Dreamweaver vs WordPress: Choosing Your Web Design Tool

Selecting the optimal platform for web design is crucial, especially regarding Dreamweaver vs WordPress. In this comprehensive guide, we unravel the features of both platforms, aiding you in making an informed decision tailored to your specific needs.

Adobe’s robust web development tool, Dreamweaver, offers extensive customisation options and advanced functionalities. Conversely, WordPress, the ubiquitous content management system, boasts user-friendly interfaces and a vast array of plugins. Join us as we explore each platform’s features, strengths, and considerations, empowering you to navigate web design confidently.

Differences Between WordPress.com and WordPress.org

There are two versions of WordPress: WordPress.com and WordPress.org, each with distinct characteristics. WordPress is a content management system (CMS) used to create various websites, including online shops and blogs. It is free, open-source, and powers approximately 43% of the world’s websites. WordPress.com is a hosting platform that enables users to create and manage websites for free. In contrast, WordPress.org provides more flexibility as it is self-hosted software. Users need their hosting server and domain name to utilise WordPress.org, making it suitable for those seeking greater control over their website’s hosting.

Both versions of WordPress utilise the same underlying software, creating a close connection between them. In this guide, we will demonstrate how to construct a website using WordPress.com, a free website creation platform.

WordPress.com

Begin by visiting wordpress.com and selecting “Get Started.” Provide an email address, username, and password, or opt for sign-in with Google or Apple. Next, acquire a domain; you can enjoy one year of free domain registration with any paid annual plan or connect an existing domain. Alternatively, defer domain selection for later. Proceed by selecting a plan; while this example focuses on the free option, WordPress.com offers hosting plans categorised as Personal, Premium, Business, and e-commerce, available for monthly and annual payment cycles.

WordPress.com Hosting Plans and Features

WordPress.com offers a range of hosting plans, with the Personal plan being the most economical, priced at approximately £3 per month or £3 to £6 annually. This plan includes a free domain, free hosting, removal of WordPress ads, payment collection capabilities, and customer support. As you progress to higher-tier premium plans, such as Premium, Business, and e-commerce, you gain additional benefits like Google Analytics integration, SEO tools, database access, and live chat support.

Upon visiting the WordPress.com website, you’ll find answers to common questions regarding hosting, domain usage, and more. For this example, we’ll begin with a free site and proceed to build it out. Similar to platforms like Wix, WordPress.com guides you through setting site goals and addressing your business needs, whether it involves online selling, content creation, self-promotion, and more. You can either select relevant options or proceed directly to the dashboard.

Customising Your WordPress.com

After setting up your WordPress.com account, the next step is defining your website’s purpose. You’ll be prompted to specify a topic that aligns with your goals, aiding in theme suggestions and customisation options. Additionally, you can provide a name and tagline for your site, summarising its essence in a few words (though both are optional). Following this, you’ll choose a design theme.

The platform will initially display blog-related options since we selected “store” and “blog” as our business goals. However, you can explore various themes to find the perfect fit. Once you’ve completed these steps, you’ll land on your WordPress dashboard, which offers an overview of your site similar to Wix’s dashboard. From here, you can preview blogs, track progress, and receive guidance on optimising your site’s setup.

Finalising Your WordPress.com Blog Setup

Once you’ve completed the initial setup, the following steps involve publishing your posts, enabling post sharing, and launching your blog. Within the dashboard, you’ll find various options, including upgrades for enhancing your site with premium themes or custom CSS. These add-ons are available for purchase to customise your site further. The “Post” tab is where you’ll manage your blog content, including adding new posts or editing existing ones. The media library stores all the media files uploaded to your site, offering easy access for insertion into your posts. Click “Add New” to add new media and upload files from your computer. With these steps, your WordPress.com blog will be ready to go live.

