CODEWITHSUNDEEP
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AutoTester213
AutoTester213

Reputation: 2862

Webapp - Use a template or create from start

probably a rookie question I want to develop a gaming forum but my design skills are not good at all and i was thinking to use a template and work from there.

QUESTION: whats a better option create it from raw and learn simple design skills or use a template from Dreamweaver or third party resources? Any advice would be appreciated.

Languages used :I will be using HTML5 css and javascript I know how to code but the problem is in designing the front end of the webapp photos,layout etc...

Upvotes: 0

Views: 44

Answers (2)

krysopath
krysopath

Reputation: 344

Aye,

so if your goal is to develop your own forum, you need to look into user-management and how to store and retrieve the content, that you want to display, how to do secure/best practices. I would never touch design-questions, until I have cleared those aforementioned. My idea is to first build the basement, here. If you think design is your crux, you can find help and opinions from other people, and still be building your own forum.

If you are okay with using a forum template and modifying it until it suits your wishes, you might pick one of dozen of ready templates. You wont need to develop login methods or handle database connections, as those usually are tailored to the template already.

I used a forum template only once, and trashed it soon after I modified it. I wasn't learning much, nor was I content with the result. For me, fooling around in other people's php was a pain. Of course, YMMV

If this forum is a hobby project, you would be learning much more, if you'd design "everything" yourself. You might invest some time, though. "Everything" is a lie, however... there a lot of modules, that help with such tasks.

I had pleasant experiences with flask and django, which enable you to do perhaps everything you might expect from a forum. I am a python fanboy. I never used Dreamweaver, nor saw I ever a webpage, that was made with Dreamweaver and looked like a page I'd surf on. I have no clue on Dreamweaver.

Lets put it like that: I was faster learning python and utilising flask, then I was modifying someone else's php forum-template.

You can use your mentioned technologies together with a WSGI framework, like flask/pyramid or django (all python). Other languages offer similar frameworks, that you can use quite similar.

What might be an approach, is to take css and design elements from a ready-to-use template and put it to work with one of those fancy WSGI frameworks. that would

  1. Save time with decisions
  2. Help with design pattern
  3. Be exchangeable/modifiable

There is a branch of psychology, called Gestaltpsychology, which gives nice leads on how to design interface elements in a way, that a user can find access to your webapp easily.

So far my colored POV, that is disguised as an answer. :)

Upvotes: 1

Robert
Robert

Reputation: 2486

If you are new to web development then I recommend you to try Wordpress.

Upvotes: 0

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