DH Templates

An easy way to control layout to web pages / CMS templates?

I have a hard time controlling the design and element placement on the page, whether it's page I design from scratch or a WordPress template.. Is there a software that does that simply? If I use simple free software like NVU you just insert HTML tags and have to go in and change the <TD> attributes for alignment, which is a tedious process. If I use Dreamweaver, it basically lets you "draw" an element where you want it on the page, but then it hard codes the dimensions in pixels and you lose the natural auto-stretch properties of tables. And now of course the shift is towards CSS. I don't know of an easy to use software that does that. Any advice?

Public Comments

1. You are correct that CSS is really considered the way to go. There's some really good reasons for that, and you're discovering them. The old paradigm of pretending that a web page is just like a word processing document simply doesn't work. WYWIWYG is a lie, when it comes to web development. The CSS approach is actually easier, but it requires a change in your thinking. It's best to design the content and general structure of the page without worrying too much about the layout. You can then use CSS to make whatever layout you want, without the tedium of tables. You don't have to memorize all the CSS attributes. Consider using Aptana to build your web sites. This is a free programmer's editor that's optimized for web development. Although it has some tags like NView, it's best used as a plain text editor. It actually helps you write XHTML and CSS code. For example, if you're writing CSS and you type the term 'border' Aptana will pop up a list box of all the various attributes relating to borders. It's very powerful, and not as scary as it might seem. Of course, it's easier with a good book to guide you, so stop by my site and look at one of mine if you need more help. http://www.aharrisbooks.net
2. Hand code the site. You will probably save yourself countless hours of trying to use the other tools to get a fluid non-fixed layout. Take a look at Zengarden.com. They use the same HTML, but different CSS to make the exact same things look differently. It's soooo much easier to use CSS.
3. Yet Another Multicolumn Layout (YAML) YAML is an (X)HTML/CSS framework for creating modern and flexible floated layouts. The structure is extremely versatile in its programming and absolutely accessible for end users. A YAML based Layout in a ready to use project structure. http://www.yaml.de/en/ They also have online YAML design builder : http://builder.yaml.de/