Freeware website creator/HTML editor?

B

Bob W

Joined
Dec 31, 2000
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Can someone recommend a freeware HTML editor or website creation software? I have the manual for PageMaker, but don't seem to actually have the disks. I've had excellent luck with Freeware (no shareware, adware, or spyware) programs in the past and would like to give one or two freeware website creator programs a test run. Problem is, there are so many to choose from and I don't know where to start.

Anyone have experience with any of these, or recommend some other(s):
http://www.nonags.com/nonags/htmledit.html

Here are four that jumped out. Any comments or experience?
Dynamic HTML Editor, ver. 1.9: http://www.dynamic-html-editor.com/en_home.asp
Web Dwarf: http://www.virtualmechanics.com/products/dwarf/
Selida: http://selida.camelon.nl/selida.html
Amaya: http://www.w3.org/Amaya/Overview.htmlhttp://www.evrsoft.com/1stpage2.shtml

I considered simply making an interactive CD, but I may eventually upload to an actual website, so organizing the files as webpages from the start seems like the way to go.

Also, many people use web browsers other than Internet Explorer. Is compatibility a serious issue with creating web pages?

-Bob
 
I may not be of much help since I haven't done any HTML in years and I did only straight tag based HTML, basically I made my personal webpage just for fun and to learn some.

That being said, I used Arachnophilia, which is a simple text editor with basic tools for doing tables, links, etc, it does syntax checking and preview, the current version is written in Java, I used it before it was Java but I've seen the Java version and it looks fine.

Luis
 
I would suggest Nvu http://www.nvu.com/index.php

I have worked with it some...it's a bit more advanced/feature rich than Composer but Composer is good (I use it in the Mozilla suite). They both produce clean code and best of all, they are free!

John
 
An update: I've completed one page. None of the off-page hyperlinks will work since there are no other pages uploaded yet.

http://www.drivehq.com/web/Bobthearch/

That page was created with Pablo WYSIWYG Web Builder 2.0, the Freeware version. I tried a dozen other freeware programs and they all suck. Pablo 2.0 was missing a few features I would have liked (such as a website tool for managing multiple pages, locked page sizes, and I had some problems when the page length reached 9000), but overall it was the easiest to use, had the most logical GUI, and more advanced tools than I'll ever use.

I did try Nvu. It's a good-looking program, but lacked some basic features like drawing shapes and no site layout tool. I also liked WebDwarf, but the limit of one web page per "Project" was a deal-breaker.

I even used Adobe GoLive 5.0 last night for a few hours. That program is the biggest POS I've ever used, especially considering the original retail price.

One program I didn't try, Netscape Composer. I don't think it can be downloaded as a standalone program. Not that I could find anyway.

Tomorrow I'm going to upgrade to Pablo's WYSIWYG Web Builder 4, the for-fee version. I've been playing with a 30-day free trial copy tonight - it's a breeze to use and will really speed up the website schedule. And it has every feature that I wished for when using their old version.

The one other program I would have liked to try is Microsoft Front Page. I would never buy software that expensive, but I would have liked comparing the features and GUI.

Anyway, I'm confident that I'm on the right track now. Thanks for all of your suggestions.

-Bob
 
Bob

What did you mean by locked page sizes? If you are referring to the width of the page, I would suggest building your pages inside a table. I normally do that with the fixed width at 760 pixels. That will guarantee no horizontal scrolling in a Web browser that runs on a monitor set at 800x600 resolution. There are still many people, especially ones with vision problems, that run that low resolution on CRTs. Not sure if this is what you meant but just thought I'd mention it.

An important thing to remember about using tables for layout is do not nest more than three tables inside each other. I use tables for layout all the time and haven't had any ill effects from it since I follow that rule.

I looked at that software you used...nice clean GUI. I might have to download a trial and see what it's like. And no, I don't know of any way to download the Composer program without the browser. I have Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape, Opera and automatically have IE on all computers for viewing Web pages. It's a good idea because they all render the pages differently.

With the Mozilla version of Composer, you can create a shortcut from the browser shortcut in the programs menu and edit it's path to open Composer up without ever opening up the browser.

John
 
What did you mean by locked page sizes? If you are referring to the width of the page, I would suggest building your pages inside a table. I normally do that with the fixed width at 760 pixels. That will guarantee no horizontal scrolling in a Web browser that runs on a monitor set at 800x600 resolution. There are still many people, especially ones with vision problems, that run that low resolution on CRTs. Not sure if this is what you meant but just thought I'd mention it.
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What I did was to keep all of the information withing an 800 pixel width. Yes, I've read that 770 is better, to allow for the scroll bar. But since the 100 pixels on the left is only a static logo, you're not missing anything if you can't see it all. Anyone with a higher resolution than 800 gets to see additional tan-colored space on the right side.

I will try to work it within a table the next time I play around with it or start a new page.

I looked at that software you used...nice clean GUI. I might have to download a trial and see what it's like.
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I really had a lot of fun with the Freeware version, 2.0. But I suggest, if you're really interested in comparing software, to download the latest version (4.0a) for a free trial.

An important thing to remember about using tables for layout is do not nest more than three tables inside each other. I use tables for layout all the time and haven't had any ill effects from it since I follow that rule.
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Thank you for that.

Here's a list of other programs I tried, all freeware:
Amaya
Blaze Composer
Dynamic HTML Editor
Front Page Express (used to be included with some MS products)
HTML Generator
Nvu
WYSIWYG Web Builder 2.0
Page Breeze
Selida
SiteGenWiz
Trellian Web Page
Web Dwarf
X-Standard Lite

I may try Mozilla/Composer sometime. But I'm a little burned out and need a break for a while. :)

-Bob
 
tucows.com usually offers a bunch of freeware or shareware html editors. I used to use them until I was provded with Front Page.
 
That was the entire point of the excercise with all of the WYSIWYG programs, to do anything possible to not learn html. :)

Some of the programs I tried weren't worth much as WYSIWYG editors, but they all had html writing screens, some with split screens showing the changes to the web page as you write.

-Bob
 
I don't know how long you've been working with creating Web pages but it would be to your advantage to learn some HTML. I think it's probably easier to understand once you learn some design in a WYSIWYG editor. The split screen is an excellent learning tool because you can see the code generated as you work on the WYSIWYG side.

The reason I say you would want to learn some HTML (at least the basics) is that in every application I've ever used (primarily Dreamweaver and FrontPage) there's always something that you can't undo without going into the code side. This is especially true if you go in behind somebody that has already created the page.

The price for that program you downloaded/bought isn't bad. It would be worth it to just have another one. Bill Gates' Windows Genuine Disadvantage just ended my relationship with FrontPage for the most part but I've been using Dreamweaver exclusively now for seveal years. Once you get used to a program, it's hard to adjust back to another one.

Here's a link if you're interested in learning some HTML or CSS. I use it for refernce because it's just way too hard to remember everything...just remember how to get to the references quick. W3Schools http://tinyurl.com/lhcf

John
 
I don't know how long you've been working with creating Web pages...
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About a week now... and you've seen the result. :)

Here's a link if you're interested in learning some HTML or CSS
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Thanks. I will browse through that and tuck away the link for future reference. Knowing how to clean up or edit the code created by WYSIWYG would be helpful.

Once you get used to a program, it's hard to adjust back to another one.
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I bet, especially once you conquer the learning curve of some illogically-laid-out, gargantuan, ultra-expensive software like GoLive. :)

-Bob
 
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