WYSIWYG web builder software

[half diminished]

I've been using Dreamweaver for years but since upgrading to Snow Leopard I've been unable to use Dreamweaver MX and the cost of busing the new CS4 option seems excessive for the amount I need to use it. My 'free' trial has expired today and I need to either bite the bullet or find something that meets my needs but doesn't cost £350/£400!

Any suggestions? I really do like Dreamweaver so something similar and less that half the price would be nice if it's not too much to ask.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Any suggestions? I really do like Dreamweaver so something similar and less that half the price would be nice if it's not too much to ask.

I have no idea id it's any good, but have you looked at iWeb? I'm sure you can get a trial version.

 

[Chris98]

Hi Ian,

I eventually went for Freeway but other than having the software and having the good intention of using it, I've not yet do anything with it. I've not used dreamwaver so can't comment on how similar/different it is. But if you've been using Dreamweaver aren't all your files going to be in that format, so essentually if you get another program you will have to build all your projects again from scratch?

How's the harmonica?

All the best,

Chris

 

[half diminished]

I have no idea id it's any good, but have you looked at iWeb? I'm sure you can get a trial version.

Pete

I have iWeb as it came with the iLife package but it seems to me you can only build your sites using it, not edit existing pages etc. Maybe I need to look again.

Hi Ian,

I eventually went for Freeway but other than having the software and having the good intention of using it, I've not yet do anything with it. I've not used dreamwaver so can't comment on how similar/different it is. But if you've been using Dreamweaver aren't all your files going to be in that format, so essentually if you get another program you will have to build all your projects again from scratch?

How's the harmonica?

All the best,

Chris

Chris

Freeway looks interesting. The thing about dreamweaver is that you can use a WYSIWYG viewer, split viewer or code viewer. You can use Dreamweaver's 'aids' or write/edit raw html code. You can also work in xhtml with 'all of the above', and write javascript which it helps you with.

I do not want a blackbox website 'grinder' that churns out code in some proprietary fashion - not that I write that much code but I am using a lot of CSS rather than table, frames and the like. I'd just buy Dreamweaver but I could buy 12gb of RAM, a s/h 24mm lens for my M8, go on a jazz workshop….. all I'd much rather do than spend £350/400 on software I'll use 40/50 times a year at best.

As for the 'gob iron', unfortunately I've had a few issues and a trip to hospital that kept me out of the office for a couple of days and that's where it lies. I had expected to pick it up wednesday but unfortunately I couldn't so it will have to wait until monday. Don't worry, I'll keep you updated on my progress.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I do not want a blackbox website 'grinder' that churns out code in some proprietary fashion - not that I write that much code but I am using a lot of CSS rather than table, frames and the like.

What an ideal opportunity to brush up on your coding then and do it all in a text editor yourself. It sounds like you are probably over halfway there.

I do everything in jeditx and jchecker, very nice little editor for composing HTML. You end up with much leaner code that way usually.

 

[Chris98]

Gentlemen,

I bow out now having not understood a word either of you have said regarding code etc. And this is why I suspect my idea of a website remains just that, an idea!

Ian, I suspect Freeway might not be for you as I think the idea behind it is that you don't need to know code. Best of luck with your hunt.

All the best,

Chris

 

[Saxlicker]

I have iWeb as it came with the iLife package but it seems to me you can only build your sites using it, not edit existing pages etc. Maybe I need to look again.

I think you are right about the editing.
Its even difficult to transfer between iweb's (say macbook to imac).
I'm just working on a couple of sites for friends and have been pleasantly surprised with its functions. But as mentioned above, if you need to transfer or copy it, you can't shift from one machine to another without losing what sites you already have on the receiving machine it overwrites.

Actually reading back my own post you can ,
You could rename the file (called domain) on the receiving machine to something else and to stop it being replaced then rename it back to domain when you want to use it...but thats a work up that should be unnecessary none the less.

 

[Moz]

I've been using Dreamweaver for years but since upgrading to Snow Leopard I've been unable to use Dreamweaver MX and the cost of busing the new CS4 option seems excessive for the amount I need to use it. My 'free' trial has expired today and I need to either bite the bullet or find something that meets my needs but doesn't cost £350/£400!

Any suggestions? I really do like Dreamweaver so something similar and less that half the price would be nice if it's not too much to ask.

I use freewebs, I know it's not actually web builder software but it does allow you to build a website without additional software. It costs me (at last renewal) £49 per year. There is a free section so you can try it out but for the above fee, you get rid of all ads. I don't know if there is a page limit but I suspect the only limit is the webspace allocated.

See my signature for a link to my freewebs page -- I have done no coding whatsoever and while I know a bit about it I couldn't be bothered to do it myself.

Freewebs is at: http://members.freewebs.com/

Cheers

Martin

 

[rudjarl]

There is an open source WYSIWYG editor completely free at this site:http://www.w3.org/Amaya/Overview.html

I have not used it myself, but their use of CSS had some issues a year or two ago. But you could have a look at it. At the price of 0£ the worst thing that could happen was wasting your time

 

[half diminished]

Thanks for the input. I have also been prompted to look at Flux which seems pretty interesting and very low cost at £49.95. Though not quite as cheap as free it does seem to be a serious contender being described as having

"an amazing WYSIWYG rendering engine, which means you can drag, stretch, and move objects like a you can in a DTP application, and your webpages will look exactly how you intended.* Flux will generate all the code for you, with no unneccesary tags".

There is also a quote suggesting that "Flux is the designers' Holy Grail" and "100% Dreamweaver Killer".

Only two downsides I can see is it's developed by two guys and a cat (so will it be around for long) and I need to invest a fair bit of time getting up to speed with it - which I don't really have :crying:

Also taking a look at joomla, well in for a penny!

Oh and check out this comparison of html editors at Wikipedia

 

[Chris98]

Hi Ian,

I like the look of Flux, I almost feel like I might be able to create something in that. But my thoughts on building my own website swing from, it'd be good fun to create a website to, who'd look at it and so what's the point!

What's the purpose of your website? is it related to your photography?

Anyway, if flux is created by two guys and a cat then they are likely to be passionate and might push through and offer something new and better that the old establishment can't see. Have you seen the upgrade prices for the next Creative Suite! Fine if you are a professional but a bit steep for the likes of me.

Best wishes,

Chris