Namo or Dreamweaver?

[garyallred]

I am a graphic designer by trade for years but new to web design. I have used FrontPage to show my clients work in process for input or approval. It is also my "portfolio" for new clients to see. I continue to have requests to design web sites and I know that FrontPage is not the way to go. I have Dreamweaver/Fireworks and also Namo because of the positive comments I have seen on the site. At this point I have not spent enough time in either to draw my own conclusion but I am about to move in that direction. Can anyone give me there opinion as to which program to go with and why. Any and all comments are appreciated.

Gary Allred
www.theoriginalorg.com
gary@theoriginalorg.com

[garyallred]

I am a graphic designer by trade for years but new to web design. I have used FrontPage to show my clients work in process for input or approval. It is also my "portfolio" for new clients to see. I continue to have requests to design web sites and I know that FrontPage is not the way to go. I have Dreamweaver/Fireworks and also Namo because of the positive comments I have seen on the site. At this point I have not spent enough time in either to draw my own conclusion but I am about to move in that direction. Can anyone give me there opinion as to which program to go with and why. Any and all comments are appreciated.

Gary Allred
www.theoriginalorg.com
gary@theoriginalorg.com

[gidgit]

haha,this could prove to be a explosive topic here GA...

something like asking which image editor to use... give the wrong answer here and...look out hehe

I will answer this from my viewpoint to get the ball rolling here...

IMHO, Namo and FP compliment each other very nicely... and if you are already used to FP then Namo is the way to go...

I used to be concerned about just which editor was the proper choice mainly because of all the negative hype surrounding FP's code, but I still found it easier to use than DW...so I stuck with it...then found Namo and have never looked back...but..but...what about the extra lines of code older versions of FP may generate bla bla...?

Here's my take...

I have seen really tight coded pages that were not very appealing to look at, and I have seen pages with slightly bloated code look very nice...of course I have also seen the opposite as well [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I believe that as long as the page looks and works well cross browser, cross platform, then great... and... all things considered, a larger than necessary image file size will add more to the loading time than will a few extra lines of code...if in fact this ends up the case resulting from the editing approach you take...

HTH

Gidgit's Blog

[dalel]

Dale

Why, I’m afraid I can’t explain myself, sir, because I’m not myself, you know...
- Lewis Carroll

[garyallred]

http://www.namo.com/

[BobInce]

The correct answer is of course TextPad, as any fule kno. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

[or insert other preferred text editor of your choosing.]

Seriously, though. If you're just putting together your own stuff and want to get a page that works up quickly, DW is okay I guess; haven't tried Namo.

If, on the other hand, you want to make any claim to be a Web Designer(TM), there is no excuse not to learn HTML (followed by CSS, followed by JavaScript) yourself. The code generated by your WYSI-probably-a-bit-like-WYG editor may look daunting, but if you learn how HTML is properly written it's not hard at all.

[gidgit]

I would love to agree with you here Andrew, but...

fact is, I have seen many sites done with FP, DW, Namo...that are evry bit as nice as those which were hand coded... speaking of handcoded sites, many of those are really done via cut and paste from a glorified text editor and not really done via the ole keyboard...

next we will be suggesting that it is only a "ful" that uses Flash or Swish to design swf, the "real pro's" hand code...

The "Handcode vs WYSIWYG" debate is every bit rediculous as is the "PS vs all other image editors" debate...the faithful on each side have thier views, to which they should be respected...

What ever worx for ya...

[img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[garyallred]

As an artist I am more concerned about a quality layout and good looking functional site. I have customers who have had their web sites designed by people that certainlt know web design but they are not satisfied because they are still left with a "ho-humm" looking site. I realize that WYSIWYG has its draw backs but I have friends that are great at "hand coding" and know little about putting together a good looking as well as function site. At this point in my career I have a 3D program, Xara (I now use Corel) and PhotoImpact to learn, so I am spread rather thin. At some point I hope to also get a handle on hand coding, but not right now.

Thanks for the continued input.

Gary Allred

[dalel]

And I think I picked up Dreamweaver much faster as a result, and I can use it's features better than a non-hand coder, because I know easily how to tweak it.

However, good design isn't hand coding, it's good design.

I went the programmer route to web design, and I am playing catch-up on designing. I wish I had had some design training first. Using a WYSIWYG editor is just fine if you have killer design and good content.

Dale

Why, I’m afraid I can’t explain myself, sir, because I’m not myself, you know...
- Lewis Carroll

[gidgit]

Dale, you are a breath of fresh air in a very old debate...it isn't often a coder will fess up to what you have just stated here... truly remarkable in fact... I applaud your honesty [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I know that the correct approach would be to have the best of both worlds here, tight code and killer design...but... if one could only have one or the other, I would rather be designing [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

now then, if I could only find that design key...