Okay to design on a laptop?

iconoclast · 05-03-2009, 01:44 AM

I was wondering, are there any drawbacks to creating websites using a laptop as opposed to a desktop? I plan on using Dreamweaver cs4 to create my site. Thanks.

Zoheb M · 05-03-2009, 01:51 AM

Well the only considerable difference I have experienced is the color. In laptops the colors will look lighter or darker depending on how titled the screen is. You will need to find the optimal position based on how you are using the laptop.

Good luck!

Zoheb
www.ecovercentral.com

Kezz · 05-03-2009, 10:14 AM

You'll also want to be aware of screen resolution. It's unlikely that you'll be able to get your laptop up to the max res of 22" monitors, so you'll need to be conscious that you're page backgrounds etc will stretch wider than you can actually see.

In my experience, Photoshop is a bit too much of a beast on a laptop. Fireworks runs quite well though. You can't quite get all the nice effects out of it that you can with Photoshop, but at the same times it's a lot faster to work with - both speed wise and just as a tool in general.

The other thing you can consider, and I did this for a while very effectively, is just to plug a monitor, keyboard and mouse into your laptop. That way you can just use it like a box and get the best of both worlds.

kronklee · 05-13-2009, 07:59 AM

my only suggestion, and I know this is not always easy, but when ever I build a site on my laptop I jump on any desktop I come across to check it out. This is good on so many levels, not everyone uses the same browser, so it is good to test that out too when you are checking out colours. The people at the local computer store are a bit sick of me using their display desktops for design testing :P

Aaron Sustar · 05-14-2009, 07:06 AM

It's not really a factor in web design ... I mean, a laptop you buy today can easily run every application that you would normally run on a desktop computer, plus the display on higher-end laptops are perfectly okay.

If you are not a designer on some $50k web project, you can do perfectly fine with a laptop - it's what I have been doing for almost 2 years before I started raking in some serious profits.

To test your website in different browsers (I have Firefox 2, Firefox 3, IE 6, IE7, Opera 9.6, Chrome and Safari on my laptop), using different resolutions (usually from 800x600 to 1920x1200) is a thing you MUST do anyway.

UnleashReality · 05-15-2009, 08:20 AM

I design my site on a laptop.

no difference as far as i'm concerned.

CocoChanelle · 05-15-2009, 11:52 AM

I don't think it really matters but I would check the final results on different computers. Colors tend to look different depending on what you're viewing on.

I personally do everything on a laptop.

Richard Whyte · 05-16-2009, 03:34 PM

If you have a decent laptop, you can always plug in an external monitor if you need to.... If you don't have to have a laptop to go mobile, then getting a desktop is a better buy for the buck.... More power, easier to upgrade / add features and cheaper....

As a side note, you need to read the Adobe forums for Dreamweaver CS4 issues... I and a few hundred thousand other uses have removed DW CS4 from our computers... The editor is buggy and can lead you to lose of hair (from pulling it out).

I design at home on dual 28 inch monitors side by side.... I like the ability to use all of that real estate when I am working on client projects...

Have a Great Day!

Intrepreneur · 05-16-2009, 04:01 PM

I do everything on my laptop.

Currently I have running.

XSitePro2
Yahoo Messenger
Skype
Adobe Photoshop Elements
MSN Messenger
Utorrent
My Turbo Charged Security System
TweetDeck
Multiple browser windows

Sorry that wasnt directed exactly at the answer to this thread but was in relation to someone stating photoshop is too resoruce hogging on a laptop.

In reply to question, sure there is no problem using a laptop to design websites.. but remember when you design a site you must test it on everything to make sure it is displaying correctly..

I use a 19inch monitor plugged into my laptop as a second screen for this and also use all the other common browsers.

Hope this helps.

Anrkist · 05-16-2009, 04:23 PM

I think the most important part of this equation is missing. What kind of laptop do you have, what are the specs. Do you have a more powerful desktop?

If it's a good laptop, I can't see any reason not to use it. But there's no real difference if you ignore the specs. Ignore monitor size, think about the resolution of your visitors.

ny_mariposa · 06-03-2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoheb M

Well the only considerable difference I have experienced is the color. In laptops the colors will look lighter or darker depending on how titled the screen is. You will need to find the optimal position based on how you are using the laptop.

Good luck!

I second the color issue. I work primarily on a laptop. I do test on multiple computers with multiple settings to see how the site performs. What looks good on my laptop sometimes looks terrible on the desktop next to me. Whether the problem is screen position or color settings within the respective monitors, there is definitely a difference.

Wasim · 06-04-2009, 03:53 AM

I have been using my laptop to create Photoshop tutorials and have no real problem although I do agree that there is a colour issue. I think there maybe a difference between the way colour is viewed on a Apple Laptop to that of a PC Laptop. Macs were orginally for design so doing your design work on a Mac laptop would be better.

Again, it depends on how far you want to take your design with your website. If it's just a case of simple pages to get your message across then a simple laptops fine. Using Dreamweaver does not really carry graphics but using it with Photoshop with plenty of graphics makes a big difference.

primediart · 06-04-2009, 04:50 AM

i agree.. same here.. laptop better than desktop. I use HP laptop. My brother's laptop is really bad, with horrible color problem, he is using lenovo

Quote:

Originally Posted by efusjonrawenergy

One more thing, my laptop surprisingly worked better than my desktop. I am running both Dell XPS systems on my laptop and desktop.

05-03-2009, 01:44 AM	#1
iconoclast Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: , , . Posts: 50 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Okay to design on a laptop? I was wondering, are there any drawbacks to creating websites using a laptop as opposed to a desktop? I plan on using Dreamweaver cs4 to create my site. Thanks.

