What kind of software do you use to build your webpages?

[Proteus]

I started this thread mainly to know how do you usually build your pages, are you using plain notepad? A wysiwyg editor?... which one?... frontpage?... Macromedia maybe?...

And why do you feel comfortable with it?...

I would like to know what's popular in this community :wink:

[trackerm]

Because I am a dope when it comes to web site making I use a great cheating method.
I have FrontPage Express.. now sadly almost impossible to find on the net… and I start my new page on that. When saved, I change the file extension to .html
As the page gets bigger I edit in notepad but I will write the line in FrontPage Exp in WYSIWYG and cut and paste the code into Notepad.

I have only had one real problem (streaming videos) that I needed to get someone who knows what they are doing to help me…. And that person is the wonderful Chrisooc!

Perhaps soon I will get a bigger/better, paid for, package, but I can’t beat the simplicity of my current method.

As for ever being able to write 100% code, well, theres no way my brain would ever be able to do that!!!!!!!

Mark
KISS - Keep It Simple cos I’m Stoopid!

[webado]

LOL, Mark :oops:

I use a hybrid method: Dreamweaver 4 in split screen mode. I actually code in html in the code view portion and look at it shaping up in the design view portion. ABout the only actual cheating I do is I let Dreamweaver check the code and point out obvious bugs (unclosed tags, etc) and also ask DW to be kind enough to apply source formatting to my code when it gets too messy (as it does with repeated editing).

DW also allows me to view my page in IE as it resolves all SSI's (the html ones), something that IE on its own on the pc won't do. Perhaps if I were to install Apache, but I haven't' bothered yet. One of these days maybe.

I also use Dreamweaver to edit php scripts because it numbers the lines nicely for me and I can tell when a line wraps or is broken over 2 actual lines. I can also use the drag and drop features of the editor not available in Notepad.

I have been known to use MS Word also to create a document and save it as a web page. I still do if I have a lot of text. I write it and all the formatting in a Word doc, save as html, then extract just the pertinent code from it and insert it into a page which I'm working on in Dreamweaver. It works for me :lol:

For quick fixes I use use Notepad.

I don't publish to the web by DW (I haven't even figured out how to do it), I use good old WS_FTP and it serves me perfectly. Pity it no longer is available (free, that is).

[CaribbeanChoice]

On simple html websites, I use FrontPage.

On more complex websites, I usually use Notepad.

[motorwatchercounter]

A mix of Dreamweaver Ultra Dev and notepad for coding. DW allows you to quickly get the bones and non sexy bits together and validates. I tend to use the code view.

If you are looking for a free (donations are OK) editor have a look at this;
http://www.alleycode.com

Ws_ftp95 www.ipswitch.com or core ftp www.coreftp.com both have free versions available. I find core better. Unlike Christina (greetings) I have Dreamweaver ftp linked up. The problem is that it "guesses" the chmod. Coreftp has a lot of functionality. You can even stop it from timing out which is a bonus if you are making changes live.

I also hold a bank of scripts and template saved seperatly as htm(l). One script, one function, and use these if I need to cut and paste. This stops me having to look through code from existing documents.

[webado]

I write it and all the formatting in a Word doc, save as html, then extract just the pertinent code from it and insert it into a page which I'm working on in Dreamweaver. It works for me :lol:

Hey,

Do you find that doing this creates a lot of extra un-needed coding?

Just that I've done the same thing, but hated all the extra crap that
came with it.
I said pertinent code. :lol:

MS Word 97 doesn't add a lot of extra crap on an initial save to html. If you edit in Word you're in for a nasty surpirise, as it does mess up a lot.

I might pick from the original html code it generates just what I need for the part I'm working on, like maybe a table with background colors or cell colors. I won't work with Word past that point.

Word from Office XP or later generates copious tons of crap (oh, so sorry, W3C compliant code I should say :wink:). I don't use that one at all. One look at it and I scream. :lol:

[webado]

Ws_ftp95 www.ipswitch.com or core ftp www.coreftp.com both have free versions available.

Ok, I looked for the free version of ws_ftp (which is what I have) and wwww.ipswitch.com no longer offer it, or else it's hidden on their site.
Haven't tried coreftp. I have tried cuteftp, but decided to stick with ws_ftp. Heck, all the sites are set up there already so I don't have to remember all the login details :?