Adding images to your website is straightforward; simply select the image file from your computer and click “Upload” to integrate them seamlessly into your blogs and pages. Next, explore the “Pages” tab to view and manage the existing pages on your website. While currently, only the homepage exists, you can effortlessly add new pages, such as an “About” or “Gallery” page, to enrich your site’s content.

For e-commerce functionality, WordPress.com offers WooCommerce, a plugin enabling the addition and editing of products. However, note that you’ll require one of WordPress’s business plans to accept payments. Within the “Appearance” tab, you can customise your site’s theme. Navigate to “Themes” to explore alternative themes and easily switch between them to achieve the desired look for your website.

Your website is currently using the active theme displayed. However, if you wish to explore more options, navigate to the “Free” tab, where you can browse through thousands of additional themes readily available for use. Simply select a theme to preview it, and if it suits your preferences, apply it to your site with a single click.

This flexibility allows you to change your website’s theme effortlessly. Another important aspect to consider is managing users and settings. You can add users to your site, granting them access to assist with blog writing or other tasks. Additionally, the settings section enables you to customise various aspects of your site, such as the site icon, title, and tagline. Once you’ve made changes, you can easily preview your site by navigating to the “My Site” section.

Customising Pages

Below the current theme, you’ll find your site URL. Clicking on it allows you to view your site as it appears to visitors, both with and without content. You can make changes directly from this view. Clicking “Visit Site” displays how your site looks to users. Alternatively, selecting “Edit Page” reveals the backend of your site, where you can modify content and add new elements. WordPress features the Gutenberg Editor, facilitating the addition of paragraphs, headings, images, and more to your pages. While not as drag-and-drop flexible as Wix, Gutenberg simplifies adding new sections to your site. To expand your site’s content, return to the “Pages” tab and click “Add New Page.”

You’ll find pre-designed pages tailored to various page types within your chosen theme. Simply select a design theme that suits your desired page, customise the content, and click “Publish” to make it live on your site. To add your blog content, navigate to the “Posts” section and click “Add New Post.” Like Wix, you can enter the post title and content directly or via copy-paste. Formatting options allow you to bold text, add links, or create headings. Ensure you include relevant images within your post to enhance readability. WordPress.com allows you to add image tags and galleries, similar to Wix, making your posts visually engaging and user-friendly.

Launching Your WordPress.com Website

Once you’ve made all necessary adjustments to your pages, logos, and blog content, the final step is to launch your site. In the “Settings” section, scroll down to find the “Launch Site” option. Clicking on it will initiate the process. Here, you may encounter some costs associated with domain selection and site plans.

Fortunately, WordPress offers the first year of domain registration for free, allowing you to choose a domain that suits your site. Next, select a suitable site plan or opt for the free plan. Finally, checkout with your chosen domain, and your site will go live. While the WordPress software is free, obtaining a domain is essential, whether through WordPress or a domain registrar like GoDaddy.

Once all pages, logos, and blog content are in place, the last step is to launch your site. Head to “Settings” and locate the “Launch Site” option. Clicking it will prompt you to take action. During this process, you may encounter expenses related to domain selection and site plans. Fortunately, WordPress offers the first year of domain registration for free, enabling you to choose a suitable domain. Afterwards, select an appropriate site plan or opt for the free plan. Proceed to checkout with your chosen domain to make your site live. While the WordPress software is free, obtaining a domain is necessary, whether through WordPress or a domain registrar like GoDaddy.

Dashboard Customisation

First, tidy up your dashboard by removing larger ads and dismissing the Welcome section. You can easily rearrange the boxes displayed on the dashboard by clicking and dragging them to your preferred locations. If there are boxes you don’t need, like WordPress Events and News, simply go to “Screen Options” and uncheck the unnecessary boxes. For instance, to remove WordPress News and Events, click on it, and it will be deselected. Similarly, you can remove other items like Quick Draft. Remember, your dashboard is fully customisable, and additional boxes will appear as you add more plugins. For instance, installing plugins like Gravity Forms or Elementor will add corresponding boxes to your dashboard for easier access.