05-03-2009, 01:51 AM	#2
Zoheb M Graphic Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 658 Thanks: 10 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Okay to design on a laptop? Well the only considerable difference I have experienced is the color. In laptops the colors will look lighter or darker depending on how titled the screen is. You will need to find the optimal position based on how you are using the laptop. Good luck! Zoheb www.ecovercentral.com

05-03-2009, 10:14 AM	#3
Kezz Wordpress Wiz War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 530 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 65 Thanked 142 Times in 74 Posts Social Networking	Re: Okay to design on a laptop? You'll also want to be aware of screen resolution. It's unlikely that you'll be able to get your laptop up to the max res of 22" monitors, so you'll need to be conscious that you're page backgrounds etc will stretch wider than you can actually see. In my experience, Photoshop is a bit too much of a beast on a laptop. Fireworks runs quite well though. You can't quite get all the nice effects out of it that you can with Photoshop, but at the same times it's a lot faster to work with - both speed wise and just as a tool in general. The other thing you can consider, and I did this for a while very effectively, is just to plug a monitor, keyboard and mouse into your laptop. That way you can just use it like a box and get the best of both worlds.

05-13-2009, 07:59 AM	#4
kronklee Warrior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 17 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Okay to design on a laptop? my only suggestion, and I know this is not always easy, but when ever I build a site on my laptop I jump on any desktop I come across to check it out. This is good on so many levels, not everyone uses the same browser, so it is good to test that out too when you are checking out colours. The people at the local computer store are a bit sick of me using their display desktops for design testing :P

05-14-2009, 07:06 AM	#5
Aaron Sustar Active Warrior Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 89 Thanks: 3 Thanked 22 Times in 5 Posts	Re: Okay to design on a laptop? It's not really a factor in web design ... I mean, a laptop you buy today can easily run every application that you would normally run on a desktop computer, plus the display on higher-end laptops are perfectly okay. If you are not a designer on some $50k web project, you can do perfectly fine with a laptop - it's what I have been doing for almost 2 years before I started raking in some serious profits. To test your website in different browsers (I have Firefox 2, Firefox 3, IE 6, IE7, Opera 9.6, Chrome and Safari on my laptop), using different resolutions (usually from 800x600 to 1920x1200) is a thing you MUST do anyway.
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05-15-2009, 08:20 AM	#6
UnleashReality Warrior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Cape Town Posts: 26 Thanks: 9 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Okay to design on a laptop? I design my site on a laptop. no difference as far as i'm concerned.
	www.UnleashReality.com

05-15-2009, 11:52 AM	#7
CocoChanelle Active Warrior Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hollywood Fl Posts: 68 Thanks: 2 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Okay to design on a laptop? I don't think it really matters but I would check the final results on different computers. Colors tend to look different depending on what you're viewing on. I personally do everything on a laptop.

05-16-2009, 03:34 PM	#8
Richard Whyte HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 243 Thanks: 9 Thanked 29 Times in 27 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Okay to design on a laptop? If you have a decent laptop, you can always plug in an external monitor if you need to.... If you don't have to have a laptop to go mobile, then getting a desktop is a better buy for the buck.... More power, easier to upgrade / add features and cheaper.... As a side note, you need to read the Adobe forums for Dreamweaver CS4 issues... I and a few hundred thousand other uses have removed DW CS4 from our computers... The editor is buggy and can lead you to lose of hair (from pulling it out). I design at home on dual 28 inch monitors side by side.... I like the ability to use all of that real estate when I am working on client projects... Have a Great Day!
	Richard Whyte Work-At-Home-Toolbox- Tools and Guides for IMers! Get Higher Search Engine Rankings Power Sales Page Creator

05-16-2009, 04:01 PM	#9
Intrepreneur Bum Marketer War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 1,516 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 301 Thanked 108 Times in 90 Posts	Re: Okay to design on a laptop? I do everything on my laptop. Currently I have running. XSitePro2 Yahoo Messenger Skype Adobe Photoshop Elements MSN Messenger Utorrent My Turbo Charged Security System TweetDeck Multiple browser windows Sorry that wasnt directed exactly at the answer to this thread but was in relation to someone stating photoshop is too resoruce hogging on a laptop. In reply to question, sure there is no problem using a laptop to design websites.. but remember when you design a site you must test it on everything to make sure it is displaying correctly.. I use a 19inch monitor plugged into my laptop as a second screen for this and also use all the other common browsers. Hope this helps.
	The entrepreneur builds an enterprise; the technician builds a job." Michael Gerber

05-16-2009, 04:23 PM	#10
Anrkist Warrior Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 22 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Okay to design on a laptop? I think the most important part of this equation is missing. What kind of laptop do you have, what are the specs. Do you have a more powerful desktop? If it's a good laptop, I can't see any reason not to use it. But there's no real difference if you ignore the specs. Ignore monitor size, think about the resolution of your visitors.

06-04-2009, 03:53 AM	#12
Wasim Wasim Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK Posts: 31 Thanks: 4 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Okay to design on a laptop? I have been using my laptop to create Photoshop tutorials and have no real problem although I do agree that there is a colour issue. I think there maybe a difference between the way colour is viewed on a Apple Laptop to that of a PC Laptop. Macs were orginally for design so doing your design work on a Mac laptop would be better. Again, it depends on how far you want to take your design with your website. If it's just a case of simple pages to get your message across then a simple laptops fine. Using Dreamweaver does not really carry graphics but using it with Photoshop with plenty of graphics makes a big difference.
	wasims.com