Free Windows Web Design Software

Free Windows Web Design Software: Three Examples

There are three popular software packages available for free, NVU, SeaMonkey, and Komodo.

NVU and Kompozr

The open source group currently known as the "Mozilla" project was originally a web browser called "Netscape." In its earlier incarnation, Netscape included a simple free windows web design software component called "Composer." A WYSIWYG editor, it had minimal capabilities in terms of tables, links, and was really just an HTML editor, but it got the job done, and it was free. While the Netscape browser has morphed into the nearly ubiquitous Firefox web browser, the web design component was taken over by Linspire, a development company which produced a professional-level editor called NVU (pronounced "enview"). One of the most significant improvements over the original Composer was the robust site management tools included in NVU. However, Linspire discontinued the project after the 1.0 release.

Good programs never die, though, they just become open-source. The open-source stage of NVU resulted in an update known as KompoZer. Though considered by many to be an improvement over NVU, this project also seems to have stalled out, with no new updates in the past year.

The SeaMonkey Project

SeaMonkey also comes from the Mozilla project, but with an "everything and the kitchen sink" approach. The program is really an internet functionality suite including web browsing, email, web design and site management software. Additional bonuses include IRC Chat. Support for DHTML tables, CSS, and other, more modern, web technologies makes SeaMonkey a vast improvement over the original Netscape.

Komodo Edit

Komodo Edit is a software product that is in its fifth iteration, and very popular among people who use a lot of code. Not designed specifically for HTML and web design, Komodo Edit is an XML editor that makes all' code easier to write, including XML, PhP, CSS, Java, and HTML.

Try-Before-You-Buy Design Software

While free examples may be tempting, it may be cost-efficient to at least consider trying a top-of-the-line product, such as Dreamweaver. Created by Macromedia, now owned by Adobe, Dreamweaver has a try-before-you-buy policy that gives you a fully-functioning, 30-day free trial of the program. Dreamweaver is currently in it's 10th version (if you count changing owners as a change).

Dreamweaver features excellent support for editing CSS and Javascript, WYSIWYG viewing and editing, and extensive support for DHTML layering. Using Dreamweaver's site management capabilities will make using additional FTP applications unnecessary. Additionally, Dreamweaver is made for collaborative team work with notes, check-in/out, and remote testing protocols. There are also many plug-ins, both free and at cost, designed to assist you with everything from embedded media and font management to e-commerce applications.

Dreamweaver code is not completely W3C compliant, but comes closer than most other WYSIWYG software. It is also completely flexible, letting you change the code by hand and not "auto-correcting" it as FrontPage does.

Hard-core web designers always have the option to use the ultimate "free" web design software, NotePad, which lets you write code and save it as .HTML, .CSS, or any other file extension. However, most people prefer at least some sort of GUI as they design their sites, and the examples above will get you started on finding your editor of choice.