Editor Features

Dreamweaver 8 is the premier HTML, XHTML, and CSS editing tool used by professionals. Dreamweaver 8 is also available in a bundle called Studio 8. If you are serious about becoming an amateur web designer, then I would recommend the bundle. Studio 8 includes- Macromedia Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Contribute, and ColdFusion. So far I have only used Fireworks and Dreamweaver. Fireworks is similar to Adobe Photoshop Imageready- it prepares optimized graphics and slices images.

The first web site I created with Fireworks and Dreamweaver is my homepage. I used a great book, Training From the Source: Studio 8 by Shauowen Bardzell and Jeffrey Bardzell to walk me through creating the page. The book does a nice job of integrating all the programs to show you how they work together.

Difficulty

Dreamweaver is made for professionals; however, each new version gets more user friendly. Adobe, bought Macromedia, and offers helpful tutorials, web seminars and built- in templates for the beginner.

Being a beginner, I like to use the template feature. I used a template for this page and revised and edited until it felt personal. Using a template is convenient for those of us who have not mastered XHTML and CSS.

Comparison

I am pretty new to web editing tools. In the past I used Microsoft Frontpage, and disliked it. Microsoft programs tend to have a mind of their own, and Frontpage writes sloppy code. Dreamweaver writes much better code and is browser-friendly. Once, I tried using Adobe Imageready for creating a web site, but it never worked. Instead, I use Imageready for preparing graphics and optimizing images, and not for publishing whole web pages. Imageready is similar to Macromedia Fireworks, part of the Studio 8 bundle.

Cost Analysis

Dreamweaver is very expensive, $399. However, I just purchased it with my new graduate school discount. I bought the whole Studio Suite for $99. A steal compared to the street, $999! I highly recommend buying the suite if you have the desire to learn, spend the money, or publish anything looking professional.