Within the dashboard, you’ll find the Update section, where any upcoming updates for plugins or WordPress will be listed. It’s crucial to keep everything up to date, especially as you add more plugins, which may require weekly updates. Here, you’ll receive an overview of plugins that need updating and the current WordPress version. Moving on to the Post section, this is where your blog content resides.

After installing WordPress, you’ll find a default “Hello World” blog post. Clicking on it allows you to view the post’s backend and frontend appearance. The Posts overview is where you’ll add all blog content. Utilising Gutenberg, you can easily add various post blocks such as headings, galleries, paragraphs, and images, allowing for comprehensive customisation of your blog posts.

Within your post content, you have the option to add featured images. Click on “Featured Image” to upload images directly from your computer library or select from your media library, where all uploaded images are stored for reuse across your website. Additionally, you can organise your posts into categories and tags and provide an excerpt. Depending on your theme, the excerpt may be displayed on the post page or homepage, although it’s only sometimes guaranteed.

This flexibility is reflected in the “optional” designation. The Posts overview provides a comprehensive view of all posts, whether published or in draft form, including their publishing dates. Like the dashboard, you can customise this view by clicking on “Screen Options,” allowing you to tailor the visible columns. For instance, you can hide the author or comment columns if desired.

In your WordPress dashboard, you can control the number of items displayed per page. The. The default is 20, but can be adjusted 20 but can be adjusted to 10 or 30. However, increasing this number may lead to longer loading times. You can also choose between Compact View and Extended View to tailor the dashboard layout to your preference.

This dashboard contains all your posts, plugins, and other essential tools. You can filter posts by dates and categories and perform bulk actions. You can also add new posts directly from the dashboard using the “Add New” button, which is accessible from multiple locations. Similarly, you can manage categories by clicking the “Categories” section and adding new ones as needed.

When creating categories in WordPress, you don’t need to type in the URL slug manually; leaving it blank will automatically use the category name as the slug. Additionally, you can describe the category, although its visibility may vary depending on your theme.

This description is not only beneficial for frontend display but also for backend organisation. After adding a new category, you can assign it a parent category if it’s meant to be a subcategory. Type in the parent category’s name under “Parent Category” to establish the hierarchy. Feel free to include a description for further clarity. There’s no limit to the number of categories you can create or assign, allowing for flexible content organisation.

Managing Media in WordPress

The Media Library in WordPress serves as a repository for all uploaded media, including images, documents, audio files, videos, and PDFs. To add new media directly to the library, click “Add New,” then “Select files” to choose the desired file from your computer. Upon uploading, you’ll have the option to add Alt Text and a caption. Alt Text is particularly important for SEO, as it describes the image’s content to search engines like Google, potentially improving your site’s search rankings.

Additionally, some themes may display captions, enhancing the visual presentation of your media. Another feature allows you to copy the media’s URL for easy sharing or embedding. Additionally, adding new tags to your media can help categorise and organise your files effectively.

Managing Pages in WordPress

You’ll find all the pages on your website in the “Pages” tab of your WordPress dashboard. By default, WordPress provides a privacy and sample page, but you can easily add new pages from this section. When adding a new page, simply input the page name. Depending on your site-building approach, you can customise the homepage directly from here using a theme or a page builder like Divi or Elementor. Ensure that each page is set up with a featured image before customisation. Depending on your chosen theme and plugins, you can edit and design pages to suit your needs further. The “Comments” tab allows you to manage comments on your website.

Managing Comments in WordPress

The “Comments” section of your WordPress dashboard is a hub for all comments across your website, typically found in blog posts. Comments foster interaction between you and your visitors, allowing for discussions among them. After submitting a comment, WordPress provides text boxes for further engagement. You can change the status of comments, such as marking them as pending, approved, spam, or trash.

Pending comments await your approval before being visible, while approved comments have already been published. Spam comments are automatically flagged, and those marked as trash will be deleted after 30 days. You can reply to comments and edit them as needed. If a legitimate comment gets marked as spam, you can designate it as not spam. To adjust your discussion settings, navigate to “Settings” and “Discussion.”

