Web design software for "beginners"

[kemo]

Originally Posted by Niko91

Yesterday and today I've been using ST2, Coda 2, Espresso 2 and DWCS6.

The worst of these, for me, at the end, I think it's DW.
I find it too bloated and chaotic, even if I come from Photoshop.

I'll go, I think, or with Sublime Text 2 or with Coda 2.
Also Espresso 2 is nice. The CSS Editor in there is wonderful

Am I an old school guy, if I dont like those "do by click" CSS editors..? I just love working in TM, its so fast once you find out how to use Snippets.

[Niko91]

I think I've decided.

Coda 2 & Photoshop CS6 (because I already have it)

Thank you all, guys!

[AFPoster]

Originally Posted by Niko91

I think I've decided.

Coda 2 & Photoshop CS6 (because I already have it)

Thank you all, guys!

Great choices!

Like you said in a previous report DW is way to bloated. As some would state it's an industry and web standard, it doesn't teach you anything about what you're doing so from a troubleshooting standpoint you'll be on the forums a lot since you don't know lick about code. You'll be happy with your choice I'm in love with Coda!

[Niko91]

Originally Posted by AFPoster

Great choices!

Like you said in a previous report DW is way to bloated. As some would state it's an industry and web standard, it doesn't teach you anything about what you're doing so from a troubleshooting standpoint you'll be on the forums a lot since you don't know lick about code. You'll be happy with your choice I'm in love with Coda!

Yeah.
Anyway, in these days I've asked some people that work as web developer/designer (some are "famous" one) and nobody told me that DW is actually the software they're using.
Everybody's answer was: "hand-coding" and "text editors".

[Niko91]

Oh, I have a question and sorry if it is "too noob".
If I need to control my website with a CMS such as Joomla or Drupal, can I develop it with Coda 2 and then manage it with CMS?
And is it a lot difficult?
(I've read now that DW has this option, I think.)

[lucidmedia]

Originally Posted by Niko91

Oh, I have a question and sorry if it is "too noob".
If I need to control my website with a CMS such as Joomla or Drupal, can I develop it with Coda 2 and then manage it with CMS?
And is it a lot difficult?
(I've read now that DW has this option, I think.)

Yes. Most CMSs are administered via the website but developed via a text editor that supports HTML, CSS, JS and PHP (for the CMSs you have listed).

[gr8whtd0pe]

Originally Posted by Niko91

Oh, I have a question and sorry if it is "too noob".
If I need to control my website with a CMS such as Joomla or Drupal, can I develop it with Coda 2 and then manage it with CMS?
And is it a lot difficult?
(I've read now that DW has this option, I think.)

You can edit the theme files with whatever software you want, but most of them have built in editors via the admin panels to do everything once installed.

[Niko91]

Originally Posted by gr8whtd0pe

You can edit the theme files with whatever software you want, but most of them have built in editors via the admin panels to do everything once installed.

Well, I don't want to edit the theme files of an "already installed" template, but I want to develop and design my website from scratch with a Text editor and then use a CMS to manage it

[oxfordguy]

BTW how is Espresso 2 for PHP coding? Does the syntax high-lighting work well?

[Titanium81]

Originally Posted by Niko91

I think I've decided.

Coda 2 & Photoshop CS6 (because I already have it)

Thank you all, guys!

Excellent choices! You will be very happy with these. Coda 2's FTP integration is awesome, to say the least.

[Davidaccio]

One thing that may be important to keep in mind, is how what you have made impacts the viewer. The coding can be perfect, but if the design is not there, then nobody will care to stay. Typeface choice is very important, as is color choice and spacial layout. I have always found that macprovideo.com provides a very complete training system for hundreds of programs. In addition it divides the many uses of larger applications into different courses. If you use a PC, then use askvideo.com for the same library. I don't pretend to know that much about the coding side of things, so this is more for the design, layout and multimedia/interactivity aspect of web design.

[designs216]

I would recommend Dreamweaver but to be honest, I use it in Code View most often and ignore 80% of the other features. BB Edit is another favorite but I haven't used it in years. The hard core code guys used to do it in NotePad
I would steer clear of FrontPage. You may know this already but if you want to learn, use the View Source command to peek under the hood of your favorite web sites. Good luck.

