easy to use page creator w/o templates?

[pokernaut]

i've been trying and trying to design my own personal webpages SEVERAL TIMES and have done nothing but go in circles & steam. i've tried doing it at yahoo, google & other sites that are hampered by ugly HTML looking templates with LIMITED control over look. i want to find a site that lets ME decide background color with more than half a dozen font & color choices.

those template based options ALL suck rotten eggs with their generic layouts and asymmetrical "buttons on the left" looks.

at the other end, i've gotten absolutely NOWHERE with the top 2 rated freehosts because i can't make heads or tails out of their hacker interfaces.

isn't there a place in between those two useless options where i have control over my page's look without needing a PHD in hacking? i have an artistic background, but i hate computers and don't want to be bothered learning how to program them.

BTW, software is out of the question too as i'm using public computers.

i've tried to ask this question a couple times in non-graphics forums to no avail. i'm not looking to create super complicated pages, just minimalist solid colored backgrounds with page names that stretch the full width of the page, to post text where i want it (not necessarily columns), to post a couple pics in a page or two and to hide links behind bolded text or buttons instead of in ugly underlined blue verdana.

does anyone know where i can go to create pages that aren't cookie cutter HTML looking fodder WITHOUT having to learn how to program them totally from scratch? i'd just like more options than the endless parade of template based straightjacket sites.

a million thanks in advance to anyone that can help me stop pulling my hair out at the roots in this catch 22.

[LeadMagnet]

You refuse to learn to code anything, you can't use any image creation software and yet you want a very high degree of versatility in a browser-based website creation tool that'll allow you to use your own design. And to re-iterate, you refuse to learn to code anything.
I'm sorry but i don't think such a tool exists or we'd all be using it (well... sometimes anyway)

Oh and the half-dozen fonts that you're allowed to choose in a webpage are a very small list for a reason. The fonts need to exist on a user's computer and you can't embed more in regular HTML, so we're forced to choose from the common ones that exist on everyone's computer.

[pokernaut]

well that just stinks then!

i wouldn't exactly say i need a "high degree" of flexibility. all i really want is
1. to be able to create link buttons or keywords that hide a link url
2. to pick my own background & font colors from windows' color picker
3. to use ANY point size i chose
4. to be able to drag & drop text where i want it, or at least decide the column format I CHOSE, NO MORE preset margins!
5. to be able to use ALL windows fonts including webdings & wingdings
&
6. basic drag & drop tools for creating boxes & circles etc. to border text or reverse it.

to me, that doesn't seem high end at all. it's just a little bit of creative freedom WITHOUT being straightjacketed by terrible looking templates & choice limitations i listed above. come on... 20 point page titles are TOTALLY inadequate.

i would have thought that simply selecting a color for a background & multiple font choices wouldn't be impossible. if nothing else, i STILL can't see why all programs refuse to let you use text any larger than 30 points or so when you may need up to 300 points to have a title that spans the browser.,

OK, so programs all need to use windows fonts... then why don't they use them all? most places use only sans serif fonts that look like arial/verdana or ones that look like times roman when comic sans is a nice font that can give a site a different look and impact is a really nice option as well.

why must everything related to computers be so anti-social towards those of us who prefer point and click simplicity? i just didn't realize that adding half a dozen more features to a typical editor would be an impossibility.

it's a shame that i can do more in wordpad than i can a webpage editor.

couldn't someone program something like a java workaround to the font issue? is that why virtually ALL pages look the same, because they're hobbled by windows only fonts?

i just tried to create a banner with photos i collaged in photo impact (which has a webpage creator that's just a bit too complex) and use it in google, but the site wouldn't even let me center it unless i reduce it to under 600 pixels wide.

these are the kinds of limitations i just can't understand as being necessary. that, and the ability to simply chose my own background colors with a standard windows color picker.

so bottom line, if i want to create a banner in any font not standard to windows, i'll have to do it as a JPG then?

thanks for your help even if you didn't exactly tell me what i wanted to hear.

[LeadMagnet]

I'm sorry but you sound like a spoiled kid throwing a tantrum. "I want it this why NOW, blah blah."
All the webdesigners here know about the limitations of their trade. It's not just limited to windows fonts either. The short list of fonts are common to all operating systems, including macs. We can specify any damn font we want, but it just won't display like that if the end-user doesn't have it already.
We wouldn't have such limitations and the technology would advance MUCH faster if people stop using old operating systems like windows 95 and 98, and old versions of browsers that can't keep up with the advancements.

You think what you want is so easy to make? Then you make it. Otherwise, just bite the bullet and either learn HTML + CSS (it's not rocket science). Then you can specify your font size to be twice the size of anyone's browser window if you wanted to.

People who want "Point & Click simplicity" are the people who hire web-designers. That's how we make a living.

[lolly]

I agree either pay a pro to build what you want or learn yourself but don't expect anything to be put on a plate for you

[pokernaut]

if i could program a webpage designer from scratch, i wouldn't have to trifle with HTML etc. now would i?

why do you have to be such a condescending dork because i'm not a hacker dweeb like you? i'm not a web designer, just someone with a background in REAL WORLD technical pens & tee squares graphics who'd like to make a few personal pages for myself that don't look like ****.

why don't you go hack yourself a new attitude!

[LeadMagnet]

Because you're a lazy ****wit and i don't like your attitude, that's why.
Why can't all the hard work be done for you? Because people who can wouldn't want to do it for people like you.
**** off!

[James Jones]

Rock On!

[PR Design]

Yeah lol. I have to say, I'm with Lead Magnet...

[Carrotnapper]

seconded