20 March 2011
Hi Sarah

Dreamweaver wins hands-down time and time again...

As both windows and a mac user i like the ability to jump from system to system if need be and work on the same file/site with confidence.

The syntax highlighting is also very useful. especially when working within other peoples code.

Saying that I do use Notepad for making quick adjustments in realtime through my FTP client...but then again, I still use MS paint for cropping pictures!

Best of luck

Gary S. Creigh
Oxford Web Consultants

20 March 2011
Hi Sarah,
I also use Dreamweaver. The tools are extremely intuitive. Make sure you learn the hot keys and you'll save tons of time.

Good Luck!

21 March 2011
Hi Sarah

Dreamweaver is an excellent tool. But if you are researching web design (and you have 5000words to fill!) I suggest you look into the impact of content management systems (CMSs) on web page creation.

Accommodating placeholders and content elements in a web template and the need to make sure the page will work regardless of number\length of items takes some getting used to. But thinking in terms of static templates is not really an option any more.

I suggest you do take a look at some of the popular CMS solutions around so you get an idea how they use templates. For our projects we use mostly Typo3, some Joomla and, when pressed(!) WordPress.

I hope this is some help.

Thank you.


Jonathan

22 March 2011
Use Dreamweaver to develop that website.
I also suggest you to use content management system (CMS) for further update based on your choice

You can ask any questions regarding this

regards,
R.Moorthy

www.rtlxgroups.com

23 March 2011
Hi Sarah,

At Wombat Web Design we tend to use Dreamweaver for creating websites.

The difference between Dreamweaver and Notepad is that Dreamweaver is specifically designed for creating websites, where as Notepad is simply a text editor.

I find that Notepad is fine for quick editing in real time through FTP but creating a website entirely in Notepad would take twice as long than creating one in Dreamweaver.

This is because Dreamweaver has a number of tools to help you create your website quicker. It has text prediction which predicts what you are typing and live error checking for coding PHP etc. Another feature I find very useful has just become available in CS5 which allows you to view your website in "Live Vew".

Like the others, I would also recommend looking into content management systems as they offer clients a much more flexible platform.

Hope this helps!

Good Luck,

Jason
http://www.WombatWebDesign.com

24 March 2011
Hi Sarah - I'm going to disagree with the majority opinion here; if you're just learning how to build webpages nothing beats Notepad.

Dreamweaver is a terrifically handy tool, but there's no substitute for learning to write a webpage - from scratch and by hand - in a simple text editor first.

I still hand-code all my work, and after ten years in the field it's given me a level of expertise that has come in handy time after time - I'm often called upon to fix problems that other experienced tech people can't solve, because I have a fundamental understanding of the code layer of a website.

Being a good website developer requires both coding skill and design skill, and learning to code in Notepad first will give you technical chops that you'll be grateful for later on.

24 March 2011
Avoid Dreamweaver. Programs like this make for poor, sloppy, bloated invalid coding and will make you lazy and will certainly not keep you sharp.

I use a combination between good ol' Notepad and Notepad++ ( http://notepad-plus-plus.org/ ) which is an advanced Notepad app.

Dreamweaver can never outdo hand coding and cause a whirl wind of erroneous code because of it's guess work.

If clean, minimalist, minified, fast and W3C valid code is important to you then hand coding is the way to go.

When I think of Dreamweaver, I think of it as a tool so that anyone can slap together a website, but not for true professionals.

My best advice is to put together a blank slate of a very clean coded template; something like FREEWebPlate: http://www.freewebplate.org/ as a base for small projects and for bigger projects WordPress: http://wordpress.org/

You'll hear plenty of arguments about WordPress Vs Joomla Vs Drupal - The reason WordPress is the best choice is because you can teach any client to understand the CMS to add their own content.

Thanks, Bryan

24 March 2011
We predominantly use Dreamweaver, Photoshop and Illustrator. The best package is Adobe Creative Suite Design Premium. It's got pretty much everything you would need - and if you are a student you save loads.

