Which web development programs?

[goldnugget]

Hi all, hope holidays are going well.

I have a query re web development programs. There is a bit of an assortment out there of what is available from free to what-ever Adobe is charging for CS6/Dreamweaver these days.

I am pretty new to nuts and bolts web development but looking maybe for a half decent WYSIWYG with room for custom HTML at little or no cost. I can probably get a student edition of Dreamweaver down the track, but in the meantime looking for something to fill the gap.

CoffeeCup has a free editor available but charge for the wysiwyg version, there is also Serif WebPlus starter edition that I am playing around with at the moment but there are a few limitations that may get me stuck. I have also noticed that now that MS have Visual Studio on the market, they are no longer charging for Expression Web 4 along with the catch that they no longer support it for assistance either (though those that purchased it will still be supported till the end of its cycle).

Early online research tells me that ExpressionWeb was actually rated as quite a useful and functional program so would be curious if others here have used it along with their thoughts, or if they are interested in sharing what their fave web editor is. (I know there is also the WordPress option).

Cheers Jay

 

[smee]

Does Notepad count?

 

[johno69]

This:

(I know there is also the WordPress option.)

 

[Blue Wren]

Artisteer. http://www.artisteer.com/

?

 

[goldnugget]

Does Notepad count?

Lolz...if I knew what I needed to know to work it in wordpad I wouldnt be looking at drag and drop options. I'm jelous of those that can do it that way, but I'm learning something new almost every time I try.

 

[sp@rky13]

My suggestion is find your drag and drop option but slowly migrate to using more and more of the code side, and then use Notepad++.

 

[johno69]

My suggestion is find your drag and drop option but slowly migrate to using more and more of the code side, and then use Notepad++.

Why? Do you still use windows 3.1? Nothing wrong with moving with the technology.

 

[Honan]

(I know there is also the WordPress option).

Cheers Jay

Hi Jay, Nothing compares to WP

 

[helloworld]

Just go with wordpress.

Get a simple responsive theme that can be easily modified from the admin area.

 

[Data Glasses]

so many added extras with wordpress, been some big sales on flippa for wordpress sites

 

[findtim]

wordpress without question, i use to use dreamweaver and have it on my computer but haven't touched it in 18 months !! which i find incredible as it was always the first program i opened each day.

i use studiopress and woothemes is highly recommended by others so just pick one and concerntrate on it.

the other thing i would do is learn "cascading style sheets" (CSS)

wordpress and CSS combined is all you need.

there is also a good thread here on favourite WP plugins.

tim

 

[goldnugget]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I guess the days of old of hand coding are passing and the drag 'n drop programs/options are the more favourable options. As long as its still easy to 'insert' custom text if need be then I guess the job is done.

I know there used to be concern about drag and drop web editors unnecesarily 'bloating' pages...perhaps now with internet speeds on the up and up (in most places ) that this is no longer an issue.

Thanks again.

Jay

 

[findtim]

theres no speed issues , and you can still hand code anything into a WP page although there is really no need to as their will be a plugin to do it for you.

you can hand code into widgets that are in sidebars and also you can move widgets into page areas, you can individually set EACH page to have 2 sidebars or just 1 or none, you can also set a sidebar JUST for one particular page whilst the others are all the same.

you can have a sidebar for your blog and all its future posts and a different sidebar for your page content.

although i'm not happy with studiopress's support forum change i still think it is the most user friendly.

tim

 

[goldnugget]

Thanks Tim,

From what I've seen of WP it appears geared more for blogging rather than outright web pages, but I will add it to my arsenal and play with it and see how I go and which I prefer, cheers.

In the meantime I ended up downloading the free Expression Web 4 from MS and from what I have seen so far I do like it. Its geared more towards coding but there is the split screen option (code and page) and you can work in either (or both) as well as have the preview page screen to see what it looks like as you go and does have a number of 'pre coded' insert options for buttons, images, tables (inc css) etc to speed things up.

Another Q, is WP cloud based online design or is it independant of the web (able to do your own thing offline and upload to your host when ready)?

I hope to give an update or examples of some designs via Expression Web 4later down the track for those interested.

Cheers Jay

 

[Blue Wren]

Thanks Tim,

From what I've seen of WP it appears geared more for blogging rather than outright web pages, but I will add it to my arsenal and play with it and see how I go and which I prefer, cheers.

A common myth. It may have been in the past but it certainly isn't now. You can create great pages with Wordpress.

Again, have a look at Artisteer.

 

[bunstar]

You can get plenty of wordpress themes that look nothing like a blogging site, and some you can't tell are even wordpress based unless you type in /wp-admin after the URL.

I used to build my websites with HTML and notepad, but why bother when wordpress is so easy and fast and there are so many options for themes and plugins out there.

You'll find the only changes you need to make is to some of the PHP code and the CSS files.

 

[johno69]

Another Q, is WP cloud based online design or is it independant of the web (able to do your own thing offline and upload to your host when ready)?

The coming soon plugin in my sig will hide your site from public view yet allow you as admin to see it in all its glory until you are ready for it to go live. It also has email list capture options etc. no need to develop local anymore.

 

[goldnugget]

Thanks Johno,

From what you have written I will take that to mean it is cloudbased design.
I'm not a fan of cloud based design...maybe the control freak in me, I dont know.

I like the idea of not being dependant on an internet connection to build sites and also like to know exactly where the pages are and who has access to them as well as being absolutely clear 'who actually owns them' (some cloud based design programs actually clearly announce that they retain ownership of your work in their fine print).

I been playing more with expression web 4...it was described in a review I read as MS's best kept secret, and I think they were probably right. This used to have a cost attached to it of $150-$200, but its now free.

I definately cant argue with the price, for those that like to dabble in a little (or a lot) of code or are just starting out with 'some' prior coding knowledge I can recomend it. No restrictions yet from what I've seen, totally independant local design and control.

Thanks again everyone...Have a great New Year .

Jay

 

[johno69]

Call it cloud call it online call it any form really, it will be on your server only. So access is only available to whoever you give it.

You need to put you site on a server at some stage anyway, building it there helps iron out any server config issues that may arise as you go rather than setting your site live to realise the server is not up to what you need.

Developing local is so 1990's

 

[goldnugget]

Bottom line is, if you develop online, you dont have total control. Yes you will put it up on a server at some point but if you have to log on to develop you are at their mercy.

Here is a really easy scenario.....lets say they get hacked or you are blocked access at their end for whatever reason...where is your work? Who has access to it? Do you really own it? Who is then responsible if shit does hit the fan and something goes astray?

Its got nothing to do with 1990's...thats your view (and maybe view of some others) but I think it is misdirected. Cloud computing was set up for convenience, but it comes at a huge potential cost....Bottom line is that if its not on your system and you cant access any of your projects in the development stages when you wish...you dont control it.