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CSS How to Make a Website Responsive Web Design and Testing Website Testing

Michael Plemmons
Michael Plemmons
9,393 Points

Dreamweaver vs. handcoding

This is sort of off topic with this specific video, I was wondering about the use of IDE's like dreamweaver. I was doing some research on this and some of the forums state that dreamweaver is for amateurs and professional developers don't use it. I've never used it, but I believe it might save some time to throw the layout together using an IDE and using HTML/CSS to fine tune it. Is this a better faster way or is it better for the work world to stick to hand coding from scratch?

5 Answers

Nathan F.
Nathan F.
30,773 Points

Dreamweaver is definitely, so far as I know, an outdated tool and unlikely in the toolbox of modern web developers. Maybe it can be chalked up to user error, but I've had to do cleanup on old sites that were designed in Dreamweaver, and doing so was a nightmare. Developers/designers tend to make static mockups with something like Sketch or Photoshop, or they do it in code with a CSS framework like Bootstrap or Foundation that does a lot of the heavy lifting for prototyping.

However, there are some modern WYSIWIG tools that allow you to more or less drag-and-drop, designing the visuals and then convert that into sane, readable code. One of those tools is Webflow and another is Macaw. These tools have drawbacks too, I'm sure, but they're a step up from Dreamweaver.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with using tools to make your designs and mockups go faster, but learning to hand-code HTML and CSS will go a long way in aiding your understanding of web layout and design, as well as aiding troubleshooting. Even if you choose to use one of those tools, don't let it substitute for your knowledge of HTML & CSS.

PS: I should mention that Treehouse offers a discount on Macaw via the Treehouse Perks page. Check that out, if it's something that interests you.

LaVaughn Haynes
LaVaughn Haynes
12,397 Points

What? There is a Treehouse perks page?

I definitely agree. I have not used it recently but back in the day it made some nasty looking code. Sounds like it's still bad news

LaVaughn Haynes
LaVaughn Haynes
12,397 Points

Thanks! There's a lot of deals. Wow

LaVaughn Haynes
LaVaughn Haynes
12,397 Points

It's a matter of preference. I don't think there is anything wrong with using Dreamweaver. I started off with it back in the 90's when it was macromedia Dreamweaver (before Adobe bought them). It was cool because you could write code and/or use their graphical interface and see your updates "in real time".

As I got more comfortable with HTML I preferred not to use it. I feel like the graphical interface was fast for me at the time. For example, If I didn't know how to make a table I could click the table button and then use the generated code, or study it to see how it worked. But the generated code wasn't as clean as if I had written it. Back then there were no stylesheets so the generated code was already ugly and having sloppy html didn't help.

<!-- back then -->
<font face="verdana" color="#CCCCCC" size="14px">This is some <b>really important </b></font><font face="verdana" color="#CCCCCC" size="13px"><b>text</b> on my page</font>

<!-- now -->
<span class="important-text">
    This is some <strong>really important text</strong> on my page
</span>

As I got better I got faster, and preferred more control over my code. It may be different now. I don't know since I don't use it anymore. Plus these days if you want real time views of your code there are so many better options than buying Dreamweaver ( for example: grunt, gulp, codekit, prepros, brackets, and so on)

Michael Plemmons
Michael Plemmons
9,393 Points

alright ty guys for your responses. Looks like I'll probably stick to handcoding. It's pretty slow going right now, but once I get more proficient with it, I'll be able to code faster, find shorter ways of doing things and be more efficient in the long run.

Andi Wilkinson
Andi Wilkinson
26,822 Points

I think it can be a problem to learn something and then have to go and 'unlearn' it later. - this is what happened with me. if you can use a cool text editor like sublime & a live browser reload, its all you need.

Michael Plemmons
Michael Plemmons
9,393 Points

Awesome. I use Aptana Studio 3 recommended in Murach's books. It's still coding from scratch but it still does autofills and preview buttons like workspace and has the ability to program javascript and other languages. You can also test in multiple browsers.