Within the “Discussion” settings, you can configure various options for commenting on your website. You can choose whether users can post comments without providing their name or email and decide if they must be logged in to comment. Additionally, you can automatically close comment sections on posts older than a specified number of days and manage comment pagination. You can enable comment notifications and receive emails when someone posts a comment or when a comment is held for moderation.

Your default post settings determine whether comments are allowed on new posts and if you permit link notifications from other blogs. You can also specify whether comments require manual approval or if comments from previously approved authors are automatically accepted. These discussion settings provide control over the interaction and engagement on your website.

You can access and manage themes by moving to the “Appearance” tab. WordPress themes dictate the design and layout of your site, encompassing elements such as the header, page structure, footer, and more. Themes consist of site files that control your website’s visual presentation and functionality.

Exploring and Installing Themes

Upon installing WordPress, you’ll have a default theme corresponding to the installation year, such as the “2023” theme. However, you can customise your site’s appearance by adding new themes.

Click “Add New” within the “Appearance” tab to add a new theme. This will take you to the Theme directory, where you can browse a vast collection of free and paid themes. Utilising filters, such as the “Featured” filter, allows you to narrow down your search by subject or specific features.

For instance, selecting the “Blog” filter will display themes optimised for blog layouts. You can preview each theme to assess its fonts, colours, design, and functionality. Additionally, you’ll find brief descriptions explaining how each theme operates.

While the WordPress directory offers numerous free themes, you can explore premium themes on websites like Inventor Elements for additional options and features. Whether free or paid, choosing a suitable theme is essential for creating your website’s desired look and feel.

Installing and Activating Plugins

WordPress offers many free plugins, including popular ones like Classic Editor, Guttenberg, and BuddyPress. Your dashboard’s “Plugins” section allows you to explore popular and recommended plugins from the WordPress Directory.

To install a plugin, navigate to the desired plugin, such as WooCommerce, and click “Install Now.” After installation, remember to activate the plugin by clicking “Activate.” Once activated, the plugin will typically appear in the side menu of your dashboard.

Some plugins may include a setup wizard to guide you through the configuration process step by step. For instance, WooCommerce often provides a setup wizard for seamless installation. For more detailed guidance on setting up specific plugins, refer to our channel’s tutorial videos, such as the comprehensive guide to setting up WooCommerce.

Managing Users and Permissions

The “Users” section of the WordPress dashboard is a hub for managing user access and permissions on your site. Here, you’ll find various user roles with distinct capabilities and restrictions.

• Admin: Admin users possess complete control over the website, including the ability to add, edit, and delete users, as well as manage content across the site.
• Editor: Editors can manage and publish posts and schedule content, but they cannot install, activate, or manage plugins or themes.
• Author: Authors can write and publish their posts and pages. However, they cannot publish, edit, or delete posts authored by others.
• Contributor: Contributors can draft their posts but must submit them for review by an admin or editor for publishing. They lack the autonomy to publish content independently.

As you add users to your site, whether they are admin, editor, author, or contributor, their roles and permissions will determine their level of access and control over the site’s content and settings. It’s crucial to assign roles thoughtfully to ensure proper management and security of your WordPress site.

Creating User Roles and Permissions

In WordPress, user roles dictate the level of access and permissions granted to individuals on your site. Here’s how to create and manage user roles effectively:

