Video:How to Get the Most for Your Money in a Web Design Software

Transcript:How to Get the Most for Your Money in a Web Design Software

Hi, this is Dimitri LaBarge for About.com, and today we're going to talk about how to get the most for your money in web design software.

Basics on Getting the Most Out of Your Money in Design Software

One of the easiest ways to maximize value in your web design software is to simply download one of the many free web design programs out there. They range from basic software like HTML Instant to extremely powerful web application design software like Aptana Studio or Komodo IDE, which can design full-fledged code using Java, Ruby on Rails and even more esoteric languages.

About Web Design Software

On the other hand of the spectrum, maybe value means being able to handle any single design issue that could possibly come up. Maybe then you need to consider a pricey but comprehensive suite of applications, like one of Adobe’s design suites. They have several different suites available, but you should start with their very powerful editor, Adobe Dreamweaver. Then consider what else you need. Want animation? Consider a suite with Flash. Photoshop is standard with most of the Adobe suites, which gives you the best image editing available. Maybe you want to include video on your homepage - Adobe Premiere would be a good addition, then. You won’t have much left in your pocketbook, but there’s almost no web-based problem you won’t be able to solve.

Things to Look for in Web Design Software

No matter which way you go, some things are an absolute given. Look for automatic placement of links, images and some kind of template ability to get your started, even if it’s just the basic structure of an HTML page. Tools to help you debug, like color coding and HTML tag validation, are fairly standard and will go a long way towards helping you write very clean code.

Don't Overspend on Web Design Software

Whichever way you go, the key is to not overspend. If your needs are modest, get something simple. But if you need to do a lot of things, maybe consider a suite that can address many different design issues at once.

Thanks for watching. To learn more, visit us on the web at About.com.