Create Your Website With Free Software

Why pay for Web Editing Software when some of the best software is free. Yes free and I am about to tell you what it is, where to find it and how to download this software called KompoZer.

First some may ask, what’s a web editor? Well a web editor is a software program that takes the content you write on your computer and converts it to computer language that the World Wide Web will understand. They allow you to create web pages easily.
There are many web editors available and many are very expensive. However there are a few excellent programs that do everything most people need to build and maintain websites for free. Of these the best known and most used is KompoZer.

KompoZer is a wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) program that is easy and actually fun to use. This is why I highly recommend this free software program.

Ok, this is where to find your free download to KompoZer http://www.kompozer.net/ just click or type the address into your browser. Below is what you will see, so click the download button and save it to your desk top or wherever you like to save files on your computer.
Windows users download file (kompozer-0.7.10-win32.zip).
Mac users download file (kompozer-0.7.10-mac.dmg).

You have now downloaded a zipped folder to your computer. Zipped folders are compressed files that must be unzipped before you can use them. So now let’s unzip the folder which is called extracting, so you can start using KompoZer.

For windows XP users simply go to the location that you just saved the folder kompozer-0.7.10-win32.zip, we are going to extract the zip folder. Double click on the folder and a window will appear. On the left side of the window is column called folder tasks.
There you will see extract all files, click on extract all files. Now an extraction wizard window will open, click next and another window will open. In this window you will see Select a Destination, now browse and select the location where you want the folder to be located on your computer then click next and the extraction begins.
In a few seconds the extraction will end and another window will appear saying extraction complete, click finish. The final window that now opens will show your folder that is unzipped. It looks similar to the first folder however it does not end with .zip and now with the unzipped folder you can access the information within the folder.

This is an example of how the folders will look:
kompozer-0.7.10-win32.zip  –> zip folder (you can now delete this folder)
kompozer-0.7.10-win32  –> unzipped folder (you will use this folder access KompoZer)

Note, most windows programs are similar when it comes to extracting zip folders. The important thing to remember is to extract the zip folder to create an unzipped folder before you can access the information within that folder.

Ok, now you have the unzipped folder kompozer-0.7.10-win32 and saved it at a location on your computer. This folder has within it all the components that makeup KompoZer. Now double click on the folder. The only file you are interested in is the kompozer.exe file. This is what’s known as an executable file and is the file that activates the program.

So to make things easier lets create a shortcut to your desktop so whenever you want to use KompoZer it’s easy to access.  Right click on the kompozer.exe file, a menu will appear so now place your cursor on Send To, then another menu will appear, left click on Desktop (create shortcut). Now you can close the window you are in and setting on your desktop should be the kompozer.exe icon ready to use.

I hope this information is some help for those interested in building websites. I use this software and it is capable of doing everything I need, and then some. I hope the instructions were adequate and you enjoy the program as much as I do.

Below I will briefly show you what you will see when you open KompoZer and where you can go within the program to learn how to use it. Then it is up to you to learn and develop your skills in creating and maintaining your websites.

When you click on the KompoZer icon on your desktop the program will open and look like the picture below. A tip window will always pop open showing you the tip for the day. Now close the tip window as illustrated in the picture below.

After you have closed the tip window above the KompoZer screen will look like the next picture below. Click on the help button shown in the picture and the menu window will appear. In this section you can access everything from A to Z about using composer. Start at the beginning and work on your skills. It’s easy and best of all it is fun.

I sincerely hope this information was useful to you and if so, enjoy the program!

By Tom McCormick