Good WYSIWYG web development software for the Mac?

January 23, 2006 5:19 PM

I'm looking for very simple WYSIWYG web development software package like JAlbum, Freeway and RapidWeaver. Are there more packages out there that are very similar and very good for the Mac?

I do a lot of web design work probono for friends, family and some non-profit. I am looking for software that I can try out to cut my time down even more. Freeway, JAlbum and RapidWeaver are good, but they each are lacking in their own way. Any ideas?

posted by brokekid to computers & internet (7 comments total)

I use Nvu, a free, cross-platform WYSIWYG web authoring application based on Mozilla. I've used it to create a couple of presentable (nb : I'm not a web designer by any stretch) sites, and it all seemed fairly simple.

I haven't used the Mac version, however.

Hope this helps.
posted by coach_mcguirk at 5:23 PM on January 23, 2006

iWeb just came out (packaged with iLife '06), and from the little playing I've done with it*, it's very cool. You don't have to have a .Mac account to publish to, either. You can "Publish to Folder", and then host the files on any server you'd like.

*I don't have my own copy yet, just the few minutes I've had between customers at work.
posted by ArsncHeart at 7:22 PM on January 23, 2006

Pagespinner is a nice one, and if you want to *really* simplify things, iWeb.
Some CSS/HTML purists have been griping about iWeb, though. It's great for making up quick & pretty web pages. I've been using it since the day it came out and haven't had too many problems, but I'm not much of a web designer at all.

I would look into Pagespinner if iWeb seems too limited for you.
posted by drstein at 8:07 PM on January 23, 2006

Try ShutterBug, a CSS based Web photoalbum app that also is great for making small sites. All layout editing is all visual, and the output looks identical on Mac, Windows and Linux. Let me say that again: the output looks identical on Mac, Windows and Linux. I do all my small scale sites with it now. Validates too, IIRC.
posted by Scoo at 8:13 PM on January 23, 2006

Karelia's Sandvox is new but getting good reviews.
posted by jjg at 10:54 PM on January 23, 2006

My web design requirements are modest, however I've found my (illegally downloaded) copy of iWeb to be a little lackluster. It can easily make very pretty web pages, but it can basically only make a couple dozen kinds of pretty web pages. It's worth trying, but do not purchase it sight unseen.
posted by shanevsevil at 11:57 PM on January 23, 2006

Also it constantly pesters you to buy ".Mac"...

I hate that.
posted by shanevsevil at 11:58 PM on January 23, 2006