How to redesign your web site much faster!

Hi!

This message is not trying to advertise anything. I wrote an article on web site design and I thought since the people here needed help, that this would be really helpful for them.

Here is the article:

How To Redesign Your Web Site 400% Faster!

I have been building web sites for years and within the last year, I found
a few tricks that save me a ton of hours in redesigning my web site. It
took me forever to update or change my entire 30 page site. If I left
some information out, misspelled a url or anything, I would have to do
it all over again and it was very frustrating. But now, I can change my
entire web site in a fraction of the time it original took me!

There are a few ways you can save time on building a web site. The two
newest methods are ASP and PHP. ASP is a kind of programming that
runs on NT servers. PHP is a kind of programming that runs on UNIX
servers. Many people will tell you it takes a long time to learn it, but once
you do, the updating part is easy to do, in most areas. These two programs
are like HTML, but more difficult. If you do not have the determination or
desire to learn another program, then I suggest trying this new trick I have
found. For most people, I recommend doing this instead.

- The Old Way -

This is the procedure I took when I built my web site the old fashion way.

This is what I had to do for EVERY single web page:

1. Visit the page I wanted to change.
2. Right mouse click and view the page source.
3. Change the text and coding.
4. Click on Save as and find the folder I wanted to save it under. Since
Windows uses it's own folder as the default, I had to change folders to
get to the main C directory. I had created a special folder for my web
site pages. I suggest you do the same.
5. Save the file.
6. Open my uploading tool and transfer the new web page onto my server.

Doing this for every single page is very time consuming and after a while,
I stopped updating my site so often. The time and patience it required,
was overwhelming. But now, I have found a solution to accomplish my
job in a small fraction of the time.

The tricks explained below are ones I have found on my own and to my
knowledge, not many people know about them, if any at all.

- The NEW Faster Way -

First, I open my uploading tool I use to upload to my web hosting server.
I use WS_FTP LE. You can get their free or paid version online. The
free version handles all my needs and the majority of others. There are
tons of free uploading tools you can get over the Internet. If you do not
have one, then you can look here: http://tucows-m1.aust.tx.verio.net/ftp95.html
for a variety of uploading programs. I have included example images
throughout the article to show exactly what I am talking about, each step
of the way. To my knowledge, most uploading tools work very similar and
you should not have a problem understanding this with another program.
If you do, then I suggest downloading the small WS_FTP file, so you can
follow my foot steps (available at the above web site).

Next, you need to connect to your web host's server. Then open
the folder where all your web pages are stored on in the
uploading tool program. If you do not have them stored on your
computer, transfer all your files from your site's server onto a
folder on your computer. I suggest creating a new one and you
will see why later on. Here's an example picture:
http://www.imsnewsletter.com/design/1.gif

Once you connect to your server, you need to click on your home
directory folder. Most providers call it www. If you do not know
what it is, then ask your web hosting provider. Example picture:
http://www.imsnewsletter.com/design/2.gif

This trick will really amaze you. Click on one of your web pages
and then scroll down and highlight every one of them. Do not
unclick until you have highlighted every page. Then click on the
"View" button on the program. Now, all of your pages are already
opened in separate note pads. This is why I suggest you creating
a special folder, it makes this much easier. Example picture:
http://www.imsnewsletter.com/design/3.gif

Now you can change the text and coding on all your web pages. If
you have something you want to change on every page that is
exactly the same, you can use this tool that will replace the
text or coding you want on every page for you, within seconds.
The tool is available online for free here:
http://www.fluid3d.com/software/wineasy.html

Here is another trick I really love. Once you have completed the
changes on all of your web pages, right mouse click on all the
text pads on the task bar and click on Close (one at a time).
When a box will come up and ask you to save the file, hit the
"Enter" key. A little practice and you can easily save 30 pages
in about a 30 seconds flat. This way, you do not have to manually
save each and every page. Example pictures:

Step One: http://www.imsnewsletter.com/design/4.gif
Step Two: http://www.imsnewsletter.com/design/5.gif

Now, you can transfer all your html files all at once, or only a
few. Once you're done, click on the "Refresh" button. Then click
on one of your web pages and drag your mouse over all the pages
you want to transfer, like you were shown earlier. Now click on
the transfer icon. Example picture:
http://www.imsnewsletter.com/design/6.gif

Once you try changing a few pages, you can see how this will save
you hundreds of hours, and can easily update your site.

Going this route is also helpful if you are using the statistics
tracking program AXS at http://www.xav.com/scripts/axs. If you
visit each web page it hides the coding, which tracks your web
site. That means you have to enter the code back into each web
page all over again. By going through the uploading program, it
stays there so you do not have to reenter the code on every web
page. If you're not satisfied with your current tracking program,
I recommend that this CGI script. It's free and an awesome tool.

-----
Curtis Stevens is the owner of the Internet Marketing Success. A free
weekly newsletter that is shipped directly to your e-mail box full of Internet
marketing and promotion secrets. A little good advice never hurt anyone
and everyone can use this valuable resource on a consistent basis! Visit
here: http://www.imsnewsletter.com for more information or send a blank
email to: mailto:[email protected] to subscribe.

[This message has been edited by Curtis Stevens (edited 06 December 1999).]