Newbie needs help with editing site

User 2156670 Photo


Guest
2 posts

Hello,

I've just had a site done for me and being completely uneducated when it comes to coding and building websites, I wanted to use wordpress as I've used it before and know how to use it.

The person who did it for me insisted I use CoffeeCup and then when I ask how to do things, gets' impatient with me, so I just need to know a couple of things.

1. How do I edit and add/remove links in the top bar?
2. How do I add/remove pages?

Please be aware that I'm a complete newbie and don't know any technical terms that you may take for granted. (In other words speak to me like a 5 year old when telling me how to do stuff :))

My site is http://www.rolirivelino.com/
User 38401 Photo


Senior Advisor
10,951 posts

Hiya Newbie,

I guess the real issue here for us to answer that is our morals. I don't really think it's appropriate for us to start teaching you how to do things if someone else is working on your website. If you have issues with them working on your website then you really should take that up with them. I'll assume you are paying them to do your site, if that's the case then you have every right to request information on how to edit things and you have that right to ask them directly. If they are doing it as a favor, well you still have that complete right, but hopefully in either case you'll grant some patience for them to get it finished before getting too worried about editing it.

It's a tight spot for us to stick our noses in between a customer and their web developer. I hope you understand that, it's not a matter of we "can't" or "won't" it's that at the moment we shouldn't.

Having said that, I'd like to tell you one of the main reasons why. Since you are entirely green, I can totally understand your website builders issues with explaining how to do things. It's not a matter of point and click here and the work is done. There's a lot more involved with it than that, and playing with menus and pages (which are easily messed up and accidentally deleted) are some real concerns with people setting up customers to edit their own sites after they have been built.

I am very sure the builder will sit with you and explain how it works and what you should and shouldn't do, but do have patience, it's not rocket science, but it's not Kindergarten either, it takes a fair bit of explaining to show someone with no knowledge at all how to do this, and especially to show them with them understanding what and why they are doing it.

Without us knowing what type of contract you have worked out, it wouldn't be fair for us to butt in and override any agreements you've made with the site builder. Talk to them about your concerns and work out what and how you will be editing it as they may have plans for how they intend to set that up.

Sorry to rain on your parade, and I'm sure in the end it will all work out, they are probably just worried about making sure you know what you are doing before you get in there doing it, and I'm sure most here would understand that.
User 122279 Photo


Senior Advisor
14,447 posts

The one creating the site needs to be told that his choice of colours is not ideal. The blue nav bar and the gray subtitles are barely visible against the black background.
Ha en riktig god dag!
Inger, Norway

My work in progress:
Components for Site Designer and the HTML Editor: https://mock-up.coffeecup.com


User 2156565 Photo


Registered User
2 posts

I agree about the colours. You see so many websites that show little consideration for people with failing eyesight. Try looking at it first thing in the morning when your eyes are all blurry.

User 271657 Photo


Ambassador
3,816 posts

Hi Newbie -
I see Jo Ann's point - it just gets confusing when other people not directly involved with the client and developer start jumping in with advice - BUT I have to wonder why this person insisted on this method when you specifically asked for a WordPress site so you would be able to edit and maintain it yourself.

The Coffee Cup HTML Editor is a great piece of software, and for those with html, css and some java scripting know-how, it makes it easy to build any sort of site. You might want to start learning some basics if you want to be able to edit the site yourself (or put your foot down and insist on the WP site if you're not getting what you signed on for).
Have a look around here:
http://www.w3schools.com/

Good luck! :)
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. (Douglas Adams)
https://www.callendales.com
User 562592 Photo


Registered User
2,038 posts

Not sure if you know this newbie, but wordpress uses a different coding language for its development. If you are doing this your self, then you should just put up an html/css website. The HTML editor can help you with that. If you want to continue to use Wordpress, you really need to get your developer to show you.

