Web Design Software Like iWeb

You're starting a web design company and want to use software like iWeb? Good luck with that.

Dreamweaver is the industry standard. Rapidweaver and Coda are pretty good alternatives. If those options are "not easy enough," then you should probably reconsider whether you have the necessary skill to open a web design company. A good web designer only really needs a plain text editor and an FTP client.

I'm sorry if my response seems terse, but I had to say what many of those reading this are probably thinking.

People can generally figure out how to drag and drop things themselves. What makes you think that anyone would pay you for this service when there are numerous free options available?

TextEdit.

OwenMeasures said:

i can write code... just cant be bothered!

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I know most clients would be thrilled to hear that!

You should put that phrase on your business cards.

I also recommend TextEdit!

How much do you expect, or anticipate people will pay for an iWeb drag and drop site?

I think the OP may have a point, as design and web programming are 2 separate skills.

On the other hand, the implementation of a good design often requires good web programming.

As for the client point of view, if the site is "beautiful" and answers my needs, why should I care if it's done with dreamweaver or iWeb ?

I'm not starting a web company, but I do have several websites up that I need to maintain and update regularly. I'm also looking for something very drag and drop like iWeb, with hopefully at least as much ability to customize the look of the site as iWeb.

The recommendations I've been reading have led me to Rapidweaver so far. Haven't tried the demo much yet, but it doesn't seem as intuitive as iWeb. Anything else out there you'd recommend?

Freeway

Depending on your need, you could also look at Wordpress and the gazillion of templates available.

Sandvox
http://www.karelia.com/sandvox

This bundle has Flux:
http://www.macsuperbundle.com

monsieurpaul said:

As for the client point of view, if the site is "beautiful" and answers my needs, why should I care if it's done with dreamweaver or iWeb ?

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Inefficient code means potentially lower search rankings, long load times, and may create problems with consistency over different browsers. There are many reasons not to make a "proper" website with basic packages.

For coding I recommend Coda and for file transfers/FTP I recommend Transmit, they're both brilliant apps made by Panic

I dunno if I'm just a perfectionist or what but I like my code to look as good as the layout I'm creating... something that I believe isn't possible with a drag n' drop application

Adobe Dreamweaver CS5.5 is a very good web design software. We personally utilize it extensively at mikannie.com.au.

Wix & MoonFruit

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How does Wix and Moonfruit different from something like Google sites?

I'd look back at RapidWeaver because that is the most iWeb like app out there. If you add in stacks and/or blocks (two different add-ins) you'll get very close to iWeb's drag and drop.

While not as easy as iWeb, it does offer similar functionality but much more extensibility and flexibility.

You should just stop right now. Nobody is going to pay you for a lazily made drag and drop website. Use espresso. Its a great web design app.

Rapid weaver, but..... That makes content update a pain. Start getting familiar with theming a cms....Wordpress, Drupal...doesn't matter, just pick one. Wordpress is easy and there are theme designers while you brush up.

Dream weaver is the industry standard, but you better know code if you expect cross platform results.

If you're just using design you might as well just slice up your raster images in photoshop and drop them into Frontpage or iWeb. Honestly, getting a partner that can implement the more visual-based designs you are creating would go a long way, especially if you are amateur enough to consider using iWeb professionally (no offense meant by that).

If you're serious about actually implementing your designs I would strongly suggest using TextMate / MAMP to actually get into the development process and eliminate your need for software like iWeb which is probably not going to be that lucrative at the end of the day.

OMG !!

the guy just asked for an alternative and most of you give him a lecture?

What's the problem with him trying to use iWeb and help a few friends or even get a few bucks on the side?

So what if he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life learning html coding etc. If it's something simple and done in 20 minutes with iweb is it wrong?

After all you should not be the judge of his work, his clients will do this.

I wish there was something as easy as iweb drag and drop out there and yes I am another one who can't write html and can't afford to spend in order to make a decent simple web site.

I have seen others doing it and i get better results with iweb.

georgi0 said:

OMG !!

the guy just asked for an alternative and most of you give him a lecture?

What's the problem with him trying to use iWeb and help a few friends or even get a few bucks on the side?

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Nothing, just trying to be helpful and share personal experience. I know several designers who can design more and better in Photoshop & Frontpage than I could with years of html / css practice.

Apologies if I was offensive you. Would like to see what you've done in iWeb as an example of what you can do with it.

haydn! said:

I also recommend TextEdit!

How much do you expect, or anticipate people will pay for an iWeb drag and drop site?

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TextEdit is really good on that. I have tried it once

OwenMeasures said:

its not like im creating big websites for professional companies, i am focusing on individuals that want a personal website for a service!! i can write code... just cant be bothered!

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I know exactly where you're coming from. I can also hand code just fine and know my way around Dreamweaver, but I am more of a designer then coder so Dreamweaver just makes me tired. My recommendation would be to stick with Rapidweaver. I've tried a bunch of other solutions and while everything can still be hand coded it has a rich market place where you can purchase add-ons and plug-ins from some great developers to add to your site.

To help speed up your work flow I'd purchase the Stacks plug-in and create a template using a blank theme (which can be downloaded for free). Then slice up your elements in PS or Illustrator images and drop the images and text into place. EASY!!

Or if you're REALLY feeling lazy you can pad your costs a little more and purchase a cool theme to customize. There's still enough work to be done that you won't be ripping anybody off and some of those themes are amazing! Check out the one I used for my personal photography site http://www.kevinfulton.ca . I'll be updating my images in the future and adding a lightbox feature for image viewing, but you'll get the idea. Doesn't get much more drag and drop then that!

Get Dreamweaver, and save a lot of time by getting templates and modifying them. There simply is no other solution that has what you WILL need in the future. The design can be concentrated on while the stylesheets are already coded in. Real timesaver, and it's not like it's "cheating". Start with a concept page and mod the hell out of it till its what the customer wants. Time = Money, and they will LOVE the end result.

http://www.freecsstemplates.org/

Been using Sandvox. It's great.