EdPsy 590Net Activity 6
Evaluation of HTML Editors
When taking a look at HTML editing software, I would like to compare iWeb, Microsoft FrontPage, and Adobe DreamWeaver.
Let's take a look at iWeb (user-friendly, low-cost):
“iWeb helps you build a beautiful website in minutes using Apple-designed templates. Just choose a website theme that fits your style. Each theme offers page templates for “About Me,” photo album, blog, podcast, and movie pages, so you’ll always have the perfect place for your content. Use the iLife Media Browser to drag in your photos, movies, and podcasts, then simply type over the placeholder text on your page template, and click once to publish to .Mac. Then simply edit the placeholder text and use the iLife Media Browser to drag in your photos, movies, podcasts, and songs. No design degree necessary. No HTML skills required. You can even tweak the graphics you drag into your template. Resize, rotate, layer, mask images, and perform iPhoto-like adjustments on your photos. Directly on your page. Mix and match templates within a site or create different sites with different themes. iWeb templates work for you, not the other way around.” The iWeb website offers tutorials, examples, and more: http://www.apple.com/ilife/iweb/
My iWeb site (http://web.mac.com/sarahhendrix/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html) literally took 7 minutes to add the pages and then publish—granted I didn’t add/modify the template much, but—for those familiar with Microsoft Publisher and its templates, this is a very easily navigable web program simply dragging and dropping or inserting items such as clip art, photos, etc. The look is exceptionally professional and yet exceptionally user-friendly.
In terms of pricing, iWeb is quite nice, but does include a few parts
1) iWeb publishes directly to your .Mac account space. Yearly .Mac account is $99 but includes email, server space
2) iWeb program is part of the iLife software package for Macs. An individual iLife ’06 pack is $79 or iLife ’06 Family Pack (licensed for 5 Macs) is $99. iLife includes iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand, iWeb
Now for Microsoft FrontPage vs. Adobe DreamWeaver (learning-curve, mid/higher-cost):
I have used Microsoft’s FrontPage—but only briefly before deciding to stick with Dreamweaver. Both have a higher learning curve and are more expensive programs. While similar, FrontPage is available on the Windows operating system only but DreamWeaver is available for both Windows and Macintosh platforms.
I have been using Dreamweaver as an HTML editing software for over three years. However, until this summer I have only been a basic user. I recently moved beyond the basic design approach to HTML and am learning how to modify simple CSS within HTML. This is the site (http://www.paxtonaquaticwildcats.com) I've been working on for my brother (head swim coach for Paxton Aquatic Wildcats).
While Dreamweaver is expensive for the home user or professional--$399 (my husband has a copy for our multi-media business), the educational discount is great! Considering the price, I find Dreamweaver to be quite a bargain considering the user-friendly features (once understanding the basic software concepts). I find that I enjoy some of the features in Dreamweaver over those in other programs. For example, in FrontPage, if you move or rename a file, you have to manually change the links. However, in Dreamweaver, if I move a file or rename it, the program asks if I would like to update the links. I love how DreamWeaver allows you to create using a "design" mode which operates much like a text editing program, html coding mode, or a combination of design and coding. Since I don't know much coding, I tend to use the design-mode to create my pages and then use the combination mode to make modifications using html coding.
There is a learning curve—it has taken me time to learn the basic ins-and-outs and now to get my mind around combining CSS with HTML.