Website Development - Frontpage or DreamWeaver?

**JangoRap** · 16-02-2009

Hi,

I don't know much about programming but I am interested in website development & I want to know which one of this 2 programs are better for a newbie like me.

Can you guys please advice me about Frontpage or DreamWeaver?

**Nihal G** · 16-02-2009

Depending on what your level of knowledge is will determine what programme you'll need (as well as your budget).
Serif's WebPlus X2 - click here - comes with a lot of functionality you'd need such as ecommerce, forums etc etc but you don't have to touch html. Plus its a bit of a bargain.

**Emily 2** · 16-02-2009

If you're going to start a design company, learn how to code from scratch. I think editors are just a waste of money and time.

As for the design part, I suggest buying Photoshop and/or Illustrator.
I personally prefer Illustrator because there's so much more you can do with it but Photoshop is used more often for web design. They're both very easy to learn and there are a lot of tutorials online that should help you get started.

**Solomon** · 16-02-2009

Hi there.

Firstly I just want to point out that there are two distinct sides to what people commonly refer to as 'Web Design'. You have the actual design process and the development process.

Design
This is something that I am still learning more and more about but a good place to start is finding a good source on instruction and inspiration. If you're in the UK i suggest a great (if expensive) magazine - Computer Arts Projects
Each issue focuses on a different aspect of computer based graphic design. The current issue for instance is about design for print. Many of these many of these theories can be easily applied to web design as it is a similar medium.
Also look into the golden ratio and grid based design. That will help you loads with laying out your pages.
As for applications to use, InDesign and Photoshop for layout and graphics respectively.

Development
Once you have a design signed off as the final one you have to actually turn it into something a web browser can understand.
I cannot stress how important it is to understand that drag and drop development tools (like those available in dreamweaver) are not how you will create great pages. Invest time in learning XHTML and CSS and really know how it all works. Only when you are editing the code itself will you fully understand how to create robust, bug free and importantly, cross browser compatible pages. You can look at the www.w3c.org website. They have validators that make sure your XHTML and CSS code is valid.
As for server side code. I use ASP. This is a Microsoft family of technologies that include C(sharp). You could use PHP or ASP. The choice is down to you AND where it is being hosted as ASP will require Microsoft based webservers running IIS (Internet Information Services), microsofts webserver software.
For development i tend to use a mix of applications but mainly Visual Studio. This is however, expensive. You just need an app that has decent syntax recognition to make you work more speedily.
I'm sure this is plenty for now but please let me know if you would like any more info.

**JangoRap** · 16-02-2009

Hi Guys

Thanks for the unbiased and constructive feedback, it has been much appreciated and I will try out your suggestions before making a final desicion.

**Daniel Norman** · 16-02-2009

I do sometimes use dreamweaver while developing webpages, however I find it is much better to write code from scratch using html and CSS.

Eric A. Meyer has written a few good, easy to understand books on CSS.

**JangoRap** · 16-02-2009

Thanks Danial Norman for your suggestion can you provide me the link of the books on CSS for download? Is it free?

I think I must start HTML from scratch but I do want to know the best 1 out of frontpage & DreamWeaver so that I can start some basics of web development right now!