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What web design / development software is the best?

I have been told so many different versions of the " Best " Web design software. For a few years I was learning, practicing and using Microsoft Publisher. A Sales rep from one store told me I would need to use front page. Another store told me to use Adobe and last I was told to use Microsoft Visual Basic. And the prices of each of these are drastically different. Does anyone know which software is the best or let me know if there is an even better one than I listed above? Thank you for your time CE

Public Comments

1. Dreamweaver has been the best web design software out so far. It supports all web 2.0 coding. Give it a try!
2. I'm a web developer, and I do all my work in Notepad ++. Programs like Publisher and Adobe Dreamweaver are really more for design than development. Visual Basic is only useful if you plan to write in that language. If your focus is on development, than I'd suggest Notepad ++. Besides, it's free. http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm
3. I strongly recommend you not to focus only on proprietary software. You are only considering tools like Microsoft Front Page, Dreamweaver, etc. But why not to use free tools like what W3C (organization for web standards) is recommending? You should try CSS, XML, JavaScript, PHP,... All you need for using these tools is a text processor. Of course in the case of PHP you would need a server supporting PHP. It is fine that you use Dreamweaver, Front Page, Flash, etc. But follow the standards recommended by W3C. Do not depend on these propriotary web development tools like Front Page, etc.
4. i've written websites for major international companies and i'm rewriting one for a university now and the software I use varies a lot. The newer WYSIWYG editors support a variety of languages and write validated code - I don't know why people still go on about FrontPage it was good in its day but is 10 years old and has now been replaced by Microsoft. Here's some editors that I know... Adobe Dreamweaver - http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/ Microsoft SharePoint Developer - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointdesigner/FX100487631033.aspx - Made for SharePoint server technologies. I like using this editor. Microsft Expression - http://www.microsoft.com/expression/products/Overview.aspx?key=studio - Haven't tried this yet but it looks good as it supports ASP and PHP There are some nice free ones as well NVU - http://www.net2.com/nvu/ has been been superceeded by KompoZer - http://kompozer.net/ Microsoft Visual Web Developeer 2008 - http://www.microsoft.com/express/vwd/ - this software is great, just like the other Express products. The only thing I found missing in it is a multi-line find and replace - only single line find and replace is available in this edition. I still sometimes write code in Notepad but with so many good tools available now that's more like the good old days of writing C or Basic programs without an IDE (Integrated Development Environment).
5. There are a lot of small business owners out there that try to first develop their own site, then realize it is not that simple. Many try doing this because they get receive quotes from design companies for thousands of dollars to develop a basic business site. Our company - BitWave Design www.bitwavedesign.com - approaches webdesign as a service not as a product. We do not have a design fee, but rather a small monthly fee to develop and maintain your site for you. There is no contract to sign either.