02-28-2011, 09:21 AM

Hi everyone!

I know versions of this have been covered in other threads but I don't see a full solution.

I have developed 3 or 4 sites in Dreamweaver on a PC that I still need to maintain now that I have moved to a Mac. The main issue I have is that I use templates to manage the sites and want to keep that approach, even if I need to rebuild them ultimately.

So my options look to be:

- Whatever the latest Adobe offering is - Too expensive
- iWeb - By the sounds of it, it is too simple for anything but hobby sites and the ones I support are (admittedly small) business and Holiday community etc.
- Rapidweaver - Seems to get a few recommendations but I am reluctant to spend $79 on something I know very little bout and browsing their forum seems to have limitations around amending their templates
- Joomla - Looks too complex. I don't want to install a db and a web server

Am I completely wrong?

Any other ideas?

Thanks

02-28-2011, 11:08 AM

I just popped in here to ask the exact same question :-) Glad you asked it first! I am looking to get back into web design as a hobby and am a recent Mac convert. Back in my day we used Front Page on PC. I've been out of the web design game for a good ten years and I don't even think Microsoft makes Front Page anymore. I also used Dreamweaver back in the Macromedia days. That's how dated I am.

02-28-2011, 11:11 AM

You could also look at Coda:
Panic - Coda - One-Window Web Development for Mac OS X

03-01-2011, 02:57 AM

Rapidweaver has a free 30-day trial. I suggest you start there.

PS. Dreamweaver for the Mac would seem to be the obvious solution. You own it on the PC, Adobe will let you just "sidegrade" to the Mac version for the normal cost of upgrade. Give them a call.

03-12-2011, 03:52 AM

Thanks for the responses.

I've had a look at Coda and it looks like it is all hand coded which whilst I can write code, I don't want to do it all that way (I'm not that good!).

The problem with switching to Dreamweaver for Mac is that I was using it on a work PC and I don't have access to that anymore. I'm downloading a copy of Rapidweaver now to give it a free try.

Cheers

03-14-2011, 04:18 PM

Right I know this is going to get me a bag of letters for saying this but......

If you want to have something as good as Dreamweaver, you need to buy Dreamweaver. It is by a country mile the best thing out there! Nothing will so much as touch it.

I know it's expensive but it's worth it, especially when it comes to using templates and things like that. You might be able to get an older copy of CS4 or CS3 on eBay for a far reduced price, you'd have to have a scope around.

03-14-2011, 04:51 PM

I agree that Dreamweaver is the best. Certainly that I have tried. I hadn't thought of ebay, I'll take a look - for a genuine sale

03-17-2011, 06:02 AM

Originally Posted by schweb

You could also look at Coda:
Panic - Coda - One-Window Web Development for Mac OS X

+1 from me. It's great software

03-19-2011, 08:39 PM

Don't forget -- if you're a student or teacher (or somebody else in your family is), then you could probably get the academic license for far cheaper than the full retail/business cost.

If you want Dreamweaver -- you'll need to buy the actual Dreamweaver software.

Buying used from eBay or Amazon is another another great idea, to find used versions. Just be sure it's not one of those warez versions, when dealing with eBay users. I see several good deals there now, in sub-$100 to $150 range.

Also remember that CS3 = v8 from Macromedia (more or less). CS4+ was changed by Adobe. Buy the style you want, old vs new.