Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 review:5 stars (An Incredible Tool) - I was never particularly interested in putting up a website. I was even less interested in learning the software necessary to do so. This package changed my mind.

My first exposure was in the spring of 2004. I took a class called "Website Design for Churches". The course required us to download the trial version of the software from the Macromedia site. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy Dreamweaver made putting together a simple site. Even someone who didn't care about doing it could do a creditable job. Once the basics were explained, it was easy and almost foolproof.

Upon completion of the course, I did nothing about site design for more than a year and then my church decided it needed a website. I decided to purchase a copy, get some books that give a more detailed treatment and my course (which was more about layout) and give it a try. I was blown away.

Dreamweaver lets people do easily that which anyone can do and it lets them do so with a minimum of fuss. It is a much more powerful tool than that however. It has capabilities to put together incredibly complex sites. Most of this is relatively easy and the Dreamweaver interface is what makes it so. The software takes care of most of the housekeeping tasks. It also has powerful tools to easily edit many sites at once through the use of templates. It took a little more effort to learn how to do this but the effort is well repaid when it comes to maintenance of the site. Cascading style sheets are a similar innovation although the syntax for this is much less intuitive than the use of the templates.

Anyone who wants to design websites could do much worse than choose this application. Even the most advanced users requiring the most outlandish results can get those results with this package, especially when add on packages are used.

This one made it easy!
5 stars (Because of Dreamweaver ... Life is easier) - Even in this day and time, intimidation still keeps a lot of people away from computers and/or certain software. I'd have to say the mere thought of creating a website has scared the heck out of me for a few years, even though I've wanted to get involved on the creation side. That all changed once I got my hands on Dreamweaver MX 2004. (In a review within a review ... I'd have to say that it's been made easier with the purchase of the ultimate guide to using Dreamweaver MX 2004. The guide is called "Dreamweaver MX 2004: The Missing Manual" and you can find it here at Amazon by following this link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596006314/qid=1119355630/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-2919037-2524025 ) I haven't experienced one single bug in this program so don't waste your time listening to the older reviews. (Most of those bugs have obviously been fixed by now.)

Dreamweaver is that rare breed of software that has made it possible to jump head first into without drowning in confusion. The interface is as self explanatory as it gets, and Macromedia has gone to extensive lengths to take error out of the website creation equation. Being fairly new, I appreciate the ability to build something without having to completely understand what is going on behind the scenes. With that said, I don't want go on this way forever, because I want to become knowledgeable about the whole process. Dreamweaver puts that into your hands, and let's you decide how much you want the interface to do, and at the same time gives you the freedom to do all of the coding by hand if you choose to. I find myself wanting to understand the coding more and more, and eventually I'll probably find a good balance between relying on the interface, and doing straight up coding by hand. The bottom line is that Dreamweaver MX 2004 is the perfect software because it brings both novice and expert to the table together and it's never exclusionary like so many programs that have come before it.5 stars (Complicated...but so powerful.) - Macromedia Dreamweaver is one HECK of a web design program. It's a professional program, not aimed at people who want to make a 1 page website. Everything can be done from the extensive drop down menus, from adding a video clip, picture, audio etc. You can create hundreds of webpages for your site, and access any of them using the page organizer which is on the right of the screen at all times, making it easy to switch between pages. It's such a usable program for most, and has advanced features for those professionals. I reccommend a "how to" book to go along with it (one with screen shots) which would make learning much easier.
Good luck.
Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 Features:
Computer software (programs)
CD
Developers can use it with the server technology of their choice to build powerful Internet applications
Includes leading support for CSS-based design to hand-coding features
The professional choice for building web sites and applications
A powerful combination of visual layout tools, application development features, and code editing support
Developers and designers can create appealing, standards-based sites and applications quickly

Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 is the CD-ROM version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 389.99USD.