Hi. I'm after a few ideas I'm wanting to install a web editor on my MBP and would like some input from anyone who has experience.
I don't know why more people don't know about this awesome Web site creation program. It's free (some extended features are only available if you pay for them, but none of them are terribly important), WYSIWYG (but there is a built-in text editor if you choose to work with the raw HTML, and it helps you by allowing you to add HTML commands with one click), easy to use (if you know how to use a word processor you will take to this program quickly), and full featured. It's great for beginners and experienced Web designers alike.
BlueGriffon (free)
http://bluegriffon.org/
It was just recently updated extensively.
Free video tutorial series:
(The tutorial does not use the Mac version of the program, but the program is virtually identical across platforms.)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC06B5890CFFF491C
Other free BlueGriffon tutorials:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bluegriffon+tutorials
BlueGriffon's user manual is commercial (not free), but it's not necessary if you view the above tutorial.
Now, here's the best thing about BlueGriffon...it can do something that very few other WYSIWYG Web site creation programs can do...it can import existing Web sites in HTML format. Why is that important? Because if you have previously been using a program that is basically a page layout program with an HTML converter on top of it you can only export your existing Web site in either a proprietary format that nothing else can open, or you can export your Web site in HTML format. So, using BlueGriffon you can migrate from any other Web site creation program.
Even better, you can suck down the raw HTML from any existing site on the Web using something like SiteSucker, and use it as a template/starting point for your project. Basically this means that you have access to an unlimited number of free templates!
Some tips for using BlueGriffon:
1. When you first open it, the interface will look terrible. Don't get discouraged. Do this:
BlueGriffon menu --> Preferences --> General tab --> Theme -> enable "Light"
The interface will now look world's better!
2. The sidebar in the program isn't active by default. In the Panels menu choose Style Properties, and you should instantly get a sense of the value of the sidebar.