Hopefully this won't open a "can of worms":

At present i'm using a web editor called "NetObjects Fusion" but I'm thinking about a switch (without going into all the details why).

The question i'm faced with is whether I should go with FrontPage, Dreamweaver or GoLive.

If it weren't for the Macromedia acquisition by Adobe, I would probably go in the direction of DW (plus, I use PS and I'm pretty sure that is here to stay which would probably mean better integration if DW outlasted GL). However, I don't want to invest the time in learning a product that could eventually be non-existent (killed in favor of GL). That's why I'm also considering Frontpage. Does FW still use the "extensions" which i've heard alot of negative things about?

Any suggestions?

Ryan

DW is the best option, more easy for lern and with all behabiours that you need for create a actual web templaet (with the necesary tools how to validate in xhtml). i dont like frontpage. DW is very professional but i dont know aboute "NetObjects Fusion" may be it is a good tool too.

good luck and say me more aboute "NetObjects Fusion"

i doubt dreamwaver will be "killed" in favour of golive so no worrys there. get dreamweaver.

Well ehm. I don't have mutch experiance with DreamWaver. I tried it a few times tough, but it's nothing for me.

Look, choosing the right editor depends on what you need. If you are a beginner and want to make a website "just for fun", I think FrontPage is more than enough. But if you're really into making websites, and you want to make really some advanced websites, DreamWaver would be a better choice for you.

Good luck

Dreamweaver is definatly the way to go, and I highly doubt it'll die out, very easy to you and there are hundreds of tutorials on the net to help if you ever get stick. IMO Dreamweaver would be the best bet.

I like Dreamweaver's Code Design. I've used DW MX 2004 in July 2005 and found it very easy to use and get used to. I first used Frontpage and didnt like it, my school offers web designing classes and use Frontpage and Dreamweaver a lot of people who really know what they're doing in the class love DW but people who just wanna go and goof off and just click click use Frontpage and have no idea what they've created nor done. I trying to go strictly XHTML by using Dreamweaver's Code View and switching from Code to Design view to see what's going on or if the code is incorrectly typed in. I love this program and designed 2 (going on 3 in November) web site; One an e-commerce site, Wrestling Products. The other is a Private Film and Music Production site. That my friend owes. I just started in this web designing gig and want to become a web developer. I'm learning a lot of browswer languages and trying to learn Javascript too. lol going way to far with this, DW is the best way to go man! Talking from Experience

Hope this Helped

Originally Posted by ryan.small

without going into all the details why

I think you do need to go in to these details.
Choice of tool will come down to what you want to use it for, in what environment, what your approach to creation of pages is ( more WYSIWYG than hand-coding or vice-versa ), and what you can afford in terms of financial cost and time to learn the tool.

If you are using Windows then Dreamweaver has a steeper learning curve and cost than FrontPage but is much more powerful. If you prefer to hand-code, and can do without WYSIWYG, then Macromedia HomeSite is a good option, but there are lots of free editors that you might like to try - just look for highly rated examples at sites such as www.tucows.com and www.download.com.

DW all the way. I tried Net Objects, they were crap and produced invalid, messy and often littered code, that did nothing. Namo Webeditor, great for beginners, because of the ideal environment, and the number of themes available. I haven't tried Adobe software yet, but from reviews, it creates code that only Photoshop can read, adds comments into lines of text, doesn't close tags and so much more. Also, the files generated when saved are enormous compared to others. MS FP, don't even think about getting it.

DW is by far the best to date. But what is the best of the best? Wordpad. I use it more often than anything else.

I use WeBuilder 2005 which I recently purchased and love it. Tried FrontPage and find it very cumbersome with quite a few issues of it putting in its own code, and then there are the extensions...Yuck!!

The greatest thing about WeBuilder is that I can load up my .html, .css, .php, .js all at the same time and work on them just using tabs to go back and forth. It's great for the money and much less expensive than DW.

Just my 2 cents,
DianeD

I am using one called NoteTab Light at the moment, its a text editor (with tabs so you can have several pages open at once) and other useful bits and pieces.