[sigamy]

Originally Posted by Niko91

Hi all!
I've just started studying HTML and CSS in these weeks and I was wondering which software should I use for web designing. (It's a kind of hobby, I love it)

I want a software to grow up with, that I can learn well while I'm studying the code and will become my "best friend" for making websites

I know that the most "famous" are Coda 2, Dreamweaver and Sublime Text 2. I've also heard about Flux 4, Rapidweaver and Freeway.
So, what do you recommend to me?

Thank you!

Another WYSIWYG is Sandvox. TacoHTML is a good light weight text editor.

[musio]

iWeb...oh wait.

[localhost8080]

the best is a plain text editor.

if you use a plain editor then you actually learn the code.

you an then decide to move on to an editor that does common things for you (like coda, netbeans or even eclipse) and you can then see why noone likes dreamweaver (except for its search and replace everything in a directory tree feature when you have to re-factor something in a 500k line web app)

[-pete-]

Originally Posted by localhost8080

the best is a plain text editor.

if you use a plain editor then you actually learn the code.

you an then decide to move on to an editor that does common things for you (like coda, netbeans or even eclipse) and you can then see why noone likes dreamweaver (except for its search and replace everything in a directory tree feature when you have to re-factor something in a 500k line web app)

I would actually go the other way around - coda, netbeans etc first - then (if you need it) a plain text editor, yes they do common things for you but why should you have to remember every little bit of syntax?

Originally Posted by Niko91

Oh, I have a question and sorry if it is "too noob".
If I need to control my website with a CMS such as Joomla or Drupal, can I develop it with Coda 2 and then manage it with CMS?
And is it a lot difficult?
(I've read now that DW has this option, I think.)

Whilst you can learn a bunch from CMS systems, honestly so many of them are so large and complex that you may benefit from starting from scratch and learning from there.

Last time I looked there are some decent tutorials available from Lynda.com on PHP and the like so these are a good way to get started and help you follow what a CMS is actually doing.

[zumby143]

I would also agree that the the make doesn't matter that much. I live in Namibia, so I can't comment on support. I enjoy working on an HP, but I certainly wouldn't say that it is the only one that is good.

But the point that I wanted to make is that for web design almost any decent computer is fine. A lot of the work of a web designer is done on with small graphics and plain text. Unless they are doing a lot of video stuff, they don't really need a very fancy computer. Thanks a lot.
Regards,
eCommerce web design Bristol

[ryansmith1]

For a beginner i will always recommend dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop, CSS and Html because these are so helpful in website designing.
__________
Web Designing

[jenniferanderso]

I use Dreamweaver. It’s the best software for web designing and an easy language for a beginner.

[designs216]

I would recommend learning with a simple text editor. It develops speed and an intimacy with the code you don't get with the WYSIWYG tools. I began with NotePad and BBEdit way back when. Now I use Dreamweaver a lot but mostly in code view. Use View Source frequently to study the HTM, JS and CSS at your favorite web sites.

[960design]

I use Coda, Safari(developer), Chrome(inspector), MAMP, PS, AND SourceTree.

Did I miss it? The most important tool to learn?

Version Control!

Git will save you hours and hours. SourceTree is extremely simple, changes appear, drag and drop, commit, comment, Commit. Back to coding!

[zumby143]

Prepare a portfolio of the websites you have already created. The easiest way to do this is through your own site with links to the other sites. You can register through a freelance directory such as guru.com or elance.com. In many cases the entire project will be conducted via email and the end customer will not necessarily know that you are 15. Keep in mind that you will be dealing with business professionals who will expect you to operate with the same maturity and professionalism. Thanks.
Regards,
ppc management

[adamdavid333]

Dreamweaver is the best software for the beginners and also for the experience.
It the most popular. It is very light weight and easy to use.
Most of the website designers uses the Dreamweaver for website designing.

[Flood123]

coda 2 or sublime text 2 . I can't stand Dreamweaver, but I'm not into the wysiwyg editors. Dreamweaver is a bloated turd in my opinion. I use it at work because I have to.

[NutsNGum]

Sublime Text 2.0
Emmet IO+ plugin for Sublime Text
CSSEdit

Chrome or Webkit nightly for Developer Tools

GIT