27 March 2011
Although it is no longer available (except for the possibility of finding a copy on E-Bay) I am a big fan of Microsoft Front Page. My server is equipped with Front Page extensions, as are most servers out there. Whenever I need to do updates, I use the program to log into the server, open the page that needs updating, and make the necessary changes. Saving the page immediately makes the changes available to everyone. Not sure why Microsoft stopped selling this product, but I would be lost without it.

28 March 2011
Hi Sarah

It's tricky to answer your question because, as with many Microsoft products, you go with the product of majority use, this is Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver is what I was presented with at the begining of my web design career and Dreamweaver is what I have stuck with.

But of course now-a-days a good website needs more that either of these products will provide on their own. So I would say Dreamweaver coupled with Joomla! as the most obvious step to create a modern fully functional content managed site.

Enjoy your dissertation.

Eleanor

30 March 2011
We're into web standards - go Adobe Creative Suite Design Premium ticks many of our boxes. Although these days we try to avoid using Flash. We only fall back on it when we really really have to.

For us, XHTML Strict & HTML5 is the way to go - passing validation tests of course!

1 April 2011
Hi Sarah,

We use Adobe CS5 software for the majority of design projects along with a collection of other useful tools.

Illustrator - for designing scalable vector logos & graphics
Photoshop - for all other graphics work
Dreamweaver - for big development and coding

Dreamweaver has a very intuative interface and a heap of good tools inside.

I make frequent use of the code hints for autocompletion, syntax checker and spell checker (although the built in dictionary is US English).

So although it takes an age to load up in comparison with Notepad, it's worth the wait due to the good features it provides me with.

But web design is much more than the code editor and as you can see from above we use a mixture of graphics programs.

As most of our web projects involve using a Content Management System (CMS), we also need to work with database (DB) tools.

We use myphpadmin and MySQL Administrator to manipulate and look after the DB's and I often use Notepad or WordPad to quickly look through and edit SQL data.

Notepad and WordPad loads up virtually instantly and is ideal in situations when I know what I want to edit and just want to do it quickly.

Good luck with your essay and don't forget to let us all know how you got on when it's finished.

Wil.

3 April 2011
At Courtney Rose Creative Services, we use both. Personally, I prefer Dreamweaver even when coding from scratch because of the tools. The shortcuts and layout are fantastic. Everything is so well organized and formatted. You don't need a reference book or site if you forget something. If you guess, Dreamweaver will offer suggestions and remind you of rules a rushed developer might sometimes miss. Just like Word is superior to Notepad for having an automatic spelling and grammar checker, Dreamweaver is superior because it can check your work and assists you as you go along. While some may argue Dreamweaver makes you lazy and is for amateurs, I have never met a true professional who would turn down a tool to help them and/or make them faster and more efficient. Roofers use ladders, architects have rulers, teachers have books, and graphic designers have Photoshop and Illustrator. Dreamweaver is no different. It isn't a program just anyone can pick up and use. Just like Word can't make a writer, Dreamweaver can't make a designer or developer. Proper use requires knowledge and experience, so it doesn't make any average Joe into a super web designer and isn't a magic site builder that slaps together a functioning website and the touch of a button.

12 April 2011
Hi, our company uses Dreamweaver - mainly because it is a wonderful tool and much quicker than Notepad, but also because it's easy to create a template in Photoshop and slice it - working on the code in Dreamweaver.

Notepad, as a previous comment said is a great place to start when you are learning code - but Dreamweaver is connected to so many features in Adobe Creative Suite it wins hands down for visually creative designers (especially since you can choose design view or code view)

Good luck with your essay.

Phillippa
Parris Designs Ltd.
www.parrisdesigns.co.uk

15 April 2011
Also Dreamweaver, it is good for when working in a team as you can check files in/out and not overwrite.