Web Site Building

Neil

Do you want a web authoring tool because you want to learn HTML, client-side scripting etc or is it simply that you want to knock up a website? If the latter then you might want to consider going for a pre-built template - and there are plenty of these for free. Check www.elated.com/pagekits which has numerous freebie download templates - admittedly some are a wee bit too 'design over content' but there are a few which are relatively straightforward to flesh out with your own words & pictures. Even searching Google for 'web templates' will throw millions of matches - the best looking ones may cost you but they're generally only a few quid/dollars.

Another alternative is to use Photoshop (assuming you have it). PS allows you to build a layout graphically using various design elements and then export it to HTML.

Admittedly I may potentially be over-simplifying stuff here - it's kinda difficult to guage what level your knowlledge/interest might be. Fact is, there are thousand of ways of achieving a similar end.

JOHNNY

Don't Macromedia do a 30 day trial?

If you've already got some experience why not go to the
site and see.

Two weeks catching up and two putting it together

It's cool cos the FTP is intergrated, so easy.

MX isnt as good as Dreamweaver3 - I have DW3 and ran a MX trial recently from www.download.com. Just too complicated and its unstable too - fallover central.

If you can get a download of DW3 somewhere, it'd be a better platform imo.

I use MX,
it's been fine since I bought it - over a year ago I think. I'm just building and maintaining a fairly simple website - nothing clever, so it might well be that iI've been lucky enough not to use anything that has problems associated. Having said that I tried a few programs enroute and I find Dreamweaver much the easiest to build the site with - using MX my site tends to come out looking the way I expect it to, which with other programs often wasn't the case. (I absolutely tore my hair out with Front Page, for example)...
Trial version is okay and worth taking a shot with (I think it's quite often on the cover of PC mags, notably those that are devoted to building sites) .. that's how I came to buy it myself - liked what I managed to create using the trial, and stumped up the cash rather than go back to life without it.
Dave

Macromedia Contribute isn't aimed at web developers or the "uber elite". It's aimed at CMS market so in theory anyone with some basic PC knowledge should be able to use it. (doesnt always work that way - i know, but it's very eay to use)

http://www.utorrent.com/

install

http://www.google.co.uk

type "torrent macromedia suite 8"

follow the link, download, install, voila , should keep you busy , you can even get into flash.

oh, and get Photoshop too if you're very serious - no use building a flashy site without flash visuals

I used to be a freelance web developer when I had more time than now.

Actually notepad, a keyboard, a cup of strong coffee and nothing else beside is aimed at the uber elite, all these macromedia apps are there to make the process easier not harder, and of them, flash is among the last thing you will learn.

you can use photo shop, flash, dreamweaver etc.... these all are free...