Page 1 of Which Software is best to build websites...

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I`ve just registered my 1st domain name and I am now searching for a suitabel software to develop my 1st web pages.

I`ve registered my domain name with www.123-reg.co.uk and they offer INSTANTSITE as a quick and easy way to setup the 1st pages of my website. I suspect INSTANTSITE is available as long as I am with the above hosting site.

I`ve also heard of
Microsoft`s FRONTPAGE / Expression Web
Adobe Dreamweaver / Website-Webpage design

Are there any others that are easy to use ?

My website will be for information purposes and contain pictures and FLASH-based (or other) animations. They may incorporate audio clips to be played with the likes of real-player. In the fullness of time, the website may contain a `forum` but that is at a much later stage.

There will be no selling of items so the need to handle `orders and card details` is not necessary.

It must be simple to setup, allow me to add my own pictures in any arrangement that I want, and format the text and pages to my liking.

I prefer WYSIWYG type of tools as I have minimal knowledge of html coding.

Thanks

Personally, I use Dreamweaver, but I definitely recommend getting some training on using any type of web software first, to be honest. I learnt my stuff from Total Training DVDs, because as far as I know, there isn`t any really good software that offers WYSIWYG, apart from iWeb (which is Mac only). Then again I might be very wrong...

You can create basic pages on most web programmes (like Frontpage, Dreamweaver), without much experience, but you`ll obviously only get very basic looking sites.

This item was edited on Monday, 17th September 2007, 14:15

If you`re a real tyro with website creation, Enersoft SiteGenWiz is very good, although it has limitations and pages can look a little `home brew` - it used to be shareware, but is now free from:

www.enersoft.ch/_sgt/m2_1.htm

Try it - you should be able to run up a few pages quite quickly.

Capable of producing much better and professional-looking results, but with a steeper learning curve (although still simpler to use than Dreamweaver IMHO) is Netobjects Fusion:

www.netobjects.com/

Version 10 is the current one, but I find version 9 is actually easier in practice. It was widely available as a free program on magazine cover disks some months back, so you may still be able to find it around as a download somewhere.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 18th September 2007, 16:25

SiteSpinner is a WYSIWYG editor and easy to use.

There`s a trial version:

www.virtualmechanics.com/products/spinner/

NVU/Composer is a good free program.

http://www.kompozer.net/

It`s 2007 for God`s sake. Give me my jetpack, and give me my x-ray goggles. This future is rubbish.

This item was edited on Wednesday, 19th September 2007, 17:32

I never got on with SiteSpinner, or the cut-down free version called (well, what else?) WebDwarf. One problem is that text content is very often saved as a graphic, which can slow down page loading times. Also the generated HTML produced very erratic results as regards positioning, even in the same browser. But worth a try nontheless.