Using Dreamweaver to update a website that was created w/ a different program
by Dylan Hayward
on
Sep 15, 2009 at 9:17:28 am
Can Dreamweaver be used to update a website that was created with a different program? And if so, is there anything special that needs to be done to make this happen?
Re: Using Dreamweaver to update a website that was created w/ a different program by David Kelsen on Sep 15, 2009 at 2:31:35 pm
Need more info: What program was used? In most cases the answer would be yes. Possible exceptions would be flash or frontpage. Dreamweaver could update a site created in frontpage, it's just a pain in the butt.
Re: Using Dreamweaver to update a website that was created w/ a different program by Dylan Hayward on Sep 15, 2009 at 4:45:54 pm
The problem is that the person who wants it done has no idea what program was used... She said that she just hired someone at random to build it for her, and had no idea what I was talking about when I asked her what program was used. There isn't a way to find out by looking at the html coding or how the website was constructed is there?
Re: Using Dreamweaver to update a website that was created w/ a different program by Fernando Mol on Sep 15, 2009 at 5:57:57 pm
The short answer is: yes, you can edit any HTML document created with any software in Dreamweaver. That's because DW has a great code editor.
But, as David mentioned, if the web page was created with a WYSWYG editor there's a big chance to have additional difficulties.
For example, Dreamweaver most of the time can create simple, very functional code, but if you use templates or library items, those are features recognized only by Dreamweaver (the software add some comments to the code to recognize the special features).
Using the same example, it's possible to recognize a site created with DW by looking at the code, searching for this kind of comments.
But there's no better advice than a good test before compromising yourself with the client.
I hope this helps.
PS. Some time ago I received a web page created in Publisher and it was hell. A simple visual structure were coded in a very complex way. It really was easier to start from scratch.
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Re: Using Dreamweaver to update a website that was created w/ a different program by David Kelsen on Sep 15, 2009 at 6:14:30 pm
I agree with Fernando, check the code, sometimes there are hints in the comments. I had a similar experience with a website I took over that was created in Powerpoint, absolutely horrible code.
It may be faster and easier in the long run to copy the content from the individual pages and build the site from scratch with something your familiar with. It will ultimately be much easier to update and save you time down the road.
Another thing to consider is whether or not it's a cms. That can also be determined by checking the source code. If there are mostly php pages, that could be case.
