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FNDTV
Participant
February 6, 2023
Question

Can a site, created 13 years ago using Dreamweaver CS6, as .PHP pages be made responsive? Urgent Plz

  • February 6, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 759 views

Hello all!

We have this Informative Website, entirely custom, mainly in .PHP with animations, CSS, JS queries, some video iFrame embeds, etc. and now many things go wrong with it, because it's getting fairly old... I guess...?

 

1. the 'S3Sliders' disappear in Win 8.1, 10 & 11, but are still good in Win 7, and older I presume...

2. the smooth, sub menu dropdowns, same story... They can't be viewed, only in Win 7...!

3. obviously, the site is not responsive, apart from offering a slide bar at the bottom, to pan horizontally...

4. my exact version of Dreamweaver is Version 12,  build 5861... I just don't like CC at the moment. If that makes sense to some of you.

5. I am not the original webmaster or dev. for the site, but took over 2-3 years after its creation, in 2011...

6. Since then, I have maintained it... somehow. - And tried to learn, but the task is rather challenging and intricate, for someone with no Code training. I never had the time to fully learn any of those coding languages.

6. All videos on the site are dead; as they were all in Adobe Flash format (and hosted on our Hosting server, which is Bluehost, BTW), complete with .XML functionallity. I can convert them to another wraper, but that's lots of work and again, I have limited time...

As you may know, that ADOBE FLASH Wraper/Video Container is no longer supported by Adobe. 

7. Ideally, I would love to take each page, work on it and make it up to date, including, obviously, full responsiveness on ALL current devices, and eliminate any & all bugs in top browsers, like Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera... If anyone out there can help me achieve this, I will have a very nice 2023!

8. Would bootstrap be a solution here, or breakpoints, or a combination of the two, or no breakpoints, just .html commands... or anything with .JS, or Python... You name it. I just don't have the knowledge, PERIOD

 

ANY CLUE(s) WOULD BE HIGHLY APPRECIATED & REWARDED (contact me for more details).

 

9. For those of you who are not afraid to call, you may use 1.219.246.4984 & ask for Philip; and help this way... That would just be super. I could then open the Dreamweaver, and follow directions... That could truly be ideal. If you are the "no-code type of person" too, that's not a problem in itself, any insight or lead as to how to achieve my goal, would still be welcome.

  10.  ---> At the moment, apart from fixing this Site, my only other alternative is to trash it, and turn to a No-Code platform, and recreate each page from my available assets... There are many of them, in 3 languages. Not Fun to Do! Well.

(Can I just Copy the Code for each page, into a Responsive Template???)

11. Back during Covid in 2020, I started recreating fresh pages from the old Assets, using WordPress and Elementor Pro... Had about 3/4 of the English language done... But I don't like it too much; would rather redo a Custom Site, or move to No-Code options instead.

                                                            In advance:    - God bless you + 

   Philip.

This topic has been closed for replies.

3 replies

rayek.elfin
rayek.elfin
Legend
February 8, 2023

I checked the html code, and surprisingly enough the core layout structure isn't that bad, and could be converted to a responsive layout with CSS grid within reasonable limits. It is currently a float-based layout, and it is viable for a CSS rewrite (up to a point).

 

But the real issue here is that the html code is absolutely riddled with errors of all kinds. That must be fixed first and foremost. It is obvious the result of badly written php code, as far as I can tell.

 

I agree with the others here: your site would be a good candidate for a WordPress conversion. Add a translation plugin, and off you go. Copy content from the old site straight in to the WP pages.

    rayek.elfin
    rayek.elfin
    Legend
    February 6, 2023

    What is the actual link to your website?

    O
    osgood_
    Legend
    February 7, 2023

    Unfortunately I would say you have little to no chance of converting a 13 year old website to a modern responsive website. Sounds like its past its sell by date and you would be better off starting from scratch.

      Nancy OShea
      Community Expert
      Nancy OSheaCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 6, 2023

      Short Answer: Yes.  If you rebuild your site with modern code.

       

      Long Answer:  Responsive web design is about much more than fitting on small devices.  To make your site mobile-friendly requires careful planning because mobile device users don't interact with devices the same way that desktop users do.  For example, mobile devices don't have a mouse.  Links must be accessible from touch screens and large enough to accommodate adult fingers.  Same goes for forms and other interactive elements. Content should be streamlined with simplified navigation for ease of use.And so on..

       

      There is no magic bullet that can convert an old site into a modern one.  It takes work and coding skills. Dreamweaver can help you but as with any tool, DW is only as good as the person using it.

       

      Start here.  Read chapters, do code exercises and take quizzes at the end.
      - https://www.w3schools.com/html/
      - https://www.w3schools.com/css/
      - https://www.w3schools.com/js/

       - https://www.w3schools.com/bootstrap/

      - https://getbootstrap.com/

       

      If this is outside your wheelhouse, hire an experienced developer to build a WordPress site for you.  It will be money well spent.


      Hope that helps.

       

      Nancy O'Shea— Product User & Community Expert
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