Web design advice please

punky

I have an idea for a web-based project so I want to start building a site over the next few months.

The problem is, although I have some IT know-how, I'm not a tech and have only a little experience in web design (did a html course and have used older versions of dreamweaver).

As I can't programme, I guess I'm going to have to use software. I believe Dreamweaver 8 is the best around (?) but it seems really expensive.
I'm going to need to have a forum, tables, drop down lists and lots of other stuff.

Any advice on the best and least expensive way to go about this? Bear in mind that the site will need to be quite sofisticated and I can't afford to pay someone to build it for me.

Thanks
Punky

tba

Alot of software is available for free these days, forum systems are two a penny and I suppose it really depends what you want the forms to do?

punky

I don't want to go into detail, but there needs to be a lot more than just forums. It'll need to be quite interactive, with users able to make certain changes. Sorry if that's very vague. What's the best free software?
Cheers.

I hear Coffeecup is a lot cheaper than dream weaver. Is it any good?

tba

I'm not going to recommend any web page making software, the reason is I have never used them, the lack of control I experience with them is paramount to driving blind. When something goes wrong I like to be able to fix it myself.

When I say free software I mean things like phpbb, wikis and other such frrely available "packages" that do a job you require, they usually have detailed instructions and a good community, you may well find a prebuilt package to suit your needs, but then again it depends on what you are making.

Is it a blogging site, a support site, a personal/group interaction site. Try to define what things need to be done and we might be able to help you a bit better, (theres no need to expose your idea to us)

punky

It's more an idea than a definite plan at this stage but I'd say it would be a group interaction site. Users will form different groups and be able to make/vote for changes to their particular group. Other features I would like to have would be a forum and eventually a credit card donation form (but site will be free to use). Beyond that I'm just not sure what else I'll need yet.

Diddy Kong

You could take a look at one of the CMS (Content Managment Systems) like phpNuke / MamboServer / Joomla and there is a Microsoft one. All of these are very customizable and would have almost every module you might every need, very easy to use even for basic beginners.

CarefulNow

Joomla is probably the best CMS I have used to date. Simple to use and there is endless amounts of plugins, themes etc.
For a forum system I recommend SMF. It's a great free system.
If you use Joomla you can integrate SMF into it with a simple bridge plugin.