Web Site Design Software - Best Web Site Design Software <=$

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May I know web site design tools used in Jemsite's
web design? I'm starting a 'productions' *business
and the web site will be critical - as always
I want to consult with fellow Ibanezers.

Thanks,
Jeff

[jemsite]

i use Macromedia's Dreamweaver for the html pages, but for any site you'll need that plus a photo editing program as well. I also recommend a good FTP utility, the one in dreamweaver is weak in my opinion... glen

[Jimi D]

I second the vote for Dreamweaver. Fireworks is a good companion graphics program - easier to use than Photoshop and far more sophisticated than Microsoft's Imageworks. SoundForge is another Macromedia product for editing sound files for multimedia presentation - great for fixing up sound files for your webs. Glen's right, the FTP software in Dreamweaver isn't great, but it will do the job...

[davenit]

One more for Dreamweaver. I find the FTP quite sufficient as aposed to glen. I have been using it since it first came out. It is an incredible piece of software. All of the sites I have done use it.

Glen is right on the photo editing/manipulating software. I use photoshop. It is an incredibly robust tool. Everything on the ATD and CGWI sites were created in it, without exception.

If I am not mistaken Dreamweaver comes with Fireworks which can get you past the whole photoshop thing for a while. Not nearly as robust but still a quite usefull tool.

Dave

[ripl3y]

Dreamweaver is also my choice and if your hard code is up to speed Hotdog Pro is a reasonable alternative.

You can never go wrong with CuteFTP, it's stood the test of time and is free.

Photoshop and PSP6 are my two design faves and also a little program called universe which lets you create fantastic backgrounds of...you guessed it...universe's
i.e. star fields, gas clouds, vortex's, nebula's etc...
You can find a demo here and it's quite small :

http://www.diardsoftware.com/

gl
Steve

[darren wilson]

I'll add my vote for Dreamweaver, as well. It's a great tool and doesn't create too much bloated junky code. I prefer using a dedicated FTP client... they're just better, and i guess i'm "old fashioned" that way... use the right tool for the job. I've never used Fireworks, though i hear it's quite good. I use Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop/ImageReady for prepping all my images.

Keep in mind that software is just a production tool... rarely does it help you in the process of creating a solid site concept with well-thought-out information design and navigation.

I have to admit, being a professional designer, i'm a bit of a design snob... not because i'm elitist, but because design is an intrinsic part of how the communication process works, and the role of the designer is so often taken for granted. If you're considering going into business developing Web sites for people, i would heartily recommend studying Graphic Design/Visual Communications or teaming up with somebody who has.

[Patrick Deno]

Ok, one more vote for Dreamweaver here. But I use PSP7 (Jasc's Paint Shop Pro) for my graphics. It's alot easier to use than photoshop or Fireworks. I do use Fireworks for automated stuff though like making photo albums. The FTP in Dreamweaver is sufficiant for my tastes especially since it'll keep both the site and your local files up to date with each other, will check that your links aren't dangling, and will scan a page you are uploading and send the dependent files. Since I use alot of graphics that last part is a real blessing. I hate having to remember which of the hundreds of graphics on my drives I used in my page.

LJ

P.S. "Sound Forge" isn't from Macromedia. It's from *Sonic Foundry and is an awsom product for editing single sound files. I also use "Vegas" by the same company for multi-tracking sound and/or video. It'll let you cut and edit, track as many channels as your drive(s) can handle, integrate effects and pans, and will export your mix-down to any number of files including RealMedia and mp3.