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MAC Users - Basic Web Design Program, Frontpage Alternative?

by simmonsmike7
13 replies
For all your MAC users out there, what's a *BASICS* web design program that you can recommend to me?

I've been using good ole' Microsoft Frontpage on Windows so far and have made the switch to MAC.

Please make your recommendations below, thank you
#alternative #basic #design #frontpage #mac #program #users #web
  • Profile picture of the author Jay Jennings
    Rapidweaver, hands-down.

    I've been creating web sites since AOL was the big cheese (yes, sonny, they were actually a dominant force online at one point) and can create a professional web site with a toothpick and a morse code key. And have fun doing it.

    Yet I *still* grab Rapidweaver to crank stuff out most of the time. Including last night, I rebuilt the Article Architect Learning Center with RW while I watched a movie at the same time.

    RapidWeaver 4 - Powerful Web Design Software for Mac OS X

    I believe they have a trial version so you can give it a shot, risk free.

    Jay Jennings
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  • Profile picture of the author simmonsmike7
    Just tried it and I have to say this program is TRASH - just my opinion

    Any others??
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    • Profile picture of the author psresearch
      Originally Posted by simmonsmike7 View Post

      Just tried it and I have to say this program is TRASH - just my opinion

      Any others??
      In what way did you consider it trash? If you can specify that, maybe the next suggestions will be more appropriate for you.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jay Jennings
      Originally Posted by simmonsmike7 View Post

      Just tried it and I have to say this program is TRASH - just my opinion

      Any others??
      Uh, yeah, right.

      Well, good luck in your search.

      Jay Jennings
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  • Profile picture of the author Brad Gosse
    I would have to second the mention of Dreamweaver. You need this application if you want to make good html/css pages.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheRichJerksNet
    I have been building websites before AOL even became the big cheese (used to be a beta tester for AOL 2.4) ... I code everything by hand though, I use no software to build any of my sites. They are all coded in SimpleText.

    But why not just checkout download.com

    webdesign software downloads for Mac - Free Mac software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

    James
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Stepp
    I'm just like James and code just about everything using a text editor for mac called Text Wrangler.

    I do have Dreamweaver installed on my system, but RARELY ever use it. If you don't want to invest a few days into learning html (That's all it will probably take to learn the basics), then go for Dreamweaver. It's an expensive piece of software though.
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  • Profile picture of the author I.M.Retired
    When I started designing webpages in the last century, I always used Netscape Composer. It did the job quite nicely at the time. Since then, Netscape has morphed in to Nvu and now Seamonkey.

    I have used Nvu and didn't find it quite as intuitive as the old Composer program. However, it did the job. Sometimes I had to edit the code a bit using Text Wrangler or Taco, but the finished sites always looked nice.

    I use a Mac exclusively, and am off to download Seamonkey to try it out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

    SeaMonkey: Download & Releases

    Here's the link to Nvu: Nvu - Download

    However, having said all that, I still think Dreamweaver is best.
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    • Profile picture of the author TimP
      I have to say that rapidweaver also works very well for me. The problem with rapidweaver is the built-in templates are somewhat limited. To really make the program useful, you should buy some of the plugins that expand it's capabilities. You can see some of them here.

      One word of warning when using rapidweaver. Do not use the contact form template. It will produce a page that is vulnerable to a cross site scripting attack, and can put visitors to your site at risk.

      As far as hand coding (I use both rapidweaver and I hand code), I would highly recommend checking out BBedit. It makes it much easier when dealing with nested parenthesis, brackets, and can prevent many html syntax problems.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jay Jennings
    Okay, if we're going to bring hand-coding into it, check out Panic's Coda. That's my main text editor. I probably do 60% Coda, 40% Rapidweaver.

    Panic - Coda - One-Window Web Development for Mac OS X

    As far as Rapidweaver's templates go, it's not that hard to add your own. This site was done using Rapidweaver and it looks like a "normal" sales letter site:

    Product Creation Station

    So while the template nature of Rapidweaver can be constricting, it's open enough that I find it useful very often.

    And while it most certainly won't be the right solution for everyone, to call it TRASH after less than an hour with it says volumes more about the person speaking than about the software.

    Jay Jennings
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    • Profile picture of the author mgkimsal
      Here's my list of suggestions:

      nvu
      netbeans
      aptana

      All of these are free programs.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
        Have you opened up iweb on your mac? Or is that too simple for what you want to do?
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  • Profile picture of the author InternetM39482
    Um, I use Panic Coda. Pretty decent and even if you don't know a lot of CSS, it makes it helluva lot easier to edit your page's style etc.
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