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by Paul Heslep

Something for nothing?

You've definitely come to the wrong place. I'm afraid that the current limits of what is acceptable, or at least tolerable in page design is going to require that you spend a few (hundred) dollars on some software in order to capture that electronic income you are hoping to find.

The good news is that you can go very far on a little shareware/freeware, a decent text editor and the right resources.

The bad news is that without some specialized tools, you're probably going to have a very boring page that will not bring the repeat traffic that keeps a web site profitable.

If you are new to web page authoring, the ever array of software can be extremely confusing, and the scant description on the back of the package is often misleading or inconclusive.

To help you decide how to spend your web-authoring dollars, we have compiled a list of our favorite software. While there are alternatives to the software we have chosen to use, we will stick with our choices due to the following qualifications: Popularity, which ensures future support and development of the software, Usability, which is a subjective term since we may find a program easy to use, while you may struggle to understand it at all (but then, that is why we're here). Cost Effectiveness, or how much production and value you get from using the program as compared to the cost of purchasing the program.

Macromedia
Dreamweaver - Probably the best HTML editor available.
Fireworks - Without question the best tool for simple animations, buttons and banners
Flash - Steep learning curve and complex authoring environment, but the best choice for cutting edge animations and interactive pages.
Freehand - Not a dedicated web tool, but useful for any graphical purpose. This vector art program is a great way for the artist to produce fantastic graphics and animations for use in the assembled page.

Adobe
Acrobat - The undisputed king for providing quality printable documents for download or on-screen viewing.
GoLive
Illustrator - Like Freehand, this is not strictly a web tool. If you master this complex program, you can create highly complex graphics very quickly and easily.
Image Ready - Good tool for simple animations, buttons, banners and optimization but not as comprehensive as Fireworks.
Image Styler - A worthy tool for creating various web graphics, especially for people without extensive graphic experience. Very easy to use.
Photoshop - The Essential Photo Editor. A must for any graphical environment. The forthcoming version 5.5 includes Image Ready and extra web functions.

Barebones BBEdit (Mac only) - A wonderful <TAG> editor for the Mac
Allaire Homesite (PC Only) - A wonderful <TAG> editor for the PC

Not every piece of software made our list. There were some notable omissions, and new apps arrive so frequently we are hard-pressed to keep up. We are currently reviewing plenty of other software packages, including Headline Studio by Metacreations.

Occasionally, you may need a piece of software but can't afford it. Don't fret it. It is a standard practice for developers to request that the a client purchase a particular piece of software for the developer to deliver the quality the client would like to receive. You can build the cost of the software into the total cost of development, but be careful not to let that cost bid you out of competition for the job.