There's no need to dream...... (Macromedia Dreamweaver 8)

Member Name: freetimeaction

Product:	Macromedia Dreamweaver 8
Date:	21/10/08 (36 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quick / Value for money / The best on the market

Disadvantages: Loads of functions you may never need

As a keen website designer, I use dreamweaver on a daily basis.
Whether you only need to create a basic single page business card style website, or a fully active shopping site, Dreamweaver really can help.

Within the software, there are 3 settings you can choose from for your website design needs:

1. Design only - What this means is, you can create and design your website using a front end application allowing you to edit the website as you would normally view it. You can frag and drop text, move images around, change font colours, all at a click of a button - To be honest, you don't even need to be a webdesigner to use this, just basic common PC knowledge will do.

2. Code only - Now, this is a little more complicated, even I don't like using this area unless it's using CSS editing - Here, all you can view is the website's code, which to the average eye looks like a new language. This is ideal when you know what you need out of the site, placing hidden tables and frames within the website, that normal text editors can't provide.

3. Design & Code - This offers BOTH of the features above, within a 50/50 break, allowing you to edit the code, and/or the design at the same time. Ideal if you want to see your 'code' changes update automatically within the design area.

Dreamweaver also has it's own FTP uploader, allowing you to create / edit your files, and upload them straight to your online FTP / server. Whereas most other text editors require a another software (e.g. Smart FTP) to update your website manually.

In order to make the most out of this software, I would recommend either attending an open course, or purchasing a Dreamweaver tutorial book. At a first glance, this software could scare anybody off.

The same as any software, it will take time to get a grip of this application, however once you've mastered it, you're laughing. There are no limits to what you can do with this piece of kit.

Good luck!

Summary: Superb software, worth every penny

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