I've used emacs (originally at the command line with only keyboard commands to work with), but now I use the windows GUI version. It has a rather steep learning curve but if you find the right plugins it will syntax highlight and auto indent anything you throw at it. You can get other plugins too to make it more windows friendly with regards copy and paste shortcuts and so on.

It's fortunate I got to know it, cos I now use it every day at work too

Go Live is rubbish. There's no wysiwyg support and the code view requires everything to be typed out. With dreamweaver, there's a properties box which helps you type your code. But GoLive, it's rubbish.

Macromedia Studio MX, MX 2004, or 8 are the best and complete solution for webdesigners

I also use Note Tab Light which is free, and their paid versions are reasonably priced, but their light version does the trick for me.

http://www.notetab.com/

My personal choice is Dreamweaver, never had any problems with it. Have not used GoLive, but frontpage gave me so many headaches I almost threw my monitor out the window.

But the best advice I can give you is that each of these programs have a trial version for 30 days. Download each one and try them for yourself.

http://www.adobe.com/products/tryadobe/main.jsp
http://www.runaware.com/microsoft/frontpage2003/
http://macromedia.com/software/dream.../?promoid=BINR

there we go! use each product's trial for 30 days or until you are sick of it and then go to the next one until you decide which would you are going to go with!

Hello, I am a newbie contributor on this site, although I have viewed threads and been helped and inspired by it for over a year.

In reply to the question of which web editor, I think as mentioned earlier, the best thing to do is to try the downloads. I have never had any experience with GoLive so I can't comment on that one, but I have used both Dreamweaver MX and Frontpage 2000 and 2003.

In my opinion, overall, Dreamweaver is the far more advanced and, once got to grips with, more versatile and complete tool.

That said, depending on the level of site you are creating, Frontpage can be a very good tool. It has it's critics, but really, with some imagination and a bit of playing you can make a good site with FP.

I would say though that if you are serious about web design, it pays to learn HTML to begin with. This may seem like a chore to some, when you have a GUI like FP offers, but it really is a benefit in the long run.

When I first learn't web design, I bought a £6 book from a shop on HTML and that started me off. I then did a course which used FP 2000, but after completing it, realised that no potential employer took it seriously. For anyone starting out, I would recommend several things.

1) Get yourself an HTML reference book and write some HTML using notepad that comes with Windows. 2) If funds stretch to it, get Dreamweaver. With the HTML knowledge you now have, picking it up and using it is easier, but also get a Dreamweaver book aswell. Look on Amazon, their reviews are quite comprehensive and it helps make up your mind on which is most useful. 3) Knock up a few sites with Dreamweaver. Dont upload them though. Go back to them in a week. Trust me, you will see at least 50 ways that you could improve your site(s). 4) Learn Javascript. Not easy, but plenty of books and tutorials on the web will help. You do not need to become an expert, but a decent understanding will pay dividends. 5) With the HTML, Javascript and Dreamweaver ability you have by now, you will be able to build quality, user friendly sites. 6) Always be willing to learn something new and always practice. Never be afraid to ask how something is done. Someone will always know a way of doing something.

Sorry for the ramble, hope this helps in some way.

I've been designing my personal website with FrontPage 2000 for over a year. I've found it to be difficult to learn, but I have learned slowly. Last week, I downloaded the trial version of Dreamweaver 8, and WOW, does it handle tables so much easier than FP!! It also seems to handle table borders (colors) better too in Firefox (browser). I find Dreamweaver to be a bit expensive but I may consider buying it.

I switch between Zend (which costs £££) I also use eclipse sdk (which is pretty good but lacks any serious ftp functionailty which is why i still play with zend).

I use VI quite a lot and my Shell even more.

I recently evaluated Zend V5 and was very impressed (working on my boss now for a upgrade from 3.5).

But the best editor has to be your imagination if your a competent developer.

Ibbo

Originally Posted by ibbo

But the best editor has to be your imagination if your a competent developer.

Ibbo

There's a lot of wisdom in that statement......