Hello there . I am a beginner web developer. And you definatly know the value of having a good portfolio for working as a freelancer . I have already learnt many things related to HTML,CSS,JavaScript+jQuery,PHP,MySQL,SQL. Right know I think its time for me to build a portfolio web-site. But when it comes starting to build I face basically following two issues . 1...So my FIRST problem is related to the external look (the design) of the web-site . . In general when people make-web sites what kind of tools they use for the design of sites ?(the starting point) I mean do they start building the HTML+CSS code from scratch ? or they use special tools for designing the web-sites. I have already heard about Dreamweaver that it will handle HTML and CSS for you . But in general do professional web-designers use Dreamweaver? If not , what other kind of tools (I mean what are the most famous tools ) do you know that professional designers use to design the interfaces of web-sites ? (just the external look) I really need that kind of tools since i want to build a poritfolio web-site and i think my main problem is the design of the site. And i want to have that kind of tools in order to organize colors,texts,images,videos in the way that looks a little good . To be honest I am not that much talanted designer so the need for that tools is really huge. 2...My SECOND problem is related to the site's administrator panel(if I am not mistaken also called control panel) Does adminstrator panel is somthing similar to a basic CMS(Content Managment System)? And in general does every web-site is "obliged" to have a control panel ? Or maybe that control panels comes with the design tools? I dont know... Please help me to understant how can i build an effective control panel . And if my following question is right ... please then answer..What are the tools that can be used for making control panel to control the structure of the web-site Please be gentle and hel me!!! I deeply appreciate your time spent on reading my problem and really really hope to hear your suggestions soon!!! Thank you!!!
well, first of all you need to design a mockup (front-end) of your site. most professional designers like to use photoshop to design a good looking graphical interface (mockup) including me. after that you have to code that mockup (PSD Template) to html/css or any cms you would like to use. You are right that most of the professional web designers use dreamweaver, and expression web also a best tool for us, I personally like to use expression web because it is really very user-friendly. To upload a site to server I like to use filezilla ftp client. If you are developing a CMS site then you will get a admin panel otherwise your web designing tool (Dreamweaver or EW) is your everything to update your site. If you have skills on html,css,php,mysql then I think you can move to develop a joomla (CMS) site for your portfolio because currently it is the most famous and easy to use cms. It is also best for seo and other functionality. Best of luck!
Well, their is no boundary you can either use a C.M.S or code it all from scratch. in other words do whatever you feel like. different designers have different opinions so, you are going to make the best decision yourself. their are a number of editing tools such as notepad++ which you can use to code your stuff. or else, you can simply use WP as a C.M.S with a custom built theme to give your site a more professional look and layout.