Software To Develop A Website

[Softix]

I'm a newbie to website development. I'd like to know which software is best for me to start on ? Frontpage, DreamWeaver...which will be the easiest for me to learn ?

[Darklite]

I have found Dreamweaver gives you both fairly ease of use and versatility.

Take your time and experiment with different options and be creative. Save everything......like a good song writer...what will not work today may in a year.

[bdorland]

If you're just getting started, and have exerience with MS Office, you'll probably have an easier time learning Frontpage. If you don't mind a little more learning curve, Dreamweaver is the industry standard.

I'd also recommend that you take an HTML class. HTML is the ABC's of the web and while these software tools do most of the work for you, nothing is perfect. There will certainly be instances when your site's layout, text or images are not cooperating and you will need to go into the code to tweak things.

Just a suggestion (from a website developer that has been doing this for a while)....

[Softix]

I tried dreamweaver once-looked delightful...guess frontpage would be good for a newbie..thanks for your views..

[pete]

Try Nvu. Similar to Dreamweaver, but free.
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[RayGoneFishing]

I beg to disagree, Pete. Nvu is terrible, IMO, not similar to Dreamweaver at all, and full of bugs. And Nvu doesn't seem to be developed anymore, the last official release was in June 2005. There's an unofficial bugfix release (KompoZer), but that seems to have stalled too, last release was in July 2006... I don't think learning Nvu is a productive use of one's time, seems to be headed to the deadpool...

[Logan]

I think any wysiwyg software has issues, and that is important to realize when heading down this path. Do yourself a huge favor. Make a plan. Begin using a wysiwig software to learn web development. Make a commitment to yourself that after 2 months of using a wysiwig software program that you will begin to transition to learning the html code the program is writing to create the pages. Make a plan that for 2 or 3 months everything you create you will review the html source code written and start to write it directly yourself. Then make a commitment to go from using a software like this to strictly writing your own code. Set a plan, the amount of time 30 days, 60 days, etc doesn't matter as much as sticking to the end goal of not using a software and learning html.

Regarding software, dreamweaver gets my vote as well although I started with that back around 2000 using the above plan and haven't really used it in years. I'd stay away from frontpage, and don't have any experiences with others.

Two things to get you on track (a) dreamweaver probably offers a free 30 day trial still. Use that for the first month (b) They also have html editor (HomeSite - that is what i use to write html code) included that you can teach yourself the html and write it yourself.

When you first setup dreamweaver, review the settings and turn off any options that it has to write html automatically, etc. Familiarize yourself fully with what the software is doing and the settings with that particular program when writing the html code.

Just my two cents, but really if you want to learn web development the html language is very easy with all free learning here and other places online and thru printed books. Learn html. no better answer. but use the software as a tool to do that as it does make it easier and a lot more fun.

[RayGoneFishing]

Originally Posted by Logan

Make a commitment to yourself that after 2 months of using a wysiwig software program that you will begin to transition to learning the html code the program is writing to create the pages. Make a plan that for 2 or 3 months everything you create you will review the html source code written and start to write it directly yourself.

I'm sort of divided on that suggestion. Wysiwyg editors do make it easier to get started, but chances are you will also pick up a few bad coding habits if you learn HTML only from the markup they output. Even good programs like Dreamweaver generate markup that makes my hair stand on end at times.

I agree, though, that writing your own HTML is the best way to go. Much better than depending on a program to do it for you. So, my suggestion to new web developers, if you have the time, work thru a few tutorials and learn to write your own HTML and CSS right from the beginning. Bypass the wysiwyg editors entirely.

My ...

[Zafar Ahmed]

I am using dreamweaver for coding html and photoshop for making designs. Both are amazing softwares.

[smartsites]

The best is to have the base part of the site setup for you then allow you to easily add new content. Check out my signature for a service that provides this.