Software Requirements
So you do not need an extremely powerful computer to develop a website, but what about software? Do you need the latest and greatest graphics program and other web development tools? Many programs are available as shareware, some of which is quite good for the beginner.
We tend to use commercial software, with a few exceptions. Please note that some of this software does require a reasonably powerful system, so read the system requirements on the packaging to make sure you can use the software!
If you don't want to (or cannot afford to) spend much money, you could have a look at Tucows.com or Downloads.com which have quite a few shareware programs that might do the job.
Types of software needed
Let's have a look a the types of software needed, before we look at individual programs. You can decide which particular piece of software you want to use, but there are minimum requirements:
Text or HTML Editor
There are a number of ways to create your HTML or XHTML pages. Purists will never use a WYSIWYG editor and will write the pages in a plain text editor. This can be a normal, everyday editor (such as Notepad or Wordpad) or a dedicated HTML editor, with tools to make the job easier. Others will opt for a WYSIWYG editor, which does make the job easier, but can result in bloated files and at times, proprietary code which does not work in all browsers.
We use a combination of the two. Sites are initially developed in a WYSIWYG editor (usually in Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver), to build a site template. Once we have the template, we switch to "manual" editing mode, using a plain text editor (Notepad, Chami HTML Kit or Arachnophilia, depending on our mood). Of course, this is no use if you do not know how to code HTML or XHTML.
If you want to do things the easy way, have a look at some of the WYSIWYG editors shown on this page. You can buy the software online at Amazon.com, EzySoftware.net and many computer stores. There are other editors on the market, but these are the most commonly used of the commercial types:
 Microsoft FrontPage |
 Macromedia Dreamweaver |
 Adobe GoLive |
 Allaire HomeSite |
Graphics Software
If you are planning to develop your own graphics, rather than using clip-art from CD or from authorised online sources, you will need some type of program to develop the graphics. Simple graphics can be developed in standard programs that come with most operating software (for instance, Microsoft Paint, which comes with Windows).
However, they will need to be put on the website in GIF or JPEG format, which these programs do not always support. There is a third type of graphics file called PNG. However, it is not as widely supported by browsers in use today.
There are many graphics editors on the market, both shareware and commercial varieties. Below is a list of some commonly used commercial graphics programs:
 Macromedia Fireworks |
 Adobe Photoshop |
 Corel Photo Paint |
 JASC Paint Shop Pro |
FTP software
Coming soon.
