Design tools for newbies?

I like notepad++ as a text editor. For the others I use paid programs...

i would suggest looking at content management systems, ie joomla, wordpress, etc you can get some really cool templates pre-made and you can add your content without knowing any code at all...

if your looking to actually learn code i would recommend still going down this path too and learn how to create your own templates

hth

FYI

i use notepad/joomla/photoshop daily and dreamweaver to save time on bigger projects

For ftp, i'll recommend Filezilla & Smartftp. Kate, notepad, kwrite & gedit would be perfect text editors & with N-view HTML editor, you can have a site up and running in no time.

Dear,

For FTP i would suggest Filezilla.

Text editor i think NotePad and Wordpad would be fine.

and for HTML editor...well I started with MS Office Suite...
so i do not have any experience with free html editor..so cannot suggest any.

Also ask them to install FireFox...and use many many webmaster extentions/plugins
made for it.... Really you can do all webmastery stuff with firefox... they are FTP
plugins, CSS editors, html editor...lol check out FireBug (the ultimate tool I ever wanted
to tweak and fix all CSS and html related issues)... again ask them to look for
Firefox plugins for any solution they maybe looking for and chance is they will find
one plugin there to use ...

Best,
Mohsin

Aloha Mohsin

Thank you for your suggestions, I also use Filezilla on my LINUX workstation and like it a lot.

As a text editor I'm looking for something more featured than Notepad - although I don't expect newbies will be writing volumes of code an editor like PS Pad that "understands" the syntax of PHP, CSS and HTML can be still be very useful and can minimize coding errors.

One thing I would caution you though is in using Wordpad as a text editor. Wordpad works with rich text files and can sometimes add formatting characters into your document - not a good thing when you edit PHP.

I appreciate your reply

Bill

Hi - I agree about WordPad - and I'd go with FileZilla. Apart from that. I'd look at some low pay options - Cute FTP is good. Then - I haven't tried it - but an outfit called CoffeeCup do an HTML editor that is a step up from the raw stuff, but nothing like as pricey as DWeaver......

FTP - Filezilla
Text Editing - Notepad/Notepad++/smultron

HTML Editing NVU/Kompozer
Advanced HTML & Text Raw editing - Aptana's Plugins with Eclipse

All free.

For Web design a copy of Gimp and Inkscape would also be worthwhile having for graphic layout design and image tweaking...

Kind regards, Spencer

For FTP I use the FireFox add-on FireFTP, it lets you upload files straight from your browser.

As for Text editing and very basic HTML editing you could use OpenOffice... its just like Microsoft Office but free. It lets you save as HTML (pretty basic), and create basic web pages in WYSIWIG.

Cheers,
Simon

Thanks to everyone for some fine suggestions, I especially liked the FireFTP plugin for FireFox!

One other category that I didn't mention was Graphics utilities. Most people have access to something that can perform simple the graphics functions (crop, resize, rotate) that you need for website work - I often use the Microsoft Office Picture Manager for simple edits and many of my computers have photo editing software that came bundled with various digital cameras and scanners.

I know that for advanced graphics there is GIMP, but does anyone know of a simple (preferably free) graphics editing package that might be suitable for newbies?

Thanks

Bill

Bill:

I'm not a newbie but am VERY weak when it comes to coding. I guess you can say I'm one of those guys that rely on programs to help me out. That said, for graphics, I prefer Adobe Paint Shop Pro over Photoshop primarily because of the cost vs. features. I find I can do everything I need with PSP as well as those who use Photoshop. Recently, I downloaded Gimp and some of the features it has is probably better than either of the ones I previously mentioned (and, it's free).

The program looks pretty intimidating at fist glance though, which might scare someone who is just learning. There are some plug-ins available, though, that make tasks like making buttons, bars, etc. a breeze.

The drawback I've found is that the way Gimp slices leaves a lot to be desired (or maybe I'm just used to the VERY simple way PSP does it).

For the rest - I, too, use Filezilla because it's not only for ftp but also good for ssh (I am a hosting company so I'm constantly in servers)
.
Text editor, I like Ultra Edit (I remove code; not add it).

As a Dreamweaver fan, I was pleasantly surprised at Komposer (although I didn't like Nvu).

I've been in the design business for 8 years now (yes, I SHOULD know coding by now but...) and found these programs to be the perfect fit for me as someone who probably never will code.

Lastly, I agree with ukescuba above - The new Wordpress 2.7.x is the bomb. By the way, there's a Dreamweaver extension out called ThemeDreamer that allows Dreamweaver to create Wordpress themes. Right now I found it 1/2 price at the website (note: I'm not an affiliate nor do I have any connections to this company. Just passing on a good thing.)

Hope some of this helps.

Larry, this is very helpful - thank you so much for your detailed reply.

Bill

Filezilla is a great Free FTP and CoffeeCup.com has a good free html editor, but Microsoft Frontpage is better