Software, Tools, and Resources

Web Design and Development Software

Adobe Systems offers a wide range of software products focusing on creative design in any media. This article will cover the minimal software products required to build your own website - Dreamweaver and Fireworks.

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Dreamweaver
Dreamweaver is at the heart of the Adobe Web Publishing Suite. Quickly and easily design, develop, and maintain your website with Adobe Dreamweaver software. This software is highly recommended to anyone who wants to learn website development. The easy-to-use visual layout in Dreamweaver makes it easy to build a website with very little HTML or other programming experience.

Adobe offers a fully-functioning 30-day trial of all software products so you can test drive the software before you commit to buying it.

Some key features of Adobe Dreamweaver include:

Intuitive visual layout that is easy to learn and use
High quality website design through the use of tools such as the CSS Layout and Browser Compatibility Check
Easy integration with other Adobe software products
Solid software that has been around for many years and backed by a reputable company with solid customer and technical support and an active community

Learn more about Adobe Dreamweaver Software

Fireworks
Adobe Fireworks is the ideal software tool for creating and optimizing images for the web and rapidly prototyping websites. Use this tool to design web site layouts, logos, graphic design, and optimizing images and exporting them to GIF or JPEG formats for the web while balancing image quality and file size with precise control.

Some key features of Adobe Fireworks include:

Create and edit both vector and bitmap images
Optimize images for the web with preview, cross-platform gamma preview, selective JPEG compression, and a wide range of export controls
Prototype interactive layouts for websites and rich Internet applications
Export website prototypes directly to Dreamweaver

You can also use a product such as Adobe Photoshop to create, enhance and optimize your images for the web. Photoshop offers many more features geared toward printed media. But the price tag reflects the additional functionality at around three times the cost of Fireworks. So if you are only interested in working for the web, the Fireworks is the way to go.

Learn more about Adobe Fireworks Software

Dreamweaver and Fireworks are the two software products you need to get started with building your own website. Additional advanced software products are included in the Adobe Creative Suite for Web Publishing. Save money when you purchase the total suite.

Whether you're new to web design and development or a seasoned pro, the Adobe Creative Suite for Web Publishing will give you the tools to design, develop, and maintain a professional web presence.