Freeware

Nvu/KompoZer: Can a Free Web Design Program Hold Its Own?

Developer: Daniel Glazman
Version: 1.0 (Nvu), 0.7.10 (KompoZer)
Price: Free (Open Source)
Operating Systems: Linux, Mac OS X (PPC), Windows
Download Nvu Here.
Download KompoZer Here.

It’s Like Dreamweaver - But Free. How Could That Be Bad?

I’m a big fan of free programs. Thanks to open source software and developers who just want to give back to the community, I’ve been seeing more and more free programs released that are actually extremely useful and well designed. This is a review of Nvu/KompoZer, one of those free programs that is very well designed and a great option for those looking to avoid the costs of Adobe’s web designer, Dreamweaver [review].

As a WYSIWYG web design program, Nvu is great. It has a fairly intuitive interface, works quickly thanks to Mozilla’s Gecko engine, and is perfect for web designers of all skill levels. From basic HTML to CSS to JavaScript to various other web coding languages, Nvu can support a multitude of formats. And it does so with ease. The program is responsive, accurate, and does exactly what I want it to - help me code a website on a tight budget.

I’ve used Dreamweaver a lot in the past, so I’m rather used to its interface. Luckily enough, Nvu has taken a few pages from Adobe’s (Macromedia’s) design pages and constructed a somewhat similar layout for this free program’s interface. While there are quite a few buttons and toolbars that are in different locations than in previous versions of Dreamweaver, I was able to get accustomed to the program in mere moments.

When it comes to building extras into Nvu, the designers really took out all the stops. It’s nearly as full featured as Dreamweaver. Inside you’ll find an FTP client, an HTML validator, tabs to keep track of different files, an integrated CSS editor, and a spellchecker that actually works pretty well. I love programs that allow me to do nearly everything from one location - and this accomplishes that task without a hitch.

Of course, free software like this always has problems, and Nvu is no exception. The most major problem is it’s compatibility, or lack thereof. While it works fine under Windows and Linux - it is shackled to PowerPC on the Mac - and it runs slow when it actually gets started. There is no excuse for the Mac version not to run as a Universal Binary since Apple has been using Intel chips now for a year.

Another problem is with the ease of use. Yes, Nvu is easy to use once you learn where all of the tools are located, but it can be argued that Dreamweaver is a far more user-friendly program. Of course, Dreamweaver is also at least four hundred dollars more.

In the end, I do recommend Nvu - but only for those using Windows or Linux. I cannot support a program that is stuck with PPC binaries on the Mac. If you’re looking for a WYSIWYG web design program, this is a great one to try out. There are lots of fantastic features here and it is just as easy to build a site by clicking toolbar buttons as it is to build one with a professional knowledge of HTML using Nvu. It truly is a program for anyone who wants to get into web design but doesn’t have the cash on hand for the programs the pros use.

KompoZer is a community version of Nvu, since Nvu’s development has halted. It features bug fixes and other goodies that Nvu does not contain. Unfortunately KompoZer is not Universal Binary either.

Try Nvu for Yourself.
Try KompoZer for Yourself.

- Eric Norton

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