I haven't bothered to explore DW's ftp function beyond reading the help to check that it has it, because I never make changes online. Too many potential bloopers :lol:

[motorwatchercounter]

Word from Office XP or later generates copious tons of crap (oh, so sorry, W3C compliant code I should say :wink:). I don't use that one at all. One look at it and I scream. :lol:

Meooooooow Christina. Saucer of milk?

I looked for the free Ipswitch FTP (it was called ws_ftp95 le) but it seems to be missing. There may be a mirror site somewhere. Go for core ftp http://www.coreftp.com. it is well worth a look. Also I have downloaded the http://www.alleycode.com editor (mentioned by me above) for a look. Very good .css and .php are in there as well. Donation run so a very cheap way of getting a good code editor. It even puts a doc type (w3c) in the first line.

[graham35]

I use Cutesite builder - WHY - because its so easy to use

Maybe its for the people that think they can't.........

Heres a link http://www.globalscape.com/cutesitebuilder/

[trackerm]

I use IE as my FTP.

beats having an extra program.
I have my FTP addy in Favorites and it has the password saved so when I click on it it goes straight there.

Are there any drawacks to it that I don't know?

Mark

[trackerm]

IE doesn't block popups. It's Microsoft. But that's just the browser feature of it.

Oh yeah! I don't use IE for much, I use Maxthon a tabbed browser that works over IE. It has wonderful popup blockers and ad hunters.
IE will die if they dont put out a V7 with tabs and pop-up blocker.

Mark

[grbeneke]

I use HTMLkit do develop my sites:
It's basically like working in Notepad - all the code is produced raw. However there is code highlighting, and all the HTML tags are available from the toolbar (inserts a full code block with opening and closing tags)
It also has a very useful kinda autocomplete function:
As you type it brings up a list of the available properties for each tag and all the values you have used previously in the document.
It has an instant preview on a tab - no need to save and open a seperate browser.
It also has code clean-up tools and a validator (almost W3C standard) built in.
And lastly - the best part - ITS FREEEEEEEEEEEE :D

[Nomad]

I use IE as my FTP.

beats having an extra program.
I have my FTP addy in Favorites and it has the password saved so when I click on it it goes straight there.

Are there any drawacks to it that I don't know?

Mark

Yes especially if you get a system compromise and your passwords get stolen...I never ever save passwords - working on the addage 'If it's important, then it's Important enough to remember'. As far as I'm concerned passwords are Important.

Don't do it is my advice (Especially if your using windows ;) )

I use Notepad, Style Master (CSS Generator Program) Amaya and html tidy (Though don't use that much now - the validator is far easier and quicker).

Nomad

[China Tea]

Hello Master Proteus,

:oops:I do not speak the webmaster lingo, but I will try to describe my current status. I "built" my site from a built-in template provided by Yahoo's small business section. I am constrained within the box that Yahoo provides which is a good thing for me since I do not know anything outside that box. I pay about $40.00 a month for the service plus about $30.00 for the credit card payment capabilities.

My contribution to your survey.

China Tea

[Proteus]

Hello Master Proteus,


master?... of what?... I am just a poor guy who likes to learn something new every day... and share it, of course...
:wink:

(thank you for your contribution...)

[webado]

The thing I like most with DW is the ability to preview your work in multiple browsers. I have IE, Firefox, Netscape and Opera all linked in and can preview with any or all of them. Once the FTP is set up, it is a breeze to use.

scouser

http://www.mouseonthemove.co.uk :D :D

Holy cow! I never knew until just now you coudl define different browsers in DW! Sure enough, I just added Firefox in there! Others to come as I install them. Thanks for opening my eyes! :lol:

[webado]

Well, Scouser, you're so right in your latest blog entry. I had to look twice and see if it wasn't me who wrote that :lol:

Your site has a mission, a very worthy one. Every bit you achieve there is a leap of learning and opens the door to more learning.

I dare say one stops living when one stops learning. And you can't learn if you don't doubt yourself at times, even often. You also can't learn if you don't hit yourself on brick walls, run into problems and somehow manage to solve them... or even not solve them. I think the difference between an unsolved problem and a solved one is minimal, really. Of course, that's only noticeable once the problem is solved, when you hit your head and say: Duh! :lol:

[activewebs]

Hi all
We use Netobjects fusion for our sites (v7.5) , OK so its a drag and drop prog but it does fine for us so far , we are looking at DW and will prob run both , for FTP the one for us is Cute ftp (v5)

Cheers

Rich
www.activewebs.co.uk

[Proteus]

The thing I like most with DW is the ability to preview your work in multiple browsers.

