How can I save my site as a csv file?

[Tony Whitehall]

Can I save my site as a csv file for export to Wix?

I want to export my site to Wix, and onen of the developers I consulted for help from asked if my site or assets can be exported as a .csv file or files.

Thanks.

Tony

[Jon Fritz · Accepted solution]

The short answer is "no".

If your site were already database driven, the database itself could possibly be converted to a .csv (a spreadsheet of Coma Separated Values) file, but there's no way to convert multiple static website files into a .csv.

[Nancy OShea]

Maybe, may not.

Is your current website using dynamic data stored in a MySQL database?  Google search for Export SQL to CSV.

Does your content reside in an MS office database or spreadsheet program?  Google search for Export Access or Excel data to CSV.

A CSV file is data, nothing more. CSV is sometimes used to convert mailing or product price lists from one file format to another via tab or comma delimmited CSV formatted data.

Unless I'm missing something, there is no way I know of to convert static HTML, CSS and JavaScripts to usable CSV data.  They are apples & orangutans.

[Tony Whitehall]

Thanks, Nancy and Jon.

I've never put my Web site data into an MS Office database or spreadsheet program.

I don't understnad why I should research how to Export Access or Excel data (whatever that means) to CSV,  since you just informed me that .csv files wouldn't be useable in Wix.  

Tony

[Nancy OShea]

If your content is not stored in a database or spreadsheet like MySQL, MS Access or MS Excel, you have nothing to export to CSV. 😞

Nobody said that CSV is unsable in Wix.  What we said: your website can't be converted to CSV.

[Liam Dilley]

Hi Tony,
I think there is a lot of jumping too far on this from the others. I take it your not a developer etc so a lot of the talk is probably a bit confusing.
As you are on these forums I think you have a site built through Dreamweaver? Did you do it or did someone else?
When the others are talking database - it is basically where data is stored but if your site is just web pages with all the content in them then it is all just in there.
Not many platforms or systems will just import/export to other things as they are all different, built different, different languages.
If you are speaking to someone to do it for you they probably not been asking you the right questions but looking on what you can give them to import into Wix.
From the brief information you have provided I think it sounds like just picking a template/theme in Wix you like and getting someone to change things like logo and colour and manually putting in the content if it is not too much.

[Nancy OShea]

Yes, I agree.  Wix is a different animal.  Going from Dreamweaver built site to Wix will require considerable copying & pasting by someone.  I'm glad it won't be me. 😁

[Tony Whitehall]

Is there a better solution?

Tony

[Tony Whitehall]

Thanks, Liam.  

I made my Dreamweaver site.  It is too much work to redo it on another system.  My site has about 1,400 pages and almost 2,800 images.

[Tony Whitehall]

How can I know if my Web site is using dynamic data stored in a MySQL database?

Tony

[Jon Fritz]

How can I know if my Web site is using dynamic data stored in a MySQL database?

Tony

By Tony Whitehall

Your site's "pages" online would end with, most likely, .php extensions.

In DW, you wouldn't have more than a handful of files that make up portions of pages, called includes. Those includes would have scripts that access the info stored in your database and convert it into web pages, on the fly by your server, as viewers move around your site online.

It's a far more streamlined way to work with huge amounts of information, than creating hundreds or thousands of individual pages. Problem is, if your site is hundreds of .html pages in size, there's no database to convert to a .csv and it will take time to change over.

The information from your individual pages would need to be copy and pasted into a .csv file, or some other database, for use in Wix or another database driven platform. It's a huge undertaking to convert a large static html site to a database driven one, but is far more "future-proof" than what you're working with now.

I'm sure your site has only grown over time. Over that time, I'm sure it has gotten more and more difficult to make large-scale changes. Unfortunately, if you want to convert to something like Wix, it will only get more and more difficult and unweildy by waiting.

Converting a site offers huge benefits: Don't like the design? A few clicks later, all your current info is in a totally new theme. Need to add a button to every page? 5 minutes of modifying the menu include, a save and upload and boom, all pages accessing that menu are updated.

It will be a huge up front time-sink, but going forward, massive changes would take minutes.

[Tony Whitehall]

Thanks, Jon.  

Dreaweaver shows that my remote pages have the HTML extension, not the PHP extension. 

What platform do you recommend for such a conversion to a more malleable design of my Web site?

Tony

[Nancy OShea]

I would use WordPress.  It's supported by most reputable hosting providers.  Dreamhost and many others have dedicated WordPress hosting plans or one button installation of WordPress from the server's WHM or c-Panel.  If you're uncomfortable doing it, hire a WordPress developer to help you.

• WordPress is open source.  There are no fees to use it except hosting which you obviously pay for now. 
• WordPress's online editor is simple to use by young and old.  No coding skills required.
• WordPress with WooCommerce plugin is the e-commerce option most people use.  Site & shopping cart all in one place.
• WordPress Themes (free & premium) are widely available.  There are thousands of Themes to choose from for every type of business, hobby, or non-profit enterprise.
• WordPress is well documented with plenty of online tutorials.

That said, taking 1400 odd HTML pages of content into WordPress will be no less arduous than taking it to any other platform (copy & paste, copy & paste, repeat...). But with WordPress, you have options.  You decide how the site appears and which hosting provider to use. 

[Nancy OShea]

How can I know if my Web site is using dynamic data stored in a MySQL database?

By Tony Whitehall

==========

It's not.  It's static HTML. 

