Web Design Software Reviews

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Web Design Software Reviews Reviewed
Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Web Design Software Ratings Comments on Reviews
1. Smart Computing >> Details/Subscribe	Building A Home On The Web - Four Top Web Editors Jeff Dodd Aug. 2006		Reviewer Jeff Dodd recommends hosting services iPowerNet.com and Bravenet.com for basic users who want to put up a simple website using free site-building tools. But for those interested in more advanced websites with complex content, he recommends a range of web design software with price tags suited to each level of need. Dreamweaver 8 is his pick for professional web editors. For home and small office computer users at the other end of the spectrum, he recommends affordably priced WebProse Designer Professional 3.0, which requires no familiarity with HTML code. Filling the middle ground between the two extremes, Dodd speaks well of both CoffeeCup 2006 and NetObjects Fusion 9. CoffeeCup has enjoyed the popularity of over 17-million downloads in its ten years of existence and is a solid product.
2. CNet.com	Killer Web Design Apps Elsa Wenzel Oct. 7, 2005		This review stacks Dreamweaver 8 up against Adobe's GoLive CS2 and charts the advantages of each. Overall, Dreamweaver 8 rates a 7.7 out of 10, and GoLive CS2 rates a 7.3. Reviewer Elsa Wenzel concludes that Dreamweaver 8 offers significantly more features, though GoLive may be the better choice for users needing to transform their web designs into print media applications and vice versa.

Web Design Software Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Web Design Software Ratings Comments on Reviews

3. Macworld >> Details/Subscribe	Dreamweaver 8 David Sawyer McFarland Oct. 17, 2005		Reviewer David Sawyer McFarland notes this is the best Dreamweaver version he has had his hands on, and he highly recommends it. Dreamweaver 8 has more features, and it’s both faster and more stable than its MX 2004 predecessor. Improvements include many enchancements to CSS support and editing, as well as a cleaner overall interface, including tabbed document windows and new zoom and guides tools. However, Dreamweaver still hasn't significantly upgraded JavaScript support or tools in several versions. No other software is rated here.
4. PC Magazine >> Details/Subscribe	Macromedia Studio 8 Richard V. Dragan Oct. 12, 2005		Dragan notes that among the applications comprising Studio 8, Dreamweaver 8 is part of its "heart and soul." Editors tested the software operating in Windows XP and found DW 8 "as polished and impressive as ever" for page design work. Notable are new tabbed windows and improvements in CSS functionality in this latest version of Dreamweaver. Editors also say DW 8 is an excellent choice for those who work directly with code, including PHP 5, ColdFusion, ASP or JSP. Dreamweaver 8 additionally features new XML support. The reviewer awards the Macromedia Studio 8 software 5.5 points on a ratings scale of 6.
5. Top Ten Reviews.com	2006 Website Creation Software Review Editors of Top 10 Reviews 2006		The editors rank and chart the features of their top 12 web design software titles selling for under $100. The top three products get award ratings. First up is Web Easy Professional 6.0 (from VCOM), followed by Web Plus 9.0 (from Serif) and Web Studio 4.0 (from Back to the Beach Software LLC). All of these top three feature FTP upload capability and Flash multimedia support, design template libraries, as well as drag & drop page assembly. All three will run on computers using Windows 98 or later operating systems. Although these ratings are easy to read, this review rates slightly lower in our chart, since we're not sure who's doing the testing on these programs.
6. About.com >> Details/Subscribe	Top Free Blog Software / Hosting for Bloggers Sheila Ann Manuel Coggins 2006		About.com's guide to blogs, Sheila Coggins, answers the question "What are the best free blog software or systems out there?" with a round-up of her top 10 blogware programs and blog hosts. WordPress 2.0 tops her list of blog software, and Blogger.com gets high ratings among popular free hosts. Other software of note includes Movable Type and Greymatter. Additional picks for blog hosts are Live Journal and Xanga.
7. About.com >> Details/Subscribe	WordPress: Blog Software Review Sheila Ann Manuel Coggins Apr. 25, 2006		This is a thorough technical discussion of the pros and cons of the top-rated WordPress blog software. Sheila Ann Manuel Coggins also goes into detail about what specific features of WordPress she likes over those of competitors Movable Type and Greymatter. "WordPress has grown to be one of the best blogging platforms available. It has plenty of built-in features and it is easy to customize. It is also easy to extend its functionality due to the availability of plugins," she emphasizes.
8. CreativePro.com	Review: Adobe GoLive CS2 Jeff Carlson May 5, 2005		Jeff Carlson's review notes that the release of GoLive CS2 came just weeks before Adobe announced acquisition of Macromedia, makers of Dreamweaver, which is GoLive's main competition. Carlson notes, "It's unclear what Adobe will do with its two step-siblings -- bolt them together to form a GoDream or a DreamLiver? Sell one off? Or (gulp) kill one?" For the present, GoLive CS2 remains available for the same list price as Dreamweaver 8. GoLive CS2's notable strengths are its easy integration with other Adobe graphic applications such as Photoshop and ImageReady, plus improvements in how it now handles Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). But on the down side, old problems with program stability persist, and the reviewer notes it is prone to random crashes. Carlson concludes, "In light of the Adobe-Macromedia deal, the future of GoLive remains hazy. Because of this and the program's weaknesses, I can't recommend that you buy it now for the first time, nor switch from Dreamweaver."
9. TechSoup.org	Four Web Authoring Programs Compared Frith Gowan June 21, 2006		Frith Gowan presents an excellent roundup of the features of web design heavy hitters Adobe Dreamweaver 8, Adobe GoLive CS2 and Microsoft FrontPage, as well as Nvu web design freeware. Nvu is 100% open source and released under the Mozilla Public License. Anyone can download Nvu for free from www.nvu.com. As this website is geared to the tech needs of non-profit organizations, the reviewer also provides links through which the Adobe and Microsoft web products can be acquired for a special low administration fee by qualifying non-profit organizations. The review includes a thorough primer covering web design technology basics and issues, but software isn't rated or ranked.