What is DW?... where to find it?... (and most important... is it free?.. :wink: )

PS.. Does it work on Macs?

[webado]

The thing I like most with DW is the ability to preview your work in multiple browsers.

What is DW?... where to find it?... (and most important... is it free?.. :wink: )

PS.. Does it work on Macs?
Dw is Macromedia's Dreamweaver and no, it's not free. No idea if it works on Macs, it might. I have an acient version of it I inherited from somebody many ages ago. Newer versions have tons more bells and whistles, probably deal with W3C issues (thus generating tons more html code for the simplest thing).

[robinev]

I'd use Dreamweaver if I had it since it's the best html editor I've seen (especially in html mode). Unfortunately, a hard drive crash wiped it (and everything else) off my machine last year. I've paid for it twice and am unwilling to do it again.

My alternative is to use the html editor in MS Visual Studio. I use only the html editor, which is only adequate, but is slightly better than most of the free editors I've checked out.

[Peg-as-is]

I use a Mac and use Dreamweaver quite often. Mostly for uploading pages to my site, though. At least, lately.

How my pages get developed depends on what part of my website I'm doing. Image-heavy pages get done in Dreamweaver. Text-heavy pages usually get done in PageMaker (so I have a mss copy of the story) and cleaned up in either Dreamweaver or BBEdit. Database-like pages usually get done in FileMakerPro and cleaned up in Dreamweaver or BBEdit. Test pages for a new design get done in Dreamweaver and transferred over to BBEdit for copying. The only thing guaranteed to get done in BBEdit is my CSS.

*lol* The very first pages I work on, however, are done on graph paper.

Peg

[Jamie Renae]

I started out using the "online setup" in Angelfire.com. After I learned how to edit HTML, I kept using their editor until I tried MS Front page. That lasted just once!!! I finally purchased Dreamweaver 4 and have loved every miniute of it. My skills started out at Minimum and have progressed to "low intermediate". DW lets me build a page like it is a simple editor page and then I can test it ,before I send it to the server. Of course the best part is using Stat Counter to track how people are finding and naviugating the site. :roll:
Since my first one I have build three other sites. I do have a long way to go though.
Jamie Renae

[hdtvtechno]

Netscape Composer is also good editor :)

[Nikkodemus]

Another Dreamweaver user and Adobe Photoshop for pics - like the save for web, tho Fireworks no doubt has this feature as well.
Tend to use Word for the first draft of text and then copy and paste the text only into Dreamweaver (Thnx Christina!). Use Excel for stats - had probs with getting the StatCounter code to work with this....and, yes, it was chrisooc who helped me sort it. Thanks again, Christina!
Use WS_FTP Pro 7 courtesy of a freebie through a PC magazine.
Main reason for this late post is that I still have a copy of the WS_FTPLE installer. It's less than 700KB so if anyone wants a copy I would be happy to assist.
All the best for 2005!
Nick

[webado]

Welcome back Nick! Shhh! Don't tell anybody you use Word for anything web - you're supposed to slug along in Notepad :wink:

The thing is I think Word's great at making quick tables and painting backgrounds of cells and such for starters. Never to edit though, as it messes up royally. And only Word 97, since anything later adds tons of useless crap in there (ok, it might be W3C approved useless crap :wink: ).

[Annied]

I'm another Dreamweaver fan. I was using version 4 for a long time, but after the last reformat I can't get it to switch to html view, so I'm currently back with version 2. There's nothing complicated on my webpages, so it makes little difference to me.

[motorwatchercounter]

I'm another Dreamweaver fan. I was using version 4 for a long time, but after the last reformat I can't get it to switch to html view, so I'm currently back with version 2. There's nothing complicated on my webpages, so it makes little difference to me.

Have you tried file>preview in browser>edit browser list.
Edit the browser list and tick the primary browser box.

This should let you use the F12 function again.

or if it is the code/split/page view use view>toolbars

[UFO]

:D Hi all Just me Adam here.
Thought I would put my two cents in here.
I am Extremely new at the whole web page building and code stuff to be honest I actually just learned how to use a computer a little over a 1 ½ ago, I thought they where useless piles of expensive garbage and I wanted nothing to do with them. :wink:
Times have changed for me and I can’t get away from computers I need them otherwise I just get really bored.
But for me I use DW it can be used at all levels from wet behind the ears to web designers.
I have tried different webpage making software (they claim professional looking pages) and have found out that you’re limited on what you can and can't do and they look as if they where cheap photographs with a couple links on them. :( :lol:
Little expensive but I would suggest purchasing macromedia mx the whole kit-n-ka-boodle :wink:

[OldAndInTheWay]

hello everybody,
can you let me talk about tswebeditor, no one mention it, but for those like me who like to work with html tags or css (many other languages) it is a cool 8) editor with keywords highlight.
You even can call it automaticaly from ie with view source.
You will find it there http://www.tswebeditor.tk

[gntombel]

I use Home Site, it offers great features such as having design and source view. It also indents code nicely for you. I guess the commercial one is far better than what I'm using(trial download).

