Dreamweaver in a Nutshell

Chapter 6. Managing a Web Site

Everyone knows that planning is the first step in web site development, but many people overlook the need for ongoing management. Without proper maintenance, a complex site can become riddled with broken external links, missing files, and broken CGI scripts.

Thankfully, Dreamweaver offers all the webmaster tools necessary for deployment and long-term maintenance, such as FTP, link checking, and file checking. Even better, Dreamweaver’s site management tools simplify development and help reduce the likelihood of problems down the road. Dreamweaver helps you to manage and synchronize both the local site (the development version on your personal computer) and the remote site (the version on a web server that gets published on the Internet).

Site Management Overview

In this chapter we’ll cover how to manage a site and the following topics:

• Setting up a site and its preferences

• Managing a site’s logical structure using a site map (a graphical representation of the site and its links) in the Site Map view of the Site window

• Managing a site’s physical structure using a files list (a directory listing similar to the Windows File Explorer or Macintosh Finder) in the Site Files view of the Site window

• Using File Check In/Check Out and Design Notes to manage file changes

• Finding and fixing broken links

• Uploading your site and synchronizing remote and local files

• Site-management reports

• Managing assets with the Assets panel

In the remainder of Part II, we’ll discuss ...