Make template for existing site

[Catalytically]

Not sure my title is correct, but here's what I want to do.

I have to build a site from scratch for a college class, I can't use DW.  (Will probably use Notepad++)  It's going to be a huge site eventually, and I will move to using Dreamweaver the minute the class is over.

My question is, what is the best way to do this so I can move to using a main template once I jump into DW?  It will be about 15 pages when I turn it in for the class, so I know redoing that many isn't insurmountable, but I would love to just start with a way to easily do this if it's possible.

I use DW CC if it matters.

Thanks for any advice!

[Jon Fritz · Accepted solution]

There's really no such thing as a "Dreamweaver website" or "Dreamweaver code", it's just html, css, javascript etc (very unlike Adobe Muse).

There would be nothing to "change over" to DW. All you really need to do is create a Site Definition in DW using your existing local site's root folder. You would then be able to work with your existing pages within DW without issue.

As for making templates, There are two kinds of templates when speaking about DW. "Design templates", and "Dreamweaver .DWT Templates". A design template is just a page you ultimately use Save As to create the pages of your site from, nothing fancy. A .DWT Template is a file used only within DW itself for creating Child pages whose design relies on the .DWT Template file. When you change non-editable regions of a .DWT locally, DW will update all Children of that Template. You then need to find and upload all of the changed Child pages to the server. The DWT itself has no affect when uploaded, so generally isn't.

I would suggest staying away from DW's .DWT Template system (if that's what you were asking about) if your site is ever going to be larger than maybe 50 pages at any point in the future. They're essentially the "poor man's server-side include replacement". If you learn how to work with simple .php or .shtml includes instead, you're going to have a much easier time with site-wide updates than you would with .DWT Templates. With server-side includes, you modify the include file, then upload it to the server, the server then updates the pages. There's no need to figure out which pages get the update and upload them individually, it's all handled automatically by the hosting server itself.

[Catalytically]

I was referring to .dwt.  Thank you for the helpful advice!  I haven't learned anything yet about PHP or SHTML yet, could you recommend any good starting points or tutorials for what you're suggesting?  I don't think I use Dreamweaver like it's supposed to be used, but I love it, and I have been enjoying using .dwt for a few small websites, so I really appreciate the heads-up about not doing that for a large site.

[Jon Fritz]

Includes are very, very easy to understand...

PHP Tutorial - Include File

or

SSI: The Include Command

[Nancy OShea]

Build your college course project with Server-Side Includes.  You won't have any need for DWTemplates later.   Server-side includes are an efficient way to make sitewide changes to common headers, menus and footers.

Alt-Web Design & Publishing: Server-Side Includes with PHP

[Catalytically]

Thank you all, I much appreciate the links and advice!!!