I am a musician, not a programer, coder, graphic designer, web designer or any other kind of designer. I hand coded a few very basic web pages over the years, and took one class in .css and JavaScript in 1997. With the exception of knowing that there IS css and JavaScript behind the scene that old information is essentially worthless.
I did a lot of research before I bought Blocs. I knew I needed something for non-coders, something that was able to make stand alone sites and deal with Wordpress. Blocs was at the top of many reviews ("Powerful, “intuitive” “Best website builder for Mac”), so I downloaded the trial and spent a few days poking around. Initially I had great success. I was able to rebuild a webpage that had taken me hours to do in BBEdit (with the help of ChatGPT) in a less than an hour. I love the bricks and blocks, I love the ability to preview what my page will look like on different size screens. Importing resources is a cake walk. Based on those experiences I took the plunge and bought Blocs plus. I’ve spent the last week and a half at my computer for 8, sometimes 10 hours a day. The reviews are right, mostly. It is powerful, and I have no doubt it’s the best website build for Mac.
But intuitive? Not so much.
I’ve watched all the tutorials on the Academy, and I find them woefully lacking. I looked for other resources, which lead me here. You guys are great and I have found the answers to some of my questions by searching the topics. I’ve watched a lot of Eldar’s stuff on Youtube and it’s amazingly well produced and compelling, but it is still starting from a higher knowledge threshold than I would have expected for a “non-coder” piece of software.
Tooltips in Blocs are all but a waste of time and there is no proper documentation. I spent hours poking at the little “info” icons in the class manager only to see “No description” over and over. This includes “add-scroll” which is what I was struggling to do.
I know this has gone well past the “tl;dr” point and if you stuck it out this far you have my thanks. Just please, somebody toss me a bone here. I’m feeling a lot of frustration, and I desperately in need comprehensive documentation which I can’t find. At this point I’m not sure how far down the web design rabbit hole I’m going to have to go before I know enough to use Blocs for anything but the most basic web page. I’m willing to go as far as needed, I just need to know where to start.
I have no doubt that the course that @Eldar has produced is informative, I was just hoping not to spend another $100 to learn the program I just spent $150 on. If that’s what it comes down to then that’s what I’ll do, but I’d settle for a solid manual.
The thing that made me learn the most on how Blocs works, is following along to this video by @Eldar : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPAy3546c6U
While this video was on Blocs 4, it guides you through the way to create a full layout, which might help you to get a grasp on the workflow within Blocs.
What am I trying to achieve… how to not over explain this?
I’m releasing a special edition of an album as a gift for my patreon supporters. There are 13 audio files (in both .mp3 and .m4a), 14 pdfs, 18 video files, 30 photos, and 13 custom illustrations. I’m using Blocs to build a multimedia presentation delivered in a browser. I expect that I’ll produce about 30 of these, but the resources, like the pdf files and tutorial videos, can be leveraged for other projects.
I mapped out the file structure with flow chart, then I built a proof of concept using BBEdit, my limited and long outdated understanding of css and js, and a lot of help from ChatGPT. It works, but it’s far from a polished product.
Which meant I need better tools, but not tools that depend on a hosting service’s backend to function. I need a tool that could produce a modern, attractive, and functional multimedia experience in a self contained package. Something that’s user friendly and accessible for beginners.
Blocs is perfect for this. The resource manager is easy to use, pages are built out of modular components (block), the code it produces is self-sufficient, and it is, I’m told intuitive.
Since you last played around with CSS, things have changed a lot. Back then websites were fixed size, Blocs creates sites using the Bootstrap framework, and are responsive to the browser window (viewport), it does require a bit of change in mindset. Bootstrap is what is called a mobile first framework.
Seems like a lot to learn, but then there are many here using Blocs that keep to the basics and create great sites. It sounds like you are being methodical in your approach, which is great.
Feel free to ask questions in the forum. You will find there is a wealth of knowledge here for different aspects of web design and at all levels. Several of us contribute a fair bit of our time to the community to help. Effort is definitely rewarded with more detailed answers.
Another option, is you can also request a freelancer to help build your design, which you can then manage and expand on in Blocs.
I’m so glad to receive a message like this; you remind me of myself when I started using Blocs 1.0. Unlike you, I had very little knowledge and had dabbled in various web building programs. FrontPage was my go-to, as Dreamweaver was way beyond my grasp.
There are so many helpful folks here in this forum who have extensive knowledge and have been a gift to us all. I could name them, but I don’t want to play favorites. You’ll see in time who they are.
Unlike many here, I do not work in web design as a job; I just love learning and applying knowledge. I will point out one person who has been there for me since the beginning. Learn everything you can from him because he keeps it simple, yet his knowledge is vast. If you don’t know @Eldar, The BlocsMaster, I suggest you spend some time with his tutorials, which it sounds like you have already seen some of.
Many on this forum will encourage you to become a subscriber. He has dedicated countless hours to putting together videos and some of the best templates you’re going to find.
Regarding your own website, it sounds intriguing and definitely attention-getting for those who will see it. I think your main concern is not so much the development of the website but what you want your prospects or clients to admire.
I wish you all the best, my friend. It’s great to have you here.
Just a quick note to say I’m starting the @Eldar 's Blocs 5 corse. I’m traveling this weekend so I’ll be starting on Monday. Thanks again for all the encouragement and suggestions.
I want you all to know that I haven’t wandered off.
I’ve finished the initial modules on the BlocsMaster course. Certainly helpful, I’m sure that I’m going to be referring to those modules many times as I work through the next set.