• Accessing User Dashboard: Navigate to the “Users” section in the WordPress dashboard to manage user roles.
• Adding a New User: Click “Add New” to create a new user account. Provide the following details:Username: The unique identifier for the user’s login.
• Email: A valid email address for account management and notifications.
• First Name and Last Name: Optional but can enhance personalisation.
• Password: Choose to generate a random password or let the user set their password via email.
• Assigning User Roles: Select the appropriate user role from the available options. 
• Admin: Full control over the website.
• Editor: Management and publishing capabilities for posts.
• Author: Ability to write and publish own posts.
• Contributor: Can submit posts for review but cannot publish them.
• Subscriber: Limited to managing their profile and reading posts on the site.
• Additional User Roles: Depending on installed plugins, such as WooCommerce, additional user roles like “Customer” and “Shop Manager” may be available.
• Notification: Opt to send a user notification email, allowing the user to set their password securely.
• Adding New User: Click “Add New User” to create the user account once all details are filled.
• Managing Users: Keep track of users’ roles from the Users dashboard. Use the “Screen Options” to customise the view as needed.

By effectively managing user roles and permissions, you can ensure proper access control and security on your WordPress site, whether for personal blogging, business, or client projects.

Managing Site Tools and Settings

In WordPress, tools and settings are crucial in configuring and optimising your website. Here’s how to effectively manage these aspects:

• Tools Section: Import and Export: Useful for transferring content between WordPress sites.
• Site Health: This provides insights into your site’s overall health and offers recommendations for improvement. You can address security-related issues, missing modules, and other technical aspects manually or with your hosting provider’s assistance.
• General Settings: Configure fundamental site details such as site title, tagline, membership settings, default user roles, time zone, date format, and site language.
• Writing: Define default post category, post format, and other writing-related preferences.
• Reading: Choose between displaying the latest posts or a static page as the homepage, set the number of posts on the blog page, and determine whether to show full text or excerpts in post feeds.
• Search Engine Visibility: Control whether search engines can index your site. This is useful for keeping the site private during the development stages.

By adequately configuring site tools and settings, you can ensure your WordPress site operates smoothly, adheres to your preferences, and is optimised for performance and security.

Understanding Permalinks

Permalinks are essential for structuring your website’s URLs in a user-friendly and search engine-optimised manner. Here’s how to manage permalinks in WordPress:

• Permalink Settings: WordPress default uses the “Post name” permalink structure, preferred for readability and SEO.
• You can customise the permalink structure by choosing between standard options like “Plain,” “Day and name,” “Month and name,” “Numeric,” or “Post name.”
• You should choose a permalink structure that is easy to understand and reflects the content of your posts and pages.
• Once you’ve selected your desired permalink structure, remember to save your changes and apply them to your site.

By optimising your permalink structure, you can create URLs that are both user-friendly and optimised for search engines, improving your WordPress site’s overall accessibility and visibility.

Adobe Dreamweaver vs WordPress

For newcomers to web design and development, choosing between Adobe Dreamweaver and WordPress requires careful consideration of several factors:

• Skill Level: Adobe Dreamweaver’s complex editor may be overwhelming for beginners without prior experience in web coding or design.
• WordPress, on the other hand, offers a more user-friendly interface with templates and page builders, making it easier for beginners to create and customise websites.
• Flexibility: WordPress allows users to choose from a wide range of templates and page builders, allowing for customisation according to individual preferences.
• Adobe Dreamweaver offers customisation options but may be more rigid and complex than WordPress.
• Cost: Adobe Dreamweaver requires a subscription fee, which can become costly over time, especially for beginners who may not utilise other Adobe Creative Suite products.
• WordPress is free, but users may incur costs for premium themes, hosting, and additional plugins or page builders.
• Control and Complexity: Adobe Dreamweaver and WordPress offer options for users who seek complete control over their websites, but the complexity of Adobe Dreamweaver may be daunting for beginners.
• WordPress balances flexibility and simplicity, making it a suitable choice for beginners who want to easily create and manage their websites.

In conclusion, beginners may find WordPress more accessible and cost-effective than Adobe Dreamweaver. However, it’s essential to evaluate individual needs and preferences before deciding. Additionally, simpler platforms like Wix or Shopify may be better suited for beginners looking for a straightforward website-building experience. So you can understand essential website standard practices and slowly progress to WordPress and maybe one day to Adobe Dreamweaver.