Trouble Creating Forms in Dreamweaver

Question

Hello,
I am having trouble creating a form in Dreamweaver for my website.  The form is fairly basic, just some contact/comment input required.
I created my webpages using Fireworks CS4 and exported them as HTML and Images.  The basic format of my website is to have a rectangular block in the middle of the page, where the form elements are supposed to be entered.  However, it seems that I cannot simply add a textbox or textarea to the middle of my page.  If I try, everything gets shifted around very strangely.
How can I leave the format of the page intact, but add in the form elements (name, email, comments)?
You can see the page here: http://www.wafflesnjoe.com/preview/contact.htm
Thank you

Answer 1

Thanks Murray, I had a feeling that that's where I'd be headed.
Is there a more seamless way of transferring webpages from Fireworks to Dreamweaver, such as CSS and Images, that would make it easier for me to work in Dreamweaver?
Would you recommend building websites in Dreamweaver, and not bother with Fireworks?
Sorry for all the questions, but I'm a newbie.
Regards
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2010 05:25:31 -0600
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Trouble Creating Forms in Dreamweaver
I'm not very familiar with Dreamweaver, so this may be a basic question to ask.
The trick is to be familiar with HTML, not DW, since HTML underlies everything that DW does, and that you want to do on a web page.
To add a form to a page without disrupting the layout of the page, you have to a) select a layout design that constitutes good practice, and b) build the layout so that it accommodates the form.  I know that's not a very satisfactory answer.
First of all, unless you are fairly familiar with HTML, your layout will not be easy to implement because you will need to constrain the form and its elements to fit vertically within that central area.  This is not so easy because you have no way of controlling how large or small I (as a visitor) am displaying my text in my browser.  Thus, that form's content is going to expand or contract vertically causing the boxed area to need to expand or contract accordingly.  This is layout 101 for an experienced developer, but may just push you over the edge if you have no HTML under your belt.  So, I would discourage you from trying to use this design.  Is that possible?
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