Get Organised

The basis for a well-built Freeway site —any site, actually— is this: 1) Structure, 2) Structure and 3) More structure. In other words, organisation is important. Organise your site properly from the very beginning, even if you’re just sketching ideas in your mind, on a piece of paper or on your computer. Having a clear idea of the site structure from the start cuts down construction-time by a lot.

When you create a new site document in Freeway Pro or Express, you have the option of using pre-defined templates (see screenshot) or customising the document details (the other screenshot). If you choose one of the pre-built templates, Freeway will automatically create the proper folder structure for you. If you choose to define the document yourself, you will also have to create the necessary folders by yourself.

Folder structure

A good folder structure for your Freeway project should typically look like this (screenshot):

1) A Project folder that you create before anything else. This is the folder you choose as starting point for everything concerning your site project (Freeway documents, Site Folders, Media folders etc. all go here). Name the projects folder explicitly, so you can keep your different projects separated.

2) A Site Folder. If you choose any of the pre-defined Freeway templates included with the software, this folder will automatically be created for you, at the location you specify (i.e your Project folder). If you choose the Custom setup, you will have to create this folder manually by selecting a Site Folder in the dialogue. The Site Folde is crucial: this is where Freeway saves all the bits and pieces concerning your site that it generates when you issue the command ‘Publish’, or ‘Preview’. The Site Folder is also the folder that Freeway uploads to your web space when using FW’s built-in upload feature. In most cases you won’t even have to care what’s in it; only where it is located.

3) A Media folder. This folder is where you should store all the original files used in the Freeway document, i.e original images, texts, sound clips etc. The Media folder is never uploaded to the web space. To keep the Media files in the same Project folder as the rest of your project bits means staying sane.

It is also a good idea to make a Documents folder specifically for your Freeway documents relating to your project. Just in case you want to use different types of document set-ups within the framework of one site. This folder, like the Media folder should be placed directly in the Projects root folder. Never place it in the Site folder. Ever.