website building application

Frankly pretty much any text editor will do, you could even use textedit, if you wanted to. It's all about the technologies and scripts/plugins that make pages the way they are.
Actually you might even be better off, starting with an extremely simple text editor and eventually graduate to something more powerful. What's most important about the whole process is that you:

a) understand file structures
b) understand the core technologies (HTML5,CSS,Javascript).

I started out using textmate and now use sublime text most of the time.

 

Are you looking to actually code a website in HTML 5 or do you want a program that let's you design a website visually and then output the code for you?

If you want to write the actually code for a website, you can use any text editor. A good free one is;
Text Wrangler from Barebones software.

There is also Coda, and Espresso which are also very good, but not free.

It sounds like you want something that doesn't require coding. In this case, there are a few options for you.

These solutions work through your web browser. They are easy, but the designs are usually generic;
SquareSpace
Wix

These solutions are downloadable web site builders that are easier to work with;
EverWeb
RapidWeaver
Sandvox

 

Hi,

If you're not into coding and don't want to spend too much time on it then you might want to look at something like WordPress. It's mainly aimed at bloggers, but no reason why you can't use it to create a non-blog site. Pros are that its quick to learn and you'll have a site online in no time. Cons are that you're limited to pre-made themes - luckily there are plenty of them though. For the record, that's what I make my website in - have a nosy at www.ghostotter.com.

Good luck!

 

If you do not have experience with HTML or CSS I would skip over Wordpress and go right to a hosted service. Check out Webflow (https://webflow.com), Squarespace (http://www.squarespace.com) or The Grid (https://thegrid.io).

 

what is a good or better apple iWeb replacement?
something with LOTS of templates, no interest in programming.
maybe something to create a secure web store

 

I use Dreamweaver in CS5 exclusively. I wanted some way to quickly build and maintain any site and to address my extreme hatred for coding. Life is short, and frankly time learning code takes away from time earning money. For some it's a hobby or a way to learn more. For me it's about as welcome as a fart from Satan's bleeding anus. (Too much?) For the store I simply used Paypal. Coding for their buttons is copy/paste, and purchases worked like a charm. I did most designs from scratch, but in a pinch used free and paid templates from all the CSS template sites out there.
My own site uses Drupal, currently under testing. The new version, 8.0, is mobile-first, and satisfies your need for HTML5 exquisitely. That would work if you host your own with a local server or are willing to pay to have it hosted.

 

I have just started with Wordpress and a friend pointed me to a tool called Divi Builder, made by elegant themes. (elegantthemes.com) I am stunned at how good it is, how easy it is to make pages, add buttons, images, etc., etc., etc. They apparently made it into a plugin as well, so it works with any theme. I don't work for them, or have any relationship other than being an end user.

 

I think your choice should be mainly influenced by your workflow.
If you prefer to see your changes instantly you may consider Brackets.
I personally like to do everything in Netbeans IDE simply because of its expandability and the fact that I can write most of my programming work in different languages with it.

(Of course I suppose you want to build the style yourself, I think that's the way to go)