Adobe is the leading developer for application and software that act as primary tools for many designers, or for photographers and film-makers. The Adobe Creative Suite has an impressive lineup with software such as Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, After Effects, Photoshop, etc. And while they may be the market leader, a lot of alternative products have also made their mark for people who want to tread a different path. Whether it is someone who is looking for a free product, or for someone who is willing to premium, but wants a different UI and a host of different features, everyone has their own reason. Here, we shall show you some of the alternatives that are available for Adobe Dreamweaver.
Dreamweaver is a very popular application amongst developers who use it for website development. It is available for PC or for MAC, and it can be used as a WYSIWYG or as a direct code editor. It has a feature to display a split view for both the modes on-screen. Dreamweaver has the capability to handle site management, active content right from Flash to Javascript, in addition to XML, CSS2, etc.
The created pages can be previewed using the built-in browser provided. Some of the features that help with coding are auto-completion of the code during entry and color-coded highlights for simplified and easy visual debugging of code.
However, Dreamweaver works only with the Windows operating system and doesn’t compatible with Linux, UNIX operating systems that are available.
Also, since it is considered an expensive tool (now Adobe introduced monthly subscription plan, for Dreamweaver and other applications too), there are many alternative applications that are free, or not so heavy on the pocket.
Alternatives to Adobe Dreamweaver
When it comes to choosing the best alternatives to Dreamweaver which are free, then the below list may help you out to choose your favorite one. I personally like KompoZer which is perfect for new users and advanced users as well. Let’s have a look:
Quick Overivew
KompoZer
For a non-coder, KompoZer is the best free alternative for Dreamweaver. It comes with several features that are available in Adobe Dreamweaver software. The best part is KompoZer is a free of cost, open-source software which is compatible with all platforms like Windows, Mac, Linux, and also BSD.
It contains a WYSIWYG editor which is just like that of Dreamweaver, and you can also choose to edit by hand. However, the software does not support some features, like server-side scripting, shared editing, frames, XSLT, MathML, SVG, XForms, Atom, RSS, or XPath.
You can edit multiple pages using Kompozer in a different tab and it comes with built-in FTP, and also includes a color picker which is a very useful tool for a web designer.
KompoZer is very much similar to Dreamweaver and has almost all features.
Pros
- It has Design, Split and Source tab
- Has inbuilt FTP feature
- Can add Image, Hyperlink, Table, Form etc
- Has HTML and CSS front end settings
- Justify, Paragraph alignment, Bold, Italic, Font size settings
Cons
Adding Flash objects into Kompozeris definitely not as easy as it is with Dreamweaver and it also does not accept Dreamweaver templates.
You may also like to know the alternatives to Photoshop available for Windows.
Download here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/kompozer/
System Support: Windows
Brackets
Brackets is a source code editor mainly developed keeping web developers in mind. It has been created by Adobe Systems. It is open-source software that is licensed under the MIT license. It is available for free, and it is maintained on the platform GitHub by Adobe in collaboration with other open-source developers. It is written in JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. Brackets provide easy live HTML, CSS, and JavaScript editing functionality and it is available for multiple platforms like Windows, macOS and most of the popular Linux versions.
Brackets can support codes in multiple languages, recognizing file types from:
- C++
- C
- VBScript
- Java
- JavaScript
- Perl
- HTML
- Ruby and
- Python
This provides a comfortable option of working on various files simultaneously so that the user is efficient, and can flexibly work on the project.
Since Brackets is built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, users have the option to provide additional functionality to Brackets by creating extensions. Many existing extensions can be found and installed by using the software’s built-in extension manager. Other such extensions can be found online using the Brackets Extensions registry.
Download here: http://brackets.io/
System Supports: macOS, Windows, and Linux
Microsoft Expression Web
Microsoft Expression used to be a paid application but it is now completely free. It is available only for Windows, and it has editor features similar to that of Dreamweaver, with a likewise user interface, and with WYSIWYG included and hard code panes. It includes support for W3C for designing for people with disabilities.
However, Microsoft Expression does not support XForms or SVG. It is said to be not as helpful to those new to CSS or AJAX, as it lacks drag-and-drop features, drawing tools, any help wizards, or drop-down menus.
But if you already using Dreamweaver and have some decent coding knowledge, then Microsoft Expression Web is for you.
Download here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/download/details.aspx?id=36179
Supports: Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10
Aptana
Aptana is open-source software that has been built on Java platforms and is completely free. It is compatible with platforms like Windows, Mac, Linux and also BSD. Aptana supports many common web coding languages and applications for iOS can also be developed. However, there is no WYSIWYG editor, no spell check, and there is no support for RSS, Atom, or Xpath.
In addition, Aptana is not as capable in JavaScript debugging or in PHP development, because the inbuilt autocomplete does not recognize objects. One other shortcoming is that there is no Internet Explorer preview for Mac or Linux users.
Features:
- It supports a wide range of coding languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and Ruby
- It has inbuilt FTP, SFTP, FTPS thus allow to upload files directly on your server, thus you don’t require additional software like Filezilla or mRemoteNG.
- It has inbuilt debuggers that allow identifying code error
Cons
- It doesn’t support WYSIWYG, thus good for a professional coder
Download here: http://www.aptana.com/
Supports: Linux, Windows, and macOS
BlueGriffon
BlueGriffon is a free and open-source WYSIWYG editor. It is compatible with many OS platforms such as Windows, Mac, and Linux. In this, FTP is available but only if you install an add-on. It has features for page preview, spell checking, various templates, popular fonts, and also includes an SVG editor for designing graphics within the application.
This software may require the purchase of some features, such as a project manager, or a CSS style-sheet editor, and a full-screen viewer, but most of the features are free. Its interface is similar to a word processor, very much like that of Kompozer’s.
Features:
- Support WYSIWYG interface
- Support HTML, CSS, Form etc
- Free version support CSS, CSS Grids, Stylesheet manager
- Support 20 languages
- It has inbuilt Spell-checker tool
Download here: http://bluegriffon.org/
File Size: 263 Mb (approx)
Supports: OS X, Linux, and Windows
Sea Monkey
SeaMonkey is an internet application suite that was mainly popularized by the browsers Netscape and Mozilla. It has an Internet browser, an email & newsgroup client, along with an inbuilt HTML editor and other several web development tools, all inbuilt into the software bundle.
SeaMonkey is built on the open-source Mozilla Gecko engine, and it has the same code that forms the foundation of Thunderbird and is the main base for the Firefox browser. Hence, whenever there are advances in the other two soft wares, SeaMonkey also benefits by gaining similar new features and ongoing security updates. SeaMonkey is especially popular amongst passionate users, web developers and also corporate users.
Download here: https://www.seamonkey-project.org/releases/
Supports: Windows x64, Windows x86, macOSx64, Linux x64, and Linux x64
Conclusion
Hope the above-provided list helps you to choose the best alternatives available for Dreamweaver so that you can do your website designing and coding with peace of mind. Do let me know if you are aware of any other good application which is not listed here.
