Free Mac Web Design Software

From LoveToKnow Web-Design

The amount of available free Mac web design software runs contrary to the popular perception of scarcity in the Mac software universe. In fact, there are professional-quality programs available that can not only help you design your own web page, but they can also manage FTP and other site management tasks. Some are simple WYSIWYG programs, while others are designed for web experts who understand code. However, most of these programs are versatile enough that they each have some features that would appeal to both types of web designer. Best of all, the one thing they all have in common is that they are free.

Free Web Design Software

Overview of Free Mac Web Design Software

iWeb

iWeb is only free if you have purchased a new Mac, but it does come bundled, as part of the iLife software package, with every new Mac at no extra cost. It is also one of the best web design tools out there, especially for personal websites. Like many Apple products, it is seamlessly integrated into desktop apps, like iPhoto and iMovie, as well as your Mobile Me online web presence. This makes publishing web pages and updates a one-click process from the iWeb program. It also contains an award-winning user interface style that is intuitive and appealing to the eye, which Apple is famous for.

NVU and Kompozr

Netscape, the free web browser, was the first to offer a simple, integrated web design program in the late 90's called "Composer." Over the last decade, Netscape changed over to the Mozilla project, which created the incredibly popular Firefox web browser, as well as other software products, like Flock and Camino. However, the web design software was discontinued in later releases. Instead, that project was taken over by a company called Linspire, which produced NVU (pronounced "enview"). The NVU project took Composer and added more functionality, better table management, browser compatibility, and larger site management tools. However, the project was closed down after the 1.0 release.

Several developers, frustrated with some leftover bugs in the final release of NVU, took up the project and re-released it as KompoZer. This is regarded as a more stable release and is supposedly still an "active" project, though no new updates have been released in the last year.

The SeaMonkey Project

Another Mozilla-powered project is SeaMonkey, which is an all-in-one Internet application that provides email, web browsing, and IRC chat, as well as web design and site management tools. It includes the ability to manipulate DHTML tables, CSS support, and other useful web design tools. However, if you don't need bulk of those web applications (and most Mac users do not), this software package may be more unwieldy than other choices.

Free-for-a-While Mac Web Design Software

It is a truism that "anything free is worth what you pay for it." Software is occasionally the exception to this rule, but a truly professional site is probably going to require professional quality website design software. While the following programs do require eventual purchase, they also offer free trials of the software. This can be a great way to get a site started and to evaluate your future needs.

RapidWeaver

The cheapest, fully-featured web design software around, Rapidweaver offers more than the basic WYSIWYG and site management features that free products offer. It also comes with templates for new sites, plug-ins to integrate with other Apple applications, a thorough support structure, and add-ons for greater customization. The demo version is fully functional and time-unlimited, but will cut off each site at three pages in order to motivate you to shell out $79 for the full version.

Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver, the web standard created by Macromedia, and later purchased by Adobe, has always been offered as a fully-functioning 30-day free trial. It has full capabilities to do any kind of web design, ranging from CSS and Javascript hand-coding to WYSIWYG drag-and-drop design and everything in between. Its site management tools are extensive, including collaboration, database, and site testing features. While the final price is a significant investment, there is a reason this is the top professional web design client out there.

Of course, the truly "free" web design software is simple text editing software, for people who want to hand-code and then save .HTML files. But for those who need a bit more of an interface, there are many free Mac products out there.

More Information

If you're interested in free web design applications, make sure to check out the following valuable LoveToKnow Web Design articles with excellent resources and tips.

Retrieved from "http://web-design.lovetoknow.com/Free_Mac_Web_Design_Software"