Dreamweaver vs Notepad?

[zacheri]

Hi everyone! Need your comment/suggestions on this. Do the benefits of using Dreamweaver exceed its cost?

Our head is having doubts on purchasing an Adobe CS3 Dreamweaver - corporate edition because according to him we can just hire a consultant who knows how to code and that would not cause us a lot...

I have read a thread on Dreamweaver, still I would like to know the pros and cons of using a Dreamweaver and likewise the pros and cons of using Notepad (meaning everything's hand-coded). Thanks very much!

 

[freecrm]

Zacheri

I use DW CS3 but have also used notepad.

One major point here - time!


Coding by hand in notepad is timeconsuming and prone to syntax error. A good coder still has to start from pretty much scratch with each new page and debugging is a pain. Dreamweaver doesn't solve all your problems but it does generate pages of code for you with some very simple wizards.

A typical example would be creating a simple table.

typing code for a table is painfully time consuming

<table>
<tr>
<td>cell content 1</td>
<td>cell content 2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>next line content 3</td>
<td>next line content 4</td>
</tr>
</table>

This is the most basic of tables and doesn't even contain any formatting (.css)

Dreamweaver would have made this automatically in less time. Formatting in the latest version is very quick, automatically writing .css script for you.

Major time savers include the wizards for php code.

I'm not even going to bother writing an example script for a simple recordset but DW can do it again in seconds.

In conclusion, a professional coder will be fast, but only as fast as he/she can type and that assumes no mistakes in syntax or code practice.

Dreamweaver is not the be-all and end all but it saves considerable time and time is far more expensive than the initial outlay of Dreamweaver.

 

[Trixter]

I agree with freecrm on the pros and cons of Dreamweaver vs notepad.

However the debate on if its better to get Dreamweaver of hire a pro is all about a skills vs time vs cost issue that every company or individual has to decide.

i.e. If your constantly doing web coding and plan to be in that kind market than spending the time, effort and cost to learn how to code would be worth it to buy Dreamweaver or equivalent program to help with that. If however this is NOT your main market or is not something you find yourself doing often then to hire a pro would be the better choice as they would probably already own a personal copy of a program like Dreamweaver and would be cheaper.

As you can see it all comes down to what your situation dictates.

Hope this helps

 

[freecrm]

Absolutely agree with Trixter here.

The time spent learning DW is very prohibitive as it is not the easiest of applications to "pick up".

Our company does continual develoment work so purchase of DW was cost-effective.

Just beware of developers quotes - the less learned could easily get ripped off if they don't know what they are dealing with.

A guide to getting a good develper would be to clearly work out what you want in advance and get numerous quotes for both finance and time. At this stage, don't let the developer change the goalposts.

After several quotes, you'l develop an idea of what is possible and what is not.

THEN you can start to alter your requirements according to the advice provided AND you'll have a better idea of who understands you and who is just getting a quick buck.

 

[Trixter]

Completely concur with freecrm on getting a few quotes before deciding on one to hire.

I also agree that DW is NOT easy to pick up. Unlike some of Adobes other programs, It requires you, the user, to bring quite a bit of knowledge to the table if you want to use it correctly. As freecrm said, all it really does is speed things up by taking some of the long tedious coding off the programmers plate and gives it to the program to do.

If you want to learn coding I'd suggest starting out using notepad and 'graduate' to a DW type program, as notepad forces you to code every character therefore making you 'Learn' and not use informed guessing which is what I've found to happen more often then not when someone has learned using DW or an equivalent program to it.

 

[Jordan C]

Dreamweaver, definitely.

 

[Twinkie]

Using Dreamweaver definitely optimizes the web creation process. I use it. It really depends if your head is planning to code multiple web sites. Otherwise, the cost does exceed the benefits you would get from it. If you are just making an advertising site, I would use notepad to save money, no matter how painful it might be to code like that. I believe Dreamweaver is an excellent program to start learning web design. Maybe not for the person who really wants to use ALL the buttons. But, if you can handle not using a couple buttons until you are ready, the go for it. Also, Dreamweaver shows you a preview of your web site inside of the program, without the need to save it. Great for beginners who make mistakes, great for developers to speed up productivity. It all depends on your needs

 

[xav0989]

I don't use DW I do not have any copy and do not want to buy it. I've always used notepad or other free text editor or php editor. I like open source stuff... mainly because I get to peak into the source and it is free. However, I might be getting DW from a friend.

 

[idontknow95129]

I'd go with dreamweaver to get a layout, then I'd go on with notepad to fine-tune it.

 

[dickey]

I personally haven't use dreamweaver. But there are other tools out there to help with layout. let alone tons of free downloadable html files that are easy to change to contain your content. I also do not use notepad as it is to basic and will be prone to syntax errors.

