?

[Scott]

There are plenty, wordpress is probably my favorite.

But there are loads - search google for some.

Blogger
Moveable Type
WordPress

[rustybones]

Textpattern as well, though I would recommend using Wordpress too, since there is a shed load of information out there about it. It's probably one of the most popular blogging platforms at the moment.

[Mongoose]

Another vote for Wordpress from me. Very easy to use and customize. A plethora of plugins to add anything you could ever need. All you'll need in one bag.