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Blogging with Dreamweaver.

Feb 2, 2013 5:41 PM

Tags: #help #php #dreamweaver #questions #blogs #wordpress #blogging #adding_blogs #dreamweaver_blogs #help_blogs #updating_dreamweaver #updating_sites #blogging_newbies #dreamweaver_blogging

Okay. I see some people have asked this question before, but everyone who answers seems to give the least helpful answers I've ever seen in any situation in my entire life. So I'm going to be really specific about the question here and really, really hope for something other than redirecting to another site or the recommendation not to use adobe products. 

 

I own Dreamweaver CS6. I have built a website. I would like one page of that website to have a blog.

 

Everything I read seems to say something about PHP. I don't know PHP. (I am capable of learning new things though, so if I have to I will... but I'd like to know more about the endgame before I put in even more time on this.) I also keep seeing a lot about using blog services such as Wordpress or Blogger.

 

I'm a newbie. I have built the website, and with the exception of the blog and comments section, it essentially works. But I have only uploaded it to a school site. I have not yet tried to uploading to the site that will ultimately have my domain name.

 

Perhaps this is a question that will be answered when I try to upload to different site, but - I'm not entirely sure why I couldn't simply update my site whenever I want to post a new blog. I mean - why can't I just open Dreamweaver, edit my blog page, and upload? Obviously, the comments section would still be an issue - but, in terms of just blogging, why wouldn't I just update my page every day? Is that a problem? Are there costs associated with that? What's the deal?

 

Okay - now assuming there's an answer to that, rather than direct me to another website, could someone explain just how putting a blog into Dreamweaver works? If I actually go through the process of installing even more stuff onto my little computer, from there is it what? A matter of cutting and pasting PHP code into the Dreamweaver site? Do I link them somehow? Is this something the server would have to take care of?

 

Honestly, I don't mind not having a comments section if that's the hard part. I mean, if uploading an edited page every day is viable, I could also just have people email comments and I could stick 'em in there exactly how I want, right? So seriously, I'd love to know why blogging seems so complicated. And once I know that, I'd like to know the simplest way to incorporate blogging into my site. -I don't want to be redirected to Wordpress - I don't find their information particularly enlightening. It's just more verbage along the lines of, "Download this and all your problems will be solved!" I'd rather know exactly what's going on before I do that.

 

Also, if your answer is to not use Dreamweaver - please don't reply. I mean, duh - we're on the adobe site, I have a question about an adobe product, obviously I already spent money on the darn thing - please, if you're kind enough to reply, please also be kind enough to keep that in mind.

 

Thanks!

M

705 Views   3 Replies   Latest reply: John Waller, Feb 2, 2013 7:34 PM
 
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  • Ben Pleysier
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    1. Ben Pleysier,
    Feb 2, 2013 6:34 PM   in reply to Marva!
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    Have you asked yourself why anybody would want to help you? What incentive is there for us, especially when you have already found answers to your questions.

     

    Ok, that said, the normal understanding of a blog is that there is some sort of interactivity. The blogger can easily have his/her blog broadcast and readers can easily reply. In many ways, very similar to how this forum works.

     

    To make this work as intended, one needs to have a database where the inputs can be stored and retrieved. HTML cannot interact with a database, hence we need a scripting language that can be used to talk to the database. PHP is the most widely used scripting language, mainly because it offers the cheapest hosting solutions and is widely supported.

     

    Because of my experience in using PHP/MySQL, I would build a blog module myself, but there are others that prefer ready made solutions such as the ones that you have already mentioned. In ALL cases you must have a working knowledge of some server side scripting language.

     

    There is also a horse and cart solution. One that you have mentioned. That solution entails updating the blog yourself which is perfectly Ok. Apart from your time, there are no extra costs involved.

     

    You have stated that you want to use DW. Even that is Ok. DW is a tool, similar to what a hammer is to a carpenter. But a carpenter also uses a saw and a screw driver. In the same way, there may be other tools out there that will help with other aspects of your site.

     
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  • Marva!
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    2. Marva!,
    Feb 2, 2013 7:32 PM   in reply to Ben Pleysier
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    Thank you Altruistic Gramps - that's a much better answer than what I've seen so far. I apologize if I come off rude in my question - but I've been researching this matter for a while now, and have been rather frustrated by the often ridiculously unhelpful responses others post to rather simple questions. There never was an incentive to answering this question - except to maybe save some people more frustration with the same bad answers that have been posted not only on this site, but others as well. Everyone seems to dance around the point of the question of how to blog using Dreamweaver, or even insult the person asking the question for his or her ignorance on the subject. I was hoping that by posting more than merely, "How do I blog?" I would get a more complete answer - and look! It worked.

     

    That being said, if someone could elaborate a little on what the real difference is between using PHP, or more software, or the horse and cart method to blog, that could be very helpful for myself and others as we try to figure out exactly what we're doing here. Altruistic Gramps suggests that I have already found the answers to my questions, but obviously there is still a knowledge gap. As a carpenter with a hammer and a specific job in mind, it would help to know something about the other tools available before I blindly stick them in my toolbox, not knowing how exactly they differ from a hammer but hoping that they might be necessary to the job.

     

    Thanks!

    M

     
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  • John Waller
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    3. John Waller,
    Feb 2, 2013 7:34 PM   in reply to Marva!
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    All depends on what you want to get out of your blog.

     

    In your mind, if blogging is merely regularly updating a webpage from a single computer with a new article or thought and receiving the occasional comments then DW is fine. Go ahead with what you have now.

     

    But that was blogging 10+ years ago. Today's blogs are far more than that: they're akin to a Content Management System.

    http://codex.wordpress.org/Introduction_to_Blogging

     

    Modern blogs are server-based so they offer browser-based editing and they can be edited from any computer or mobile device with an internet connection.

     

    They're also automatically self-archiving (into day/date/month and year of posting), can be tagged and categorized, grouped by topic, integrate with social media (e.g. Facebook and Twitter can be automatically updated when you post).

     

    Blogging tools such as Wordpress also offer thousands of plugins which can add rich features at the click of a button. Polls, quizzes, event calendars, forms and a myriad other enhancements.

     

    So what do you want your blog to do? Then choose your tool.

     
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