Tim Sonmore
Level 1 (5 points)

Q: Help updating father's existing website.

I am sorry if this has been asked somewhere (I cant find it), or if it is stupid quesiton to some.  I am new at this.

I have been asked to take over editing of my aging father's website hosted by GoDaddy and originally built using a PC and (I believe) Front Page.  He can no longer help me or communicate what to do, but I want to honor him as he ages and provide updates on his site for people that love him dearly.

 

I need specific and SIMPLY explained help to download his website pages from GoDaddy, make simple edits on my Mac, then upload the new pages back to GoDaddy, without messing up all the formatting on site.  Free is good, but simple is better.  I am willing to spend the $79 on Rapid Weaver if that is what is necessary, and accomplishes the goal.   I have iWeb '09 on my Mac, but do not know how to use it or if it will work for this.  (I also have read that iWeb no longer works anyway.)

 

If anyone can help suggest the application(s) necessary, and the specific steps to take, it would be greatly appreciated.

Macbook (alum 2009) 2.4 Ghz 4 GB ram, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Feb 14, 2014 8:04 AM

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Tim Sonmore

Q: Help updating father's existing website.

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Roger Wilmut1,

    Roger Wilmut1 Roger Wilmut1 Feb 14, 2014 8:16 AM in response to Tim Sonmore
    Level 9 (78,283 points)
    iTunes
    Feb 14, 2014 8:16 AM in response to Tim Sonmore

    RapidWeaver can't open html pages - neither can iWeb or most template based programs. You could try Kompozer which can open and edit html pages and is WYSIWYG or can edit the html directly (and it's free so you lose nothing by experimenting). However if these pages were created in Front Page you may have some trouble in getting them to work as they may rely on extensions and external files which possibly only Front Page will handle.

  • by Ethmoid,

    Ethmoid Ethmoid Feb 15, 2014 2:06 AM in response to Tim Sonmore
    Level 6 (11,262 points)
    Feb 15, 2014 2:06 AM in response to Tim Sonmore

    I think that if you are taking over the site and it was built using Front Page, then I would suggest that you re-build the site from scratch using a different programme entirely.

     

    Front Page was a PC only programme and was really not that good and is very old in technology terms.  I think Microsoft brought out Expression Web instead and that has been around for quite sometime now.  Perhaps time to ditch a Front Page website.

     

    If you have a Mac, then what you want to do is going to be hard.  RapidWeaver has no import facilities and neither does iWeb and there is really no point in using iWeb now, because Apple no longer sells it or supports it and has not done so for at least the last 2 years, since MobileMe went.

     

    If you want to edit the html directly, then you need to use a TexEditor like TextEdit or you need to use a programme that supports html import such as Flux 4 or DreamWeaver - both of these have a steep learning curve though.

     

    Think you are better investing your time and money into a new programme and re-building the site from the ground up - it will give it a more modern look from FrontPage and most FrontPage websites do have that look about them and I'm sure you could do better.

     

    You can take a look at RapidWeaver, Sandvox, Freeway Pro/Express 6, WebAcappella 4, Flux 4 and also EverWeb at http://www.everwebapp.com.  Once built, you can publish the files to your desktop and then just go to GoDaddy and delete what is on the server at present and then upload the new site - you would need to download an ftp programme though, so something like Cyberduck or Transmit or Yummy FTP.  These are all good and you would need this to connect to GoDaddy and delete what is already on the server and then upload your new site.

     

    In the end it might be easier to re-build the site from scratch especially as you are using a Mac and the site was built on PC software that now no longer exists and anything like this produces complications on trying to edit the code and re-upload.

  • by bryndeamer,

    bryndeamer bryndeamer Dec 15, 2015 6:30 PM in response to Roger Wilmut1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 15, 2015 6:30 PM in response to Roger Wilmut1

    Exactly what I was looking for - Could I import an existing site built over the years with Go-Live, Dreamweaver and Kompozer into RealWeaver.  I guess the answer is no - and I have not desire to start from scratch..   Sigh...

  • by Ethmoid,

    Ethmoid Ethmoid Dec 16, 2015 12:47 AM in response to bryndeamer
    Level 6 (11,262 points)
    Dec 16, 2015 12:47 AM in response to bryndeamer

    Why are you replying to a post that is nearly a year old?

     

    Anyway, no RapidWeaver does not have import facilities and more than iWeb does.

     

    You said that the site was build using GoLive and Dreamweaver?  Well Dreamweaver most definitely has import facilities, so use Dreamweaver if you have it.

     

    Also, if I was going to recommend a replacement, it definitely would not be RapidWeaver - it is basic and costly due to add ons and you cannot start with a blank template and create your own design as you can with iWeb.

     

    Instead, I would recommend EverWeb, because it is really the closest that you will ever get to iWeb in look and feel  and ease of use.  Then Freeway Pro.

     

    If you have Dreamweaver though and the site was initially built using it, then use this as it can import, along with another programme called Flux V.

  • by bryndeamer,

    bryndeamer bryndeamer Dec 17, 2015 6:54 PM in response to Ethmoid
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 17, 2015 6:54 PM in response to Ethmoid

    Ethmoid, - the beauty of the web is that knowledge and advice is archived. So when I did a google search your advice came up.  I just responded so that you would get your due acknowledgement for good information no matter how old.  

     

    When Go-Live was bought out by Adobe, and killed in favor of Dreamweaver, they never made a translator that would allow Go-Live web-sites to be just imported to Dreamweaver nicely.  One could do it, but the code was not compatible and I ended up with a big mess.  I tried to use Dreamweaver for a while, but it became and expensive subscription based software and wasn't worth it for my amateur dabbling.  So after a long while I tried Kompozer - it is O.K. but rather clunky. I've not found anything as elegant and simple as Go-Live was.

     

    Thanks for the advice re EverWeb and Freeway Pro.  And I had never heard of iWeb I'll look into that as well.

     

    Best wishes and happy holiday season.

  • by Ethmoid,

    Ethmoid Ethmoid Dec 18, 2015 12:55 AM in response to bryndeamer
    Level 6 (11,262 points)
    Dec 18, 2015 12:55 AM in response to bryndeamer

    You do realise that you have posted on an iWeb user to user technical support forum don't you?

     

    When you say you'll look into iWeb, don't bother.  It has no import facilities and has not been supported by Apple for the last 4 years or so and as iWeb 09 was the last and final version, it has not been updated for 6 years, so don't start looking into it now - it is too late for that.

     

    That is why I recommended that you take a look at EverWeb and Freeway Pro.  EverWeb most definitely because it is really a direct replacement for iWeb that is still being developed and is most definitely supported by Rage Software.