Try a search of this forum, this question has been asked hundreds of times!

Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Front Page, Dream Weaver, Flash 8

AGGGGHHH -- Front Page is the absolute WORST - not to mention the fact that it's DEFUNCT!

Flash is NOT meant for building web sites.

Photoshop and Notepad++

Long live hand coding!

Front Page and Flash are not some programs you should be using for websites.

Personally I prefer text based editors I use Notepad++, I also use CoffeeCup HTML Editor as it has a tool to easily upload your file for W3C Validation, along with tag suggestions and automatic tag closing.

I also have Microsoft Expression Web but don't like it for making web pages (I only use it for editing CSS files it's pretty good for that).

And Expressions Web SuperPreview as it allows you to view documents as they would be rendered in IE6, IE7, IE8 (compatibility mode), IE 8, and Firefox. It also lets you see how items would be rendered in different screen sizes, and allows you to compare between browsers.

I'm on Windows and use Photoshop, Illustrator and occasionally Fireworks for the design stage. Then to code, I like to use Dreamweaver in split code view so the CSS and HTML are side by side - everybody hates me for using Dreamweaver, but I like its code completion and built-in FTP. I also use Firefox with the WebDev toolbar and Firebug (with just about every Firebug add-on you can think of) etc.

Good, free alternatives are Notepad++ and Aptana (which I may ditch Dreamweaver for). Free Alternatives to Photoshop and Illustrator are GIMP and Inkscape, but I just can't get used to them.

If you can code, regular Notepad is enough. If you can't code, just install Wordpress.

Intuit Website Creator 2010 provides many more templates than any other website creation software in its class. The only problem with this software is that it does not support Flash Player.

I recommend using good ol' Notebook and some HTML.
There are numerous different options with respect to Web Design applications. If you are just beginning web design and would like some type of a drag-and-drop application, then you may like Adobe Dreamweaver. It is commonly used by beginner programmers/web designers due to it's simply, easy to use interface. It is, though, not free.
If you would like a free and/or open source alternative you have many options, such as NVU, which is a similar drag-and-drop web designer. If you would like a CMS (Content Management System) that essentially is a pre-built series of files that allows you to simply post content and have the site run itself, then you may want something similar to Joomla.

Web Easy Professional is the best option for people who are new to building a website. It is known to be very simple and friendly for all. This software offers iPhone models and Smartphone, so that your page can be seen everywhere. This is a great feature that the other two who have not. This program of new models and other tools to help you in the process of creating your site.

The hard fact is, unless you LEARN how to code, by hand, you will never understand anything about how it all goes together - or how to solve the problems you will encounter.

Use Joomla if want to make it easy to update everything. There are many free extensions to go with it.

Cubecart for eCommerce.

SMF for forums.

These are all free with most hosting companies.

Let me know if you don't know any that offer them free.

I am using Dreamweaver.

I'm running Ubuntu 10.04. The standard, built-in gedit Text Editor is great for coding HTML. It's not packed with features (although it does support plugins, so it's extensible), but syntax highlighting is plenty for me. Plus, it just feels clean and reliable. Those are the two most necessary characteristics of a text editor, in my opinion.

As far as connecting to a server goes, Ubuntu has the ability to mount FTP, SFTP, and FTPS servers built in. So there's no need for an FTP client, and no need for this functionality in gedit.

For image editing, the GIMP is the obvious choice. While not as powerful as photoshop, it is a great tool, especially considering that it's FOSS. Also, Inkscape is a good FOSS vector image editing program, when the need for vector images arises.

Total cost of my development environment? $0

Originally Posted by LadynRed

Try a search of this forum, this question has been asked hundreds of times!

Idiots don't know how to use search, so why even bother. :P

Why would they use search? They can't make junk thread/post for sig links!