The other point is, as most of us know, it is not easy to develop websites. If you want to be able to do this well, you either need to hire a professional (doesn't sound like the one you hired is), or you need to learn how to build websites yourself.

It's not about just changing code right now, you will have to do maintenance on the site and upgrades as languages evolve. So, determine for yourself what the best cause of action should be.

Good luck! :)
The philosopher has not done philosophy until he has acted upon the mere conviction of his idea; for proof of the theory is in the act, not the idea.

My Web Development Company: http://www.innovatewebdevelopment.com (Created with Coffee Cup Software).

My Personal Website: http://www.EricSEnglish.com

User 364143 Photo


Guest
5,410 posts

1. WordPress pages are automatically added to theme menu when you publish the page and make it visible to the public (on the right hand side when working with the page).

2. The WordPress backend has a menu on the left side. There you will find a button for pages. When you click it, all your pages are displayed. If you run the cursor down the list of pages, below the page names, options appear to edit or send the page to the trash, removing the page.

You could always ditch WordPress and create your website easily using the Visual Site Designer. It is very easy for the non technical person. You can replace your existing site in no time and wouldn't need to rely on a professional.

http://www.coffeecup.com/designer/
CoffeeCup... Yeah, they are the best!
User 2156670 Photo


Guest
2 posts

Your answers make me want to cry guys, all I want is a simple website and to add and edit a couple of things, I've learnt a lot of programs in the last few years, mainly to do with video production, I really have no interest in learning coding.

The guy I asked to do the site is a friend and it's a return of favour for services rendered, he's extremely stubborn and doesn't listen, a for instance; I made a mistake with a link and asked him to look at it and tell me what I'd done wrong.

His response was to tell me that I hadn't closed the href tag, I asked him how to do that and all he could do was repeat it was simple over and over again.

Yes it's simple I said when you know how and I invited him to come and complete a DVD menu in DVD Studio Pro, something that I find simple, but still had to learn. In the end he emailed me an example of what he meant, but the whole affair has left a sour taste in my mouth and I really don't want to talk to him for some time as I'm still pretty angry, as he should have just listened to me in the first place when I said I wanted a wordpress site.

Ideally I'd like to change the site to wordpress, but I'm guessing this isn't easy, please help me edit the site guys, just pretend that I never told you about the 'other guy'.
User 38401 Photo


Senior Advisor
10,951 posts

Hiya Newbie,

It's not as easy as just wanting to do it. There's a lot of learning involved in doing any site, including Wordpress which would be a whole lot easier for you to deal with in the end with editing. The thing is, setup is not easy if you don't kwow how to do it. You need to have full access of your server, the ability to upload/download and the knowledge to know how to do it. Do you have access to the cPanel (if your server has it that is)? If so, then installing wordpress is usually something you can do right from there. But...

You really should talk to your friend and tell him what you want. Truly if this is a trade for favors then there should be no question of it, if he's returning a favor you have done for him, then he should be returning it in what "you" want, not what "he" wants. I understand your dilemma, and there's no really easy way around it, but it's something you really should do.

In order to change it to word press you will need full access to the entire site, the domain, etc. and he will have to be blocked out of it completely. There's no way around that because if he's not blocked out he will still be trying to work on your site and the 2 of you will be overwriting each other and pissing each other off that way and it will end up much uglier than it is now.

If you're able to get around all that, I would suggest you go to http://www.wordpress.org and take a look at how all the things are setup and how to do things with Wordpress. That would be the best thing to do for learning how to work it. But you need all the access first and without conflict.

Hope that all makes sense, I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's truly the best I can do as I really can't see stepping into the middle of something that could end up pretty nasty. Good luck with it. :)
User 364143 Photo


Guest
5,410 posts

WordPress is easy. VSD is easier. VSD + S-Drive will make it even easier. Forget the other guy. Move forward. Try VSD.

http://www.coffeecup.com/designer/
CoffeeCup... Yeah, they are the best!

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