ashleyc81532316​

Just by looking at the underlying html/css code, I can tell you the developer you hired before was rather average at best, if not below par.

The CMS itself is generally not the cause for slowdowns - server setup and streaming servers are.

You cannot edit your FTP downloaded WP site without running a local copy via a local webserver, such as XAMP or WAMP. Aside from the files you downloaded via FTP you must transfer the MySQL database to your local webserver and make changes to the wp-config file to match the settings required for your local webserver/MySQL database server. Ideally use a migration plugin like All in One WP Migration. You will need to install a fresh installation of WP on your localhost.

After setting it all up correctly, you cannot edit any content directly in Dreamweaver - only your website's theme files can be edited. Content is edited within the WordPress backend. You should not change or edit anything in the theme files if you haven't got a clue how themes in WP function.

All of what I mentioned is very basic knowledge for any WP/web developer. If you have no idea how to do these things, you are in for a very rough and frustrating ride.

On top of all this, converting a WP theme to a different CMS (Joomla, Drupal, Concrete5, etc) is generally not quite straightforward. It requires good knowledge of the original CMS used, and the target CMS to which you wish to migrate. And all information from the database must be migrated as well.

Easy for a seasoned developer (like myself - I could do it in a couple of days) - very, VERY difficult if you have no programming/web dev experience such as yourself.

Apologies for telling you the hard truth.

PS Dreamweaver is only a code editor, not a CMS. Anything beyond simple static pages must be handcoded in a server-side language (php, for example): login system, validation, credit card checking, and so on. Not worth the time, hassle, or effort. Choose a good CMS that will handle your website requirements.

Try using Open In Browser instead of the Live Preview.

Right click the file name in the Files window, or if your documents are set as tabs in DW, right click the tab itself and choose "Open in Browser". that will open your page using the old Preview in Browser and doesn't use Adobe's servers to show you your work.