Web Design Software Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Web Design Software Ratings Comments on Reviews

10. Asymptomatic.com	Blog Software Breakdown Owen Winkler June 13, 2004		This site offers an exhaustive technical and features rundown of 15 blog software titles of every imaginable ilk -- all charted out for easy comparison. Though an older entry, we found nothing as exhaustive as this on available blog software. The author's highest rating goes to WordPress.
11. Softpedia.com	Easy Web Editor 2006 (from Visual Vision) Editors of Softpedia.com Not Dated		Easy Web Editor 2006 is a very basic WYSIWYG web design shareware for Windows with FTP upload capability, available for a 30-day trial. The editors of Softpedia review selected shareware and award Easy Web Editor 2006 their 5/5 Pick Award rating, noting that this award is "given based on our experience and judgement, and only to products which the majority of our reviewers agree deserve it." As of this writing, more than 9,300 users have downloaded this shareware. It receives an average rating of 4.1 points out of 5 by users.
12. Softpedia.com	WYSIWYG Web Builder 3.4 (from Pablo Software Solutions) Editors of Softpedia Not Dated		WYSIWYG Web Builder 3.4 is a very basic "what-you-see-is-what-you-get" web design shareware for Windows, with a built-in FTP upload manager. It is available for a 30-day trial. The editors of Softpedia review select shareware and award WYSIWYG Web Builder 3.4 their 5/5 Pick Award rating, noting that this award is "given based on our experience and judgement, and only to products which the majority of our reviewers agree deserve it." It receives an average rating of 4.6 points out of 5 by users posting reviews to the site.
13. Softpedia.com	CoffeeCup for Windows 2006 (from Coffee Cup Software) Editors of Softpedia.com Mar. 10, 2006		CoffeeCup web design shareware is available for a 30-day trial and features a functional HTML code editor as well as a WYSIWYG visual design editor and FTP upload capability. The shareware trial version displays a banner which disappears upon purchase and registration for $49. The price includes extensive support services. Editors of Softpedia review select shareware and award CoffeeCup 2006 one of their 5/5 Pick Award ratings. However, this software gets a lower average rating than other 5/5 Award winners -- 3.8 points out of 5 by users.
14. PC Magazine >> Details/Subscribe	Homestead QuickSites Rick Broida Sept. 20, 2005		Reviewer Rick Broida compares Homestead to Bubbler, noting Homestead's greater suitability to the individual site owner as well as the small business site owner. Homestead offers more than 800 templates which can actually be used to rough out site designs and see exactly what the final product will look like before you commit to paying for the Homestead service. Homestead tops out as PC Magazine's "Editors' Choice" product -- the magazine's highest rating for Website Hosting Services and site builder tools.
15. Build-A-Web-Site.co.uk	Top 10 Online Website Builders Roger Weavers 2005		This review site rates Homestead's QuickSite Website builder most highly out of ten site building tools. All ten site builders are charted and compared by features, emphasizing their superior choice of styles and options. Also in the top five are AtomicShops, iPage, Moonfruit and WebsiteWizard.
16. Bella Online	Upgrade Review - Adobe's Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 Diane Cipollo 2006		Diane Cipollo compares the features of Dreamweaver 8 from two perspectives -- that of the code view user and that of the design view user. She concludes that either way, Dreamweaver 8 is well worth a look. This review does not include comparisons or ratings of any other web design software.
17. Smart Computing >> Details/Subscribe	Web Design the Easy Way - Web Studio 4.0 Jennifer Farwell Mar. 2005		Reviewer Jennifer Farwell awards this inexpensive WYSIWYG web design software a firm 4 out of 5 quality points. Among the factors keeping this software from rating a full 5, she cites drawbacks in font use and HTML code viewing, as well as a non-indexed help reference. On the plus side, it features a built-in image editor, a library of graphic elements and a well-organized interface. Farwell notes Web Studio 4.0 will be of little use to professional web designers, but it’s just the thing for novice users with no desire to work in HTML code.
18. Sitepoint.com	Dreamweaver 8 Reviewed John Wilker Jan. 23, 2006		Wilker comments that though the look of Dreamweaver 8 will be very familiar to users of Dreamweaver MX 2004, the new version brings far more to the table than its predecessor. He confesses a bias toward supplying his own code over trusting WYSIWYG designware, and finds Dreamweaver 8 replete with features that help him write better code faster, including a functional new coding toolbar and improved tag completion and code collapsing ability, which the program has not previously offered. The program is, however, a "RAM hog" using too much of a system's resources, a problem Wilker feels has plagued previous versions of Dreamweaver. But he finds DW 8 well worth the upgrade and an excellent new tool for web developers and web designers alike.
19. CreativePro.com	Review: Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 David Karlins Sept. 26, 2005		David Karlins notes important new tools for CSS page design and XML embedding and styling as the significant improvements in this version of Dreamweaver. He is also impressed with how well Dreamweaver 8 has "closed the Mac gap" by implementing features from the PC version into the Mac version -- something that was missing in previous editions of this software. The review includes helpful screenshot illustrations, including one showing the program's work area layout.
20. PC-Review Online	Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 Editors of PC-Review Online Feb. 26, 2006		The editors feel Dreamweaver is the best website design and construction program on the market. This review presents a topic-by-topic list of Dreamweaver's strong points, but it doesn’t compare the program with other web design software.
21. CNet.com	CoffeeCup HTML Editor 2006 Editors of CNet.com Mar. 9, 2006		The editors agree that this full-featured, easy-to-use web design and editing software is well worth the download and rate it five out of five stars. The average rating of 460+ users is 4.5 out of 5 stars. The program is not compared to other software, however.