You would know if you built your site with databases.  It can't happen by magic, only though deliberate planning.

[BenPleysier]

Can I save my site as a csv file for export to Wix?

By Tony Whitehall

As @Jon Fritz has already stated, the answer is no.

I want to export my site to Wix, and onen of the developers I consulted for help from asked if my site or assets can be exported as a .csv file or files.

By Tony Whitehall

I am not sure what sort of developer that you consulted, but I would have advised you not to move to Wix unless you want to subject your site to a restricted environment where you are for ever stuck with Wix and their pricing strategy.

With a site created with Dreamweaver, you are free to use any other web development editor and free to use any host to host the site.

Have a look at my video where I am hosting a test site in Railway for practically zero cost. This is not possible when using online editors like Wix.

[Tony Whitehall]

Some of the developers I consulted were from Wix's professional developers and designers referrrals systme on the Wix site.

Why do you write that I'd be "stuck with Wix with its prcing strategy" as opposed to being free in Dreamweaver.  Adobe also has a pricing strategy that I'm stuck with; I'm paying Adobe $930 annually to lease Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Indesign and Acrobat Pro.  That's almost $10,000 in leasing fees I pay to Adobe every decade.  Is that what you call being free?  Railway and Github also charge for their services, and they might raise their rates if they become popular, so those are alternative costs.  

Also, I've never heard of Railway or Github, so I don't want to take the risk of branching out to use programs I've never heard of before and which were never recommended to me before.  

Also, every Web developer company and platform such as Wix, Shopfiy and Wordpress, whose Web sitees I've seen. claim on their sites that their platforms are easy to learn and use, but I've never found any of them to be easy. It's just hype to get customers to sign up and earn profits for them.  I noticed that, unfailingly, the video you linked too also claims that Railway or Github is easy to use.

Tony

[Tony Whitehall]

Thanks, Ben.

You wrote, "With a site created with Dreamweaver, you are free to use any other web development editor and free to use any host to host the site."  

But Dreamweave doesn't come with a shopping cart system and international shipping options provided.  Wix does come with those selling and shipping functions.

Tony

[BenPleysier]

A site created with Dreamweaver can be edited using any of the follwoing 12 free code editors

I have gone for a low code editor called Wappler.

I mention Railway because small sites need not pay one cent. They raise their price? You can move to any of the thousands of other hosts. It's your choice.

With Wix, there is no choice of editor, there is no choice of host. You are stuck. 

It's your choice.

.

[Tony Whitehall]

Thanks for that suggestion, Ben.

If I were to use Wrappler and/or Railway, I would still have to struggle to learn how to use them and how to inegrate Wrappler with Dreamweaver.

In addition, I don't want to have to struggle to learn to use Railway and then if the company that makes it raises its prices too much, to have to struggle to find a replacement host.  I just went through such a stressful struggle when my first, annual SSL certificate expired.  It took me days of research to figure out that the way I handled the certificate issue was unnecessarily complex because I had chosen an extra company instead of my Web site hosting company to set up the certificate for me.  Changing companies always involves complexities.  It's also why I don't change my bank, ISP or phone service provider; doing so only causes headaches.  

Also, i prefer not do deal with ANY code, because I'm a writer and designer type of person – not a code-oriented person.

Tony

[BenPleysier]

Thanks for that suggestion, Ben.

i prefer not do deal with ANY code, because I'm a writer and designer type of person – not a code-oriented person.

Tony

By Tony Whitehall

You are best off with Wix. 

Have a nice day.

[Nancy OShea]

... I'm a writer and designer type of person – not a code-oriented person.

By Tony Whitehall

=============

For the life of me I don't know what that means.  Writing, designing and coding use the same parts of the brain.  They are not mutually exclusive.  Good writers & designers usually make better coders because they organize thoughts AND think outside the box. 

[Tony Whitehall]

I got quotes from three companies to redo my Web site.  The employees have backgrounds primarily as developers, and lack qualifications as designers, writers and editors, yet they all fancy themselves as designers and seem to overlook writing completely because they're not trained in designing, writing or editing.

All three of their company Web sites are riddled with design and writing errors, which apparently they're not even aware of, since their company Web sites are their primary marketing tools to attract customers.  

They all advised me in separate interviews with me on how they would 'improve' and 'modernize' my site, but I could tell from their advice they didn't have a clue about how to design Web sites.  One of them – the president of his company – has a bachelor of science degree in engineering, and no apparent design or writing training, yet he advised me – a former graphic designer, writer, editor, typesetter and business communicator –  on how he would personally 'improve'  my site and he said he didn't need to consult a designer to do so.  

Such tech guys are a sad joke because they'r clueless about design and writing and they don't know that they don't know, so they're shameless and arrogant about their skills.  

I think I. T. people such as coders are usually not good at graphic design, editing and non-technical writing,  because they usually think entirely differently from each other.

Tony

[Tony Whitehall]

Thanks for that list and advice, Ben.  

But why would I want to edit code?  I'm not good at that, so I hate it.  

When try to fix code, it's often by pasting a good piece of code in place of what seems to be a bad piece.I'd much rather fix work on the design side, as the design side is more intuitive.  

Tony

[Nancy OShea]

Nobody said you should code. Hire an experienced developer or pay Wix.  Either way, you pay more for the convenience of having things done for you.

[Tony Whitehall]

Thanks, Nancy.

Ben Pleysier advised me to code.  He listed 13 coding programs to me to try.