In this chapter
So, you have your first project in mind or maybe even a client or two lined up and you’re ready to break out your new copy of Macromedia Studio and start building websites, right? But where do you start? Should you start creating tables, drawing images, or creating keyframes? If you want to set yourself up for success and avoid frustration and wasted time, the best place to start isn’t necessarily with Studio, but with a good old-fashioned pencil and notepad.
When it comes to creating a website, a little preplanning can go a long way in determining the elements you need, the tools you’ll require to create them, and the process involved to bring the project to completion. Rather than just tossing design ideas into the workspace, try answering a few questions that can guide you in the process, such as
What kind of site am I looking to build?
Who is my target audience? Is this for the Web or an intranet?
What features and functionality will serve the audience?
What type of content will be added to the pages? Static or dynamic?
If dynamic, what database management system will be needed and what platform will be used?
How many pages will the site require? What types of pages are they?
Does a template for look and feel already exist?
Is artwork already available for use? If not, do I know what layout would work best?
Where will this site be hosted?
Does the host offer the server functionality (such as databases, specific platforms, and so on) that I need?
Caution
This is in no way an exhaustive list of questions that you should be discussing with your client, but a simple list of generic questions that can serve as a starting point for a conversation.
Tip
Maintain a running list of questions and answers for each of your projects or clients. In addition, with each project that you complete, review the questions and answers and add any appropriate questions to a master question list that you use with each new client.
These questions, among many others, can be a starting point for putting together a project plan. This plan lays out the process of building the site and gets you started in thinking about the potential issues that might arise.
For instance, suppose that for the exercises in this book, you have been approached by a local motorcycle dealership who would like you to build a site that advertises their services, allows people to contact them, and also displays the various motorcycles that they have in stock. They have a logo that they use on their letterhead, but would like for you to create a new logo for use on the Web. After a little time talking with the client and planning, you have the following answers to your questions:
Armed with the answers to these questions, you are now ready to think about what tools you have at your disposal and what, if any, tools you need to acquire for the project.
Using the answers to the questions already outlined, the next step in the process is to determine what tools you need to produce the client’s site.
From your conversation with the client, you know that they do not have a website already, so you need to plan the structure of the site and develop a layout. This process can be done with good old-fashioned pen and paper or by using some of the diagramming tools found in Fireworks 8.
After you have a basic layout developed, you need to create the underlying graphics that can be inserted into the pages. Using Fireworks, you can create the company’s new logo and any navigation buttons that are needed for the site.
The client also mentioned that they would like to have an About Us page that has a slideshow of photos of the employees, facilities, and so forth. Using Flash, the slideshow can be created with an XML document that allows the client to easily update the slideshow if a new employee is hired, someone leaves the company, or a new facility is acquired.
Finally, because they hope to grow their inventory of motorcycles continually, the details about each motorcycle for sale will be stored in an Access database, which will be connected to their ColdFusion-based web pages. To accomplish this, we can use the Developer’s edition of ColdFusion, along with Dreamweaver, to produce and test the dynamic pages.
You may have noticed that the project conveniently uses each of the programs included in the Macromedia Studio. As you progress through the chapters, you will get a better understanding of the role that each program plays in the project lifecycle and why the combination of the five programs makes the Studio suite so powerful.
Now that you know what tools will be involved throughout the project, let’s look at some elements you can design to streamline the development of the site and minimize the time it takes to complete the project.
The first reusable tool would be the site template. Developing a template for the page’s layout not only decreases development time by allowing you to reuse the same template over and over, but it ensures that each page within the site uses the same basic elements and code.
As you will see later on, using a template makes it especially easy when you need to replace an image or object on every page within the site. Templates are covered in more depth in the Dreamweaver section of the book, but as you proceed, it’s a good idea to have the concept of a reusable template on your mind.
Another reusable element that you can take advantage of is called a snippet. The term refers to a small “chunk” of code that you can conveniently store and reuse over and over. For each project that you create, it’s a good idea to create snippets out of any code that you might find useful on other projects. This saves you time and energy re-creating code and ensures consistency across your various sites. As you proceed through the project, I’ll point out areas where you might consider creating a code snippet for reuse later.
