Mac OS X

Dreamweaver: Why It’s the Standard in WYSIWYG Web Design

By EAN ⋅ September 7, 2007 ⋅  Email this Post ⋅  Print this Post ⋅ Post a Comment

Developer: Adobe (formerly Macromedia)
Version: CS3 (9.0)
Price: $399
Operating Systems: Mac OS X, Windows
Download Dreamweaver Here.

Now if it Only Had Some More Competition

After experimenting with, and reviewing, four different What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) style web design programs over the past week, I’ve come away with a new respect for Adobe’s Dreamweaver. It is such a fantastically designed piece of software that I totally understand now why so many people in the web design world use it.

We will begin with the program’s layout. Although Adobe tweaked the interface quite a bit for the CS3 versions of their programs, the basic layout is still the same, easy to get used to, Dreamweaver interface that it has always been. Buttons are easy to find, menus coherently arranged, and toolbars in the places they should be. I first began to experiment with Dreamweaver back with MX 2004 when it was still owned by Macromedia. Dreamweaver was as easy to learn back then as it is now - a real benefit for a program that can be used by web designers and developers of all skill levels.

This brings us to the complexity of the program. While other programs I reviewed this week, like Sandvox [review] and Freewebs [review] were striving to meet the needs of only the most amateurish web designers, Dreamweaver has enrolled in the same camp as programs like Nvu/KompoZer [review] and Weebly [review]. These programs are easy to get used to and come stock with various features that make it a snap for a beginner web designer to make his own website - they also offer a variety of tools that are aimed at those who like to do the coding of their sites by hand. Dreamweaver reaches to both of these web design camps and does so well with press of a button style layouts and enough syntax highlighting on all of the most popular web languages to make even the pickiest developer proud.

Like some of the other desktop web design programs, Dreamweaver also comes stock with some tools to help users interact with their web hosts. A built in FTP client is, in most cases, one of the most used features of the program. While it can be slow at times, and unstable at others, it does work well on the whole. Another cool feature of Dreamweaver is its ability to access MySQL and Access databases with the click of a button - making the mundane task just a little easier and less time consuming. Finally, much like other WYSIWYG HTML editors, Dreamweaver also includes a very easy to use CSS editor that can save a lot of time in many situations - especially for those with little experience with CSS. And, if there is not an extension available for something in particular that you’re looking for, you can probably download it in the Dreamweaver extension directory.

Because Dreamweaver is an Adobe program, it also has one extra benefit that none of the other HTML editors can provide. Dreamweaver can integrate directly with other Adobe products like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash. I’ve found that my productivity increases dramatically with this integration, making Dreamweaver a must have program for those working professionally with web design.

All in all, it’s easy to understand why Dreamweaver is so highly regarded. It really is a fantastic program that is designed for everyone. Although the price is prohibitive for many, there is a free trial that is totally worth your while.

Try Dreamweaver for Yourself.

- Eric Norton