Recommendations for web design software

railbuff

johnnyboyrebel wrote: »

Student and teacher version is only £130 on Amazon (if you are a student or a teacher)? I think ultimately you want Dreamweaver if you intend on managing this site for the foreseeable future and really want a great looking site. Even if this means going with something else for now with the goal of getting hold of it. Don't get me wrong, i know many designers who still write code for their sites in notepad/textpad! but ultimately DW is the industry standard.

There are lots of guides out there to help you although I think your best bet is to decide what you want to do eg. have this section in a box, have this linking to this page etc. and then just ask on here how to achieve it. I don't know how many other designers are on here but I will sure help you out no problem. Or google what you want to do, check adobe forums etc. For this you wouldn't really need DW to start with.

This is something I am very passionate about and have sourced lots of help over the years so enjoy giving back (without sounding too soppy)

dreamweaver £115 from http://www.software4students.co.uk/t/brands/adobe/s/ordered?page=2 as long as you have a family member who is a student somewhere, but they dont ask for proof of this when ordering.

The Key Facts About Eligibility:

1. All School, College, University students and their family members are eligible!
2. No Student ID required for Microsoft Software*:As an Official Microsoft Partner, our offers extend beyond academic email address holders so that any family member or guardian can buy on behalf of a pupil or student
3. You receive Full Professional version software at an academic price for lifetime use at home only.
4. Strict licensing restrictions from Microsoft means that each student is only entitled to purchase ONE software license of each product.

YorkshireTraveller

railbuff wrote: »

dreamweaver £115 from http://www.software4students.co.uk/t/brands/adobe/s/ordered?page=2 as long as you have a family member who is a student somewhere, but they dont ask for proof of this when ordering.

Problem I have is that no one in the family is either a student or a teacher. It's not the ordering that is the problem but the registration of the software.

My recollection from the past is that when you register these 'academic' reduced price offers you need to give a school/college/university email address (.ac.uk or something like that) and that part time students/night school/evening classes don't count :-( [just seen that someone else posted this on the net when doing a search]

Though this seems to be conflict with the advice given above.

railbuff

Yorkshire_Traveller wrote: »

Problem I have is that no one in the family is either a student or a teacher. It's not the ordering that is the problem but the registration of the software.

My recollection from the past is that when you register these 'academic' reduced price offers you need to give a school/college/university email address (.ac.uk or something like that) and that part time students/night school/evening classes don't count :-( [just seen that someone else posted this on the net when doing a search]

Though this seems to be conflict with the advice given above.

I have purchased many items from software4students and have never been asked for a school/college name or email address.

adobe now have this on all their products with S4S

Only students, teachers, school staff, and other educators who meet Adobe eligibility can purchase Adobe products.

Product does not contain the serial number required for installation. To receive the serial number, students must return the provided validation form and provide a valid student or teacher ID to Adobe.

booler

If money is a problem then you really should have a look at http://www.kompozer.net/. It is free so you have nothing to lose. There is also a user community, a forum and tons of resources and tutorials on the 'net.

Download it and have a look.

YorkshireTraveller

booler wrote: »

If money is a problem then you really should have a look at http://www.kompozer.net/. It is free so you have nothing to lose. There is also a user community, a forum and tons of resources and tutorials on the 'net.

Download it and have a look.

I don't mind paying up to say £100 but £300+ for Dreamweaver is just too much.

That's why I was looking at Serif WebPlus X6 at around £80 but with around £30 cashback using topcashback (how MSE of me!) but no one on here has mentioned this product.

In the meantime I'll download Kompozer and see how I get on.

Thanks for your suggestion.

railbuff

Serif do a free starter edition of webplus http://www.serif.com/web-design-software/se/

YorkshireTraveller

railbuff wrote: »

Serif do a free starter edition of webplus http://www.serif.com/web-design-software/se/

Don't think that the starter version allows you to insert your own html (think I read that in one of the reviews - only the later full versions do) so would need the latest version. There are a few links on our website where I have to type in the html.

I've seen a couple of websites that have been designed with Serif Web Plus that look nice. Does anyone have any experience of using WebPlus?

railbuff

Yorkshire_Traveller wrote: »

Don't think that the starter version allows you to insert your own html (think I read that in one of the reviews - only the later full versions do) so would need the latest version. There are a few links on our website where I have to type in the html.

I've seen a couple of websites that have been designed with Serif Web Plus that look nice. Does anyone have any experience of using WebPlus?

I have used Pageplus and still have the disc to version 10 somewhwere and it is good. Serif cater for the professional market

Tiexen

Yorkshire_Traveller wrote: »

I've seen a couple of websites that have been designed with Serif Web Plus that look nice. Does anyone have any experience of using WebPlus?

I use Webplus, its a drag and drop and very easy to use, try the free version and upgrade later if you like it - Serif often do offers to upgrade at very reasonable prices

johnnyboyrebel

booler wrote: »

If money is a problem then you really should have a look at http://www.kompozer.net/. It is free so you have nothing to lose. There is also a user community, a forum and tons of resources and tutorials on the 'net.

Download it and have a look.

railbuff wrote: »

Serif do a free starter edition of webplus http://www.serif.com/web-design-software/se/

Tiexen wrote: »

I use Webplus, its a drag and drop and very easy to use, try the free version and upgrade later if you like it - Serif often do offers to upgrade at very reasonable prices

These types of software are all well and good but don't generally teach you anything. Sure, if you just want something that 'does the job to a reasonable degree' then use one of these but what will you learn about web design?

Also, the really cool things that make a good website good will most probably not be possible with a free drag and drop type software.

I'm the type of person that doesn't just want to do a job, I want to know what I am doing and how it is doing it so guess that may be just me. If nothing else, learn html. It really isn't that difficult. There's also the fact that if you are using drag and drop software then you certainly cannot be classing yourself as a 'web designer' so surely you want that cool tag?