Which Software ?

[JasonC]

Hi guys.

I was just wondering from your experience, what is the best software to make professional looking websites ?

Cheers.

[Gangsta]

Depends.

My vote be for Notepad++, but there are other ways of going about it.

[wrack]

Personally I use Visual Studio 2008 Professional. I know it's expensive but since I do development in .NET I do have a luxury to use the tool.

Or else I use EditPlus.

[medium_pimpin]

Dreamweaver

[markwolfe Veteran]

It isn't the "software" that makes sites professional. It is the skills, abilities and experiences of the programmer.

A good developer can make a good site with a variety of tools.

A bad developer will make crap, no matter what tools they have.

[wrack]

Couldn't have said better mate :)

Guess what the guy should ask is what tool do you all use to be more productive?

[DELTETHISACCOUNT]

What tool do you all use to be more productive?

(I'm serious. As a person who used to tinker around a bit in Yahoo! GeoCities in 2003 I really want to get back into web design. I honestly don't remember much about HTML, so would I be better off starting off with a WYSIWYG program?)

EDIT: And honestly, which language do you think is the most productive? I seem to be leaning more toward to HTML as I'm more fond of it.

[primexx]

What tool do you all use to be more productive?

(I'm serious. As a person who used to tinker around a bit in Yahoo! GeoCities in 2003 I really want to get back into web design. I honestly don't remember much about HTML, so would I be better off starting off with a WYSIWYG program?)

EDIT: And honestly, which language do you think is the most productive? I seem to be leaning more toward to HTML as I'm more fond of it.

Don't ever use WYSIWYG if you want to get into real web-dev. Always write the code yourself.

There's no choice of language for web frontends. It's just HTML & CSS...Actually do XHTML since HTML (up to version 4) is kind of outdated by now.

For web backend, you have a plethora of server-side languages to use, PHP being the most common.

[Jerry Grey Member]

It isn't the "software" that makes sites professional. It is the skills, abilities and experiences of the programmer.

A good developer can make a good site with a variety of tools.

A bad developer will make crap, no matter what tools they have.

Well said, I used Notepad btw... :)

[maplecookie Veteran]

Dreamweaver

Agreed.

Using a program makes it easier, but it isn't going to be what makes your site great. Sometimes just typing out code in notepad works out better than any program you can find.

It really just depends on your skill level ultimately. If you are just starting out, pick a program that easy to learn and use and stick with it. If you need something done quickly, again, stick with a program.

[duritz]

I use dreamweaver, however I find myself always in the code tab, and not the WYSIWYG. IT IS NICE, however, to be able to go into the WYSIWYG to see updates on what your site is doing, and to move pictures, align things, etc. Dreamweaver is hands down the most user-friendly web program I have come across. In Cs3, Dreamweaver actually has scripts that save you loads of time. If you write a body tag, <body, just like that, a drop down menu will occur and show you MOST of the attributes for a body tag so you don't have to go searching on the net ot typing it out yourself. Also, to close tags all you do is type </ and Dreamweaver will complete and KNOW which tag you are closing </body>, for example.

[MasterC]

There's no software that'll take what you put in and make it visually attractive. It's all up to you to make it that way. If you don't know anything about coding, then I suggest you visit W3Schools and do their XHTML and CSS tutorials. Don't rely on a WYSIWYG program - it's always better to hand code (at least in my opinion) because most programs put in extra crap that you don't need.