Free Wysiwyg Suggestions Please help me if youre a web designer

Hi all. I've tried Dreamweaver CS3 and CS4 and really liked CS4, but I'm doing my very first website job for pay and it will be a long time before something like Dreamweaver is in my budget, unless I happen to get a job that pays a few thousand sometime soon.Having said this, I would like to have a good WYSIWYG. I do most of my coding by hand and I like it that way, using Notepad++ some but CoffeeCup Free HTML editor more than anything. However there are times when I know I could save a lot of time using a WYSIWYG for certain (often repetitive) tasks which take a long time to do by hand. Does anyone know of a good free or inexpensive WYSIWYG (I could probably stomach up to $50)? I don't necessarily need a Macromedia Dreamweaver, just something that can save me some time and effort for tasks that are inconvenient to hardcode. Thanks in advance!!

Just get a 30 day trial of Dreamweaver CS4. If you already used your trial, then I would suggest using Amaya from W3C, http://www.w3.org/Amaya/. It comes from the people who make the standards, so it will comply. Plus it is very easy to use.

Expression Web 2 is pretty good, around a 140, more than your standard, but then if you get the whole Studio package its only 160 not too much more, and you get the rest of the programs. It integrates really well, and its up to standard, compared to FrontPage and other programs. I actually use MS Word or Open Office Writer, which are pretty good, just save the files as HTML, or Web Pages, thats a good way to have WYSIWYG Editor. Dreamweaver is one of the better ones, just doesn't display all that well in browsers, so you need to do some minor tweaking in it. Try out some of the free ones, there is not really priced at 50, they are all either low-end or high-end, no one makes one for the average consumer. I would just get a trial, of Expression Web 2, and if you really want just get the trial over and over again, and often Microsoft, lets you get a new key with a new live account, or trying to get the key again, you can download the studio also try it out. Its well worth the price.

Thanks for your help! I was checking into Expressions Web 2 and I think I'll give it a try. Like I said, I used the CS4 trial, howbeit for some strange reason the trial only lasted two days (?) but I'll download the Expressions trial and if it's good I might be able to cough up the $100 to buy it on ebay.

I wouldn't buy it on Ebay, since the code can't be used twice. Its just the installation disk they sell. If you really need a code, I have a MU License, and I can give you a code, if really necessary, just PM me. My uncle was a developer for the program and they gave him a MU License (Multiple Use), so I'll help you out there. I have the Web and Studio, not the others so either download together or just Web.

Just did a quick check online, apparently there is a free wysiwyg editor that comes pretty close to dreamweaver (uses the mozilla gecko rendering engine so pretty accurate).
Let me know if this helped! I'm a firm believer in not paying for what you can get a better version of for free. Give the guy enough website visits and he will be rich anyway =)


Link: http://www.kompozer.net/
Some alternatives: http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

Don't forget to check for free stuff on sites like Download.com. Often times you can download a free application that meets your needs. If you are a beginner you probably don't need a professional editor like Dreamweaver, as you wont even understand the interface or the options it alows you to use. I guess I am saying make sure you understand basic design first with an easy editor, then go for the big guns like DreamWeaver and Expressions. Does this make sense?

Check out Download.com like Jworth said and find it in the section under Web editing software make sure you check out the reviews and comments before you download, Also googling the program is not a bad idea before you download .Check out Download.com like Jworth said and find it in the section under Web editing software make sure you check out the reviews and comments before you download, Also googling the program is not a bad idea before you download .