Web Design Software Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Web Design Software Ratings Comments on Reviews

22. Epinions	Design and Multimedia Contributors to Epinions Not Dated		Epinions has a handful of reader reviews for web-design software, but the results are a jumble of photo-management software, word-processing software and others.

Web Design Software Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Web Design Software Ratings Comments on Reviews

23. Amazon.com	Web Development Contributors to Amazon.com Not Dated		Thousands of results pop up for web development software. Unfortunately, Amazon.com doesn't allow organizing by review ranking. This is unfortunate when attempting to locate the consumer favorite. At the time of our search, Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 and Apple iLife '06 both rated high with 4.5 stars.

Web Design Software Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Web Design Software Ratings Comments on Reviews

24. DevelopedTraffic.com	Dreamweaver 8 Mini-Review Diane Vigil Sept. 20, 2005		Diane Vigil comments on the dramatic improvements in CSS, XML and new tools such as zoom and highly useful guides with snap-to functionality. She does make one complaint that Dreamweaver 8 developers had difficulty getting the program to accurately display file size including all attachments and instead settled for a readout showing page file size only.
25. Designer Info	Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 Tom Arah Aug. 2005		Arah notes improved CSS, XML, code handling, Flash video handling and various productivity enhancements of Dreamweaver 8. But he feels generally that this new version of the software is an underwhelming release. He contends that background file transfer capabilities (uploading local files to remote sites) is DW 8's only true stand-out feature, so he gives the release a rating of 5 out of 6. It is a solid piece of software if you are purchasing it for the first time, but not worth an upgrade from a previous version, in his view.
26. 456 Berea Street.com	Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 Review Roger Johansson Oct. 31, 2005		This blog-style review stands out from others in that the reviewer logs significantly more complaints than praise about Dreamweaver 8. He finds it a "decent piece of software," but one that does not fit in well with how he works. A large number of his readers weigh in on DW 8 as well.
27. About.com	Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 Jennifer Kyrnin 2005		Jennifer Kyrnin offers a general overview of the pros and cons of Dreamweaver 8. However, she does not provide any ratings or detailed comparisons with other web design software. She states that the biggest drawback to DW 8 is that amateur designers will find it simply overwhelming and advises that they look into simpler web design products such as FrontPage or Namo Web Editor.
28. IT Reviews.com	Macromedia - Dreamweaver 8 review Staff of IT Reviews Oct. 27, 2005		This review does not go into great detail and points out the same positive features and improvements generally covered by other reviewers. There are no ratings or comparisons to other web design software.
29. Computer Power User >> Details/Subscribe	Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 Kevin Savetz Dec. 2005		This average review notes Dreamweaver 8's improved tools and ease of use for those needing to write code by hand. No comparisons are made with any other web design software.