Re: Initial setup for building a web site...

Site structure: All the info you need to put online, you decide how to organize it. Sections, different pages, etc. You create your site map, the tree with your home page and interior pages.

Once you know how your information is going to be organized globally, you start organizing it locally, by page. This is product info, this is the background of the company, this page is going to have a blog, etc. Here you decide what info you are going to show in your home page. Maybe is just a welcome page, maybe is just a taste of all the content of your site, maybe is a video introduction. I don't know, it depends on the necessities of your project.

You design a menu to travel from page to page. The design of the menu depends on the complexity of your site. It may be just a collection of four links. You may not need a menu at all.

NOW that you know your content, you start to organize it page by page. Your logo, your menu, your headers, content, pictures, etc. Each section may need different layouts, but it's important to maintain some logic between pages so the user doesn't get confused.

You have your layout, not is time to give personality to it. This is the design stage. Use the tools you are comfortable with. You may just add colors and font styles in DW or you may need to create some graphics in Photoshop. Again, it depends on your skills and your needs.

With your design resolved it's time to code it. Organize your content in semantic HTML and style it with CSS. This is a purely technical stage.

You can (should) use an external CSS to use it for the global appearance.

If you want, and know how to, use DW Templates to manage your site, then do it. You may want to use includes or other technique. Again, it will depend on your personal work flow and skill set.

Sorry I can't give you a generic formula for web design, but it really depends on each project necessities.

Actually, it's a good thing to keep the process flexible.

I hope this helps