Okay so at the moment i have a site where i intend to blog. The problem is that i have already made it and just realised that they are on static html pages so they dont update automatically. I have tried learning php and html but am just absolutely fed up now. I just want to blog and make articles. What is wordpress and is it easier than dreamweaver even if i have an existing site?
HTML in dreamweaver is very confusing, at least for me. When I make a website there are two possibilities: either I make the website in html from scratch in notepad, either with wordpress. Wordpress is great for beginner and you can find lots of themes...
ok first off, you dont need to learn php in order to run a WP installation. it is a bonus if you do know some. but you can also use html in the wp files. also, if you are in need of a blog, then Wordpress is absolutely the MOST user friendly for someone new to it. and even then, even for people that have been using CMS for a long time choose WP over anything else. and Wordpress is a lightweight blogging platform that provides what is called dynamic webpages. dynamic meaning that they change frequently.
Wordpress and Dreamweaver aren't the same, apple and oranges there mate. Wordpress is exactly what you're looking for by the sounds of it. Think about all the work you have to do to static pages each time you add a blog post - this work goes up exponentially the larger your blog gets. Can you imagine updating the paging links on a blog that has 5,000 entries on 500 pages? Wordpress will do all that for you - it manages the menu's, paging, comments, users, SEO etc. It's a blogging platform designed to make it easy for you. So all you have to do is write blog posts. Dreamweaver is for designing the actual website and editing the code. You could use this to make a nice design, then cut it up and put it into Wordpress as a theme.
Wordpress is a content management system - dreamweaver is a WYSIWYG editor. Both are good for making websites. Wordpress is for a system where you can get your site up and running in a matter of minutes. Just have it installed - pump up a theme and voila you're done. While, Dreamweaver is great for making static sites that don't require a lot of updating. Let me know if you need any help with wordpress.
So since i already have a site with CSS installed. Can i easily just move the files over and have wordpress manage the content or will it change the look of my site?
No. You will need to either install Wordpress in a subfolder and leave the installed site 'as is' (kind pointless) or clear your existing site and install Wordpress in the root folder. Then you would need to redo your articles, etc. into Wordpress. From what you say you want to do I would recommend this option because once you have WP installed all of the update functions etc can be done automatically. Plus there are lots of available templates and plugins. Persevering with the site you can't get to work is a bit of a waste of time, imo.
Ok so make back up files of my current site and save all the articles then re-put them into wordpress. I'm totally fine with that, the only problem is i have paid for a header (from this site) and have a CSS style that i really like and fits the header perfectly. Don't say the fact is i cannot use my CSS and Custom header as that will actually be a nightmare for me.
Well, you can customise any wordpress theme from within the wordpress control panel but I'm not sure how successful it will be. It really depends how good you are at fiddling about with it. Still, only way to learn is to have a go. Probably the best way forward for you is to install WP in the root (and redo all your articles) and use a standard template, but also install another copy of WP into a subfolder and that would be the one you messed about with to try to get your header and css working. Once you've cracked it you will know exactly what to do to the root-installation one.
Wordpress is SUPER easy--you will luv it when you learn how to do it--it's as easy as blogger and has a lot of seo advantages.
wordpress is using templating system so it will be easy to edit it using dreamweaver if you know a bit of html (at least the basics). using wordpress instead of static html pages will be rewarding for you because of the fast way you can do changes to your website, and besides, wordpress has a lot of plugins for seo and so on, that you wont be able to utilize when you have a static html website. so i say 100% go with wordpress, i think you wont need to edit html at all if all you want is simple blogging site.
You Can only build static site with dreamweaver. While in you can build very easily a dynamic site in WordPress.
Absolutely! WP is a lot easier to use for novice users and it's free. DW on the other hand isn't free and you'll need some good tutorials to get you started.