Cascading style sheets (CSS) also speed the development of your site. A single style sheet can contain all the various ways to format text and objects within your site. This single document is then linked to every document in your site, making those styles available in one central location. The nice thing about style sheets comes when you want to change a style. Instead of changing it on every single page in the site, you just change it in the style sheet and the change propagates out to every page that relies on the style sheet. Over the past few years, Dreamweaver has really integrated CSS into the development process, making it much easier to manage. With the latest release of Flash, Macromedia has continued focusing on CSS by improving the capability to use CSS to format Flash-based content.
One additional set of streamlining tools that I focus on are library objects. As you will see, library objects enable you to store and reuse objects such as images, sounds, movie files, and more by simply dragging and dropping them into your pages. Another nice feature of library objects is the fact that they are reusable in nearly every application in the Studio suite. For instance, graphics created in Fireworks can be used in Flash and Dreamweaver and can even be quickly edited in any of these applications through the round-trip features built in to Flash, Fireworks, and Dreamweaver. As I cover each application, I point out situations where round-trip functionality might apply.
With these reusable elements at your disposal, the last issue you need to consider before you start looking at the Studio tools themselves is that of supplemental software.
Throughout the process of developing the site and all the necessary elements, there are a couple pieces of supplemental software that, although not absolutely necessary, assist in your understanding of how the site works.
Although the ColdFusion server does include an internal web server, Macromedia has indicated that it is best suited for the development environment and not intended to replace more powerful web server applications, like IIS or Apache. Therefore, it’s a good idea to install and configure a web server on your local machine so that you can test your site as you progress.
Caution
If you are using a machine that has Windows XP Home Edition, it is not capable of using IIS unless you make significant modifications to operating system files. Therefore, if you are using the Home Edition, you can either upgrade to the Professional Edition or choose to run Apache Web Server.
Throughout this book, IIS is used because it’s included in most versions of Windows, but if you are a Mac user or you prefer a server such as Apache or SunOne, you can use those as well. IIS can be installed with your Windows Operating System CD, the Apache web server can be downloaded from http://www.apache.org, and SunOne can be downloaded at http://www.sun.com/software/products/web_srvr/home_web_srvr.xml.
Note
For additional information on configuring each of these web server applications for use with ColdFusion, check out this site:
http://livedocs.macromedia.com/coldfusion/7/htmldocs/00000049.htm
As mentioned earlier, one of the elements you will be developing for the client is a Flash slideshow of their employees and facilities. Therefore, to fully test the Flash movie you are going to create, you need to have the latest version of the Flash Player installed on your local machine. When you install Macromedia Studio, the Flash Player should be installed as well, but you can test to ensure that the player is installed and configured correctly by going to Macromedia’s website at http://www.macromedia.com. Their site is Flash based, so if you are able to view their site correctly, Flash is installed properly on your machine.
The final piece of supplementary software that will be helpful in developing the site is Microsoft Access. Since you are going to create database-driven pages for the website, the content will be stored in Access and then rendered on the pages when they are accessed. Although it is not imperative that you have Access installed on your machine, it might be helpful to be able to open the Access database and view the table structure and field properties that have been created for the site.
How can I tell whether IIS is properly configured on my machine?
The first thing to do is check to see whether there is an Inetpub folder located in your C: drive. If there is, it is likely that IIS is installed. To check whether it is functioning correctly, choose Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad, and type Hello World in the document. Save the document as C:Inetpubwwwroothello.htm. Finally, open Internet Explorer and type http://localhost/hello.htm in the address bar. If a page is returned that says Hello World, IIS is functioning correctly.
If you are not able to view the page, try reinstalling IIS or Apache and trying again.
I have installed ColdFusion and plan on using the web server included with ColdFusion, but every time I type http://localhost, I get an error.
The ColdFusion web server application works only on port 8500, so if you are planning on using the ColdFusion web server for development, type http://localhost:8500 instead.
Running a web server application on your local workstation can expose your computer to risks that previously did not exist. By enabling a web server, you can expose your files and databases to snooping eyes, so being aware of (and promptly testing and installing) all security patches is necessary to ensure that your data is protected. This advice is not limited to Windows systems running IIS, either. Apache and SunOne are often the target of attacks as well, so be sure to check the knowledge base of the company that provides your web server application and keep those patches up to date!