Web Design Questions

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Just two simple questions really. I was wondering what mac-based programs are best for designing websites (can list multiple options). Also, I was wondering if Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium will work on the Intel-based Macs. I have a macbook and I wasn't sure if that would still work through Rossetta? Any information on this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks a lot guys!

~Zach
 
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Welcome Zach. I've been going through a search myself. It really depends on the kind of web site development you are looking for. I'm old school so I tend to gravitate towards the basic editors. Here are a few to check out:

HTML Editors:
Coda - I tried this out but didn't care for it. Still, very professional app.

Nvu - OpenSource HTML editing environment. It's a real dog from a performance standpoint though

BBEdit - A friend of mine swears by this one

CSS Editors:
CSSEdit - An outstanding CSS Editor. I've got more info on it here.

Hope this helps get you started. If you are looking for a more comprehensive solution that any of these you should consider something like DreamWeaver, though you will need to drop some serious coin to get it.
 
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Welcome Zach. I've been going through a search myself. It really depends on the kind of web site development you are looking for. I'm old school so I tend to gravitate towards the basic editors. Here are a few to check out:

HTML Editors:
Coda - I tried this out but didn't care for it. Still, very professional app.

Nvu - OpenSource HTML editing environment. It's a real dog from a performance standpoint though

BBEdit - A friend of mine swears by this one

CSS Editors:
CSSEdit - An outstanding CSS Editor. I've got more info on it here.

Hope this helps get you started. If you are looking for a more comprehensive solution that any of these you should consider something like DreamWeaver, though you will need to drop some serious coin to get it.


Thanks for the help David; greatly appreciated! To be honest though, I am quite new to the Web Design field. My good friend and I are looking into creating a Website in the future and we are in the midst of learning the ins and outs of Web Design. I was looking at the CSS editor you posted. To be honest, I'm not really even sure what CSS is! Try not to laugh at me, but again I'm really just entering this whole world and I'm trying to learn. ;) I know how html works-but I don't actually know how to write html. Is the CSS editor an actual program used to create a full web site? I was looking Dreamweaver and I've heard it is quite difficult to use. I want a program that will be obviously a bit of a challenge to learn, mainly because I want the best quality of a site. If you have some time to explain a few things about this, I'd VERY much appreciate it. Otherwise, I'll try to browse around and try to figure things out.. Anyways, thanks again for your info!
 
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Maybe it's just me, but my favourite way of designing web pages is just to open an editor (I use Aquamacs or vi depending on if I am at my computer or working on it remotely). Products like Dream Weaver are great once you know how to code by hand but I firmly believe you have to know how to do it manually before you get an application to do it for you. I see alot of people who want to make a website and start with Dream Weaver-ish products and never learn what is happening behind the scenes, when something doesn't look the way they want it to, they have no idea how to fix it (lets face it, those web builder apps may be great, but they do have some limitations).

My advice...buy HTML for Dummies (don't laugh, they are seriously good books when starting to learn) and fire up your favourite text editor (bbedit is a good choice to start with) and start hacking some html!

Cheers
 
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Adobe CS2 will work fine on the Mac...assuming you have the Mac version. If you have a Windows version, you can always use Bootcamp or Parallels and run it that way.

CS2 contains pretty much everything you'll need to get started - Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Photoshop, etc. I would recommend getting a few books on HTML and CSS to get you started. There are also a lot of great forums out there focused on the web design. Be sure to check them out!

Sean
 
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Thank you both guys! You definitely gave me some great insight on what to do! I'm going to actually go pick up that HTML for dummies, that sounds like a good idea for me haha. Again, thank you all for your help, very much appreciated.

~Zach
 
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I haven't actually used rapidweaver to do any sites, but it is a great simple app for newbies and has some great tutorial resources so that you can get your feet wet with HTML and CSS

and of course there is always apples iweb
 
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I haven't actually used rapidweaver to do any sites, but it is a great simple app for newbies and has some great tutorial resources so that you can get your feet wet with HTML and CSS

and of course there is always apples iweb

I am going to try out Rapidweaver and see how that works. Has anyone had any luck or input on how iWeb works?
 
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Thanks for the help David; greatly appreciated! To be honest though, I am quite new to the Web Design field. My good friend and I are looking into creating a Website in the future and we are in the midst of learning the ins and outs of Web Design. I was looking at the CSS editor you posted. To be honest, I'm not really even sure what CSS is! Try not to laugh at me, but again I'm really just entering this whole world and I'm trying to learn. ;) I know how html works-but I don't actually know how to write html. Is the CSS editor an actual program used to create a full web site? I was looking Dreamweaver and I've heard it is quite difficult to use. I want a program that will be obviously a bit of a challenge to learn, mainly because I want the best quality of a site. If you have some time to explain a few things about this, I'd VERY much appreciate it. Otherwise, I'll try to browse around and try to figure things out.. Anyways, thanks again for your info!

OK, got it. If you plan on doing much in web design it's really a good idea to build up a fundamental knowledge first. You want to learn what HTML, XHTML, DHTML and CSS are - not necessarily how to be an expert in them but at a minimum you should know the role these technologies play in web design. A good high level book like Web Design for Dummies may be a good starting point.

I would caution you not to get to wrapped around the axle about learning each of these different technologies in detail - just understand at a high level what they do and if you find them appropriate start to dig in.

I know some people that create perfectly serviceable web sites with simple design surface editors - and they have very little HTML coding skills. It really depends on what you want to get out of your site.

I googled up some sites that may be a help to you:

http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_intro.asp
http://www.w3schools.com/css/css_intro.asp
http://www.w3schools.com/dhtml/default.asp

Hope this helps Mincrum...
 
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I agree with the Groovey Linux guy and dalison. If you're going to be building/designing any sites it's best to build up a basic knowledge. I would also recommend picking up CSS for Dummies as well as the HTML for dummies. That is fi you're going to building sites. I have worked with a lot of avanced programming people (ASP and PHP) that have no knowledge of how to build a design using HTML or CSS.

I recommend them both because HTML will give you the basic foundation but getting the CSS thing logged in your brain it's much more powerful and easier to maintain.

Not sure what kind of website you're going to be building but no matter which you build knowing these two languages will be HUGE!
 

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