Context is also a good tool to do programming because it works like Note pad but the advantage is that you can do multiple undos and it also highlight tags and keywords and it's free. Just type Context in google. Let me know if you can't get hold of it.

[ps646566]

I certainly cannot be describes as Webmaster. But I use Dreamweaver because I got a legitimate copy of a very old version free with a computer magazine some years ago. It is complex and takes some learning and getting used to, but it is the best.

For photo-editing - Adobe Photoshop Elements. For animations - GIF Construction Workshop. For FTP upload - Internet Explorer (dead easy).

[motorwatchercounter]

......I use Dreamweaver because I got a legitimate copy of a very old version free with a computer magazine some years ago.......

Would that be a version 1.2 which was an onsert (thats the technical name for cover disks) from about 6 or 7 years ago?

[ps646566]

......I use Dreamweaver because I got a legitimate copy of a very old version free with a computer magazine some years ago.......

Would that be a version 1.2 which was an onsert (thats the technical name for cover disks) from about 6 or 7 years ago?

Yes that's right, v1.2, and it would have been about five and a half years ago. It does everything I need - one of the best pieces of freeware ever I reckon.

[motorwatchercounter]

Totally agree. I brought the mag as something to read in the pub. I think it is superb. I have a copy somewhere but use the developer version now. It is too complicated.

[jesus2099]

tswebeditor is quite nice but unfortunately it doesn't display my unicode pages.

I use emeditor (http://www.emeditor.com), smartftp (http://www.smartftp.com), [x]html validator (http://validator.w3.org), css validator (http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/), w3c specs (http://www.w3.org)... and google (http://www.google.com) of course! :)

[staticgravity]

Code & Graphics:

Dreamweaver
fllash 5
xara 3d
xara webstyle
adobe photoshop 7
Swish max
notepad

Music:

musicmatch
limewire
atomix mp3

Viewer:
FireFox <---- by far much better than MSIE

[nemesis]

I use FrontPage on the more complicated pages.. i.e. when using tables etc... But I prefer to use Notepad, because then I always know what's in the code, unlike in FrontPage, which adds its own Meta tags etc...

[Tex Tyler]

DOES no-one else use First Page 2000? It's a free download from EvrSoft and it's the only editor I know that grows with you - you can switch between easy, normal, advanced and hard-core modes as you become more experienced. Mind you, after three years I haven't got past 'normal' yet ...

[OldAndInTheWay]

Yes so many tools to build a html page. it's like cars. You just have to find the one that meets your needs.

[OldAndInTheWay]

I was a notepad user too since I've tried tsWebEditor

multi-tab, syntax highlight, code browser, php syntax and error check, help, css assistant, html tag editor, html syntax checker, ...

realy easyt give it a try http://www.tswebeditor.tk/

[natureart]

I make my layout in PSP8 and then set it up on a new page in my directory using html right after.

[slwebsolutions]

Dreamweaver, Photoshop :)

[boombatower]

I use bluefish. It is free, but works great. It is hand-typed code, but it complets tags for you and has many built in features. It will create forms, frames, etc. Has great built in help and recognized and color many different file types.

Including: .html, .js, .php, .css, and more

Coloring is very helpful. I like it especial because it does not screw around your code after you type it, by putting tabs and spaces where it wants them. It has worked great for me.

The site for this great tool is: http://bluefish.openoffice.nl/. FREE download.

Viewer:
Mozilla/Firefox/Netscape (1 in the same)

[veinglory]

I use notepad because it is free and already there (I'm a cheapskate and only have 2 small webpages).

[helmz]

For many years I've used Macromedia Flash's Publish option to export .html file and then edit it with tiny yet powerful program (that's Notepad for sure) but then when I advanced to PHP I use Dreamweaver for coding and uploading. For designing templates I use Fireworks then import it to DW for furthur editing. I'll say Dreamweaver is the best software out there which lets you code and at the same time preview the result using split option and also works great with database connectivity's and website testings.