And their IE specific sites will break in other browsers, and they'll have no idea why, or even how to begin to troubleshoot the problem.

I agree, they don't need to know about the esoterica of standards compliance; their tools ought to protect them from it.

Have you considered using one of the many online web building sites? Almost any host or domain name reseller has a website builder module.

Despite their crass commercials, I like godaddy.com for domain names and administration. I've never used their website builder, but have faith that it would be a lot simpler than anything previously mentioned.

(Edit: I just took a quick look at "Web Site Tonight" at godaddy.com and I think this is exactly what you need for the site you describe. Surely they will have a soccer template and it will be so well done, you'll find yourself building websites for all your daughter's activities!)

Your such a good dad -

how about emacs?

The request was for an editor, not a religion . . .

ARGH! I really liked the AWEB program, but I can't buy a registration code for it! Suggestions?

I noticed this yesterday ... followed a link from google labs to find it.

beta or maybe even pre-beta? and somewhat restrictive as it creates your pages on <gmail-name>.googlepages.com, but some may want to give it a shot.

http://pages.google.com/

Oh well, never mind. It takes you to a page where you can enter your email addy when they are ready to give out more accounts.

-David

Which makes no sense, given that you've already signed into your gmail account.

shameless plug:
http://www.htmlcenter.com
end shameless plug

FYI, It is amazing that basically the WYSIWYG market has dropped from 100's of tools to really just Dreamweaver in the lead.

The gating factor is access to the page builder, not a gmail account.

-David

Is it possible to tell what editor a person used to create a website?

back seat: Conventional wisdom says that if you know anything about HTML, just do a "view source" in your web browser. If you see something that's merely disgustingly bad, it probably came out of DreamWeaver. If it's unbelievably horribly awful, most likely a Microsoft product. (Sadly, this has spawned a mini-industry to create so-called "HTML optimizers"--products that take the substandard output from pricey commercial products and regurgitate it in a less embarrassing form.)

I've often wondered why HTML editors even exist; it's not like HTML is complicated. The most difficult and time-consuming aspects of putting together a decent web site typically involve design and graphics work--two things HTML editors don't address. "Cookie-cutter templates" are OK, I guess, if you don't mind a "one size fits none" approach. Actually, I can see one advantage: HTML editors might save some time when producing conceptual designs and mockups. My hope is that all of these would at least produce valid documents. (Sigh, whimper.)

I favor the "immersion" approach: go web surfing. Just do what you normally do, but start taking notes. Which sites work for you? Which ones don't? What do the "good" ones do right? What do the "bad" ones get wrong? This lets you develop your own "success criteria" for what constitutes a "good" site. You should do this regardless of whether you intend to build your own, or hire someone else to do the work. Step away from the computer, and sketch out on paper what you'd like to see.

Then, take a look at the free stuff. For example, see if Nvu or SeaMonkey's Composer will meet your needs.

Things every web author should read:

• A message to clueless website authors a/k/a Morons in web space!
• Viewable with Any Browser
• Alertbox: Current Issues in Web Usability

Some editors/website generators embed a META tag with identification information in the file header. Use "View Source" (or its equivalent) to see the source code. Look for something like
(that's the info for this web page).

My daughter made the travel team again - bad news is she has volunteered me again for website duty . . . .

Last year's website was made with "Free Tools" from 1and1.com but I am considering something else - something easier to post pictures and make the site "flashier".

Any new updates on options for HTML editors for basic users?

Thanks

I too think that dreamweaver is the best one out there. I use either that or notepad (mostly on quick changes).