I use notepad++ as it has a syntax highlighter. and can open multiple files in one tabbed window. If you have an existing company site. why not just modify it.

 

[Zdroyd]

Well if you are short for cash and you only want a simple (but better than Notepad++) HTML editor I suggest you look for a free-ware one. There are a lot of completely free editors on the web that can be used for basic HTML editing...

I suggest:

Open Office
or
NVU

Or just get the trial version and every time the trial time ends; delete the program and all the system files it made and reinstall!

To answer the main question; for advanced HTML editing go with Dreamweaver.

 

[zacheri]

Well if you are short for cash and you only want a simple (but better than Notepad++) HTML editor I suggest you look for a free-ware one. There are a lot of completely free editors on the web that can be used for basic HTML editing...

I suggest:

Open Office
or
NVU

Or just get the trial version and every time the trial time ends; delete the program and all the system files it made and reinstall!

To answer the main question; for advanced HTML editing go with Dreamweaver.

Perhaps, we are not really talking of getting a cheaper web authoring tool or that we cannot afford to buy an expensive web authoring tool... it's just that sometimes, bosses tend to weigh things first before approving any project especially if they're not really the "Big Boss"... :biggrin:

 

[exemption]

I have used Dreamweaver and it is good when it comes to syntax errors and creating really simple but neat sites..
Such as a Jumpmenu and inline frames

<iframe name="I1" width="714" height="581" src="your_initial_page.html" border="0" frameborder="0">
Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames.</iframe>

Something like that for an inline frame on a table is very simple to code and easy to create on dreamweaver..but it takes a while to learn how to use dreamweaver...

 

[swirly]

Look for some freeware. There are things like Nvu, and komodo I believe its called that can accelerate coding. I've never typed from scratch. Copy and paste are great tools.

 

[makj111]

I'll go in for dreamweaver. You can still do manual coding in dreamweaver like

in notepad. I've been doing this for sometime now first using frontpage and

then dreamweaver 8. I have not yet used the cs3 but I think it worth it's

price it's quite helpful

 

[xPlozion]

For me it's gedit (Gnome's Notepad) or Zend Studio if I'm working on a live site (built in ftp client). I like to work directly with the source of the code and not have any graphical wizards or "Insert Table"s in my face.

PHP is my specialty, but I also know (X)HTML and CSS, and I personally would not spend the $$$ on DW seeing as I don't need anyone to hold my hand. Also, if you can type fast, you're really not wasting much time, and afaik, the last version of DW doesn't like to adhere to standards, and can make the page kinda bloated if you don't look over the source.

It can put empty tags in and other things that are either: a) Not valid coding or b) Just take up space and slow down the page (although it's marginal at best).

But as far as the others have said, if you are just going to get it up and be done with it, then hiring someone will be better. If you're going to be continuously modifying it, you have two options. Buy DW or have someone code it in PHP and MySQL and have the changing content (such as news, clients, etc) inserted into the DB and be updated live with absolutely no html knowledge.

-xP

PS. Feel free to contact me if you need any help.

 

[PatrickH]

Notepad can be really good at times, in terms of it's ability to just allow you to type up anything you want.

Dreamweaver is something you may want to invest into, especially since this is focused on a company. It provides you WYSIWYG, something important that Notepad lacks.

Really, money should be no object when making a corporate webpage.

 

[natsuki]

If you are mostly going to be developing web content, then having a WYSIWYG editor such as Dreamweaver would save you much of your precious time. The tradeoff between the cost of dreamweaver and the time that you save is well dependent on whether you are going to be using dreamweaver for the long-term. If you're going to do PHP though, you don't really need any fancy editor just a simple one with syntax highlighting would do. You can't see php pages anyway, you only see html, java, and css. If you are going to develop a customized web system or a web application that is vital to your operations, then you should hire a pro.

I only use notepad++ and don't use any fancy editors though ;p

 

[xmakina]

Notepad++ pretty much all the way. WYSIWYG editors are fine for when you just want to stick something on the net, but I feel like you never learn anything from WYSIWYG. Getting down and dirty with the source code is also much more rewarding

 

[zacheri]

I personally haven't use dreamweaver. But there are other tools out there to help with layout. let alone tons of free downloadable html files that are easy to change to contain your content. I also do not use notepad as it is to basic and will be prone to syntax errors.

I use notepad++ as it has a syntax highlighter. and can open multiple files in one tabbed window. If you have an existing company site. why not just modify it.

Thanks, we have an existing company site, however, it is generally designed for banks under our jurisdiction... As with other central banks, we are planning to launch a website especially designed for consumers :biggrin: