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How can I build a quality website on a Mac without spending alot of money on a web design program?

I'm working on building my first website and I'm using iWeb but I'm not too thrilled with it right now. I'm wondering if there are any cheap or free programs/sites that I could use to help me design templates, flash banners and graphics, as well as a logo, that don't look trashy and that don't look like everything else out there. The site is going to focus on independent musicians and artists across the country, so I want to design something in that vein of thinking. If you could direct me to some programs or websites or even books that might be able to help me, that would be awesome. All I ask is that you don't just respond with criticism and tell me I'm "begging" for free help because I'm just looking to see if there are sites or programs out there that can help me out with this. Please do not answer if you are just going to respond with spam. I'm looking to get help from people who have experience with this and can help me. Any and all help would be appreciated! Thanks!

Public Comments

1. depending on your audience and what sort of content you want on the site will determine what you use ie flash, shockwave, java or none of those. For a free os x app for editing web documents ie html etc I would suggest http://smultron.sourceforge.net/ You can use that to edit html and other document types so that you can create the html files. I would suggest using css : www.w3schools.com and www.htmlgoodies.com both of those have tutorials on how to do different web things. I would also suggest doing a google search on css and css templates to give you a feel of using div blocks and css so that you can attempt to make a dummy site first just to get a feel for css and other aspects.
2. My advise would be to learn to write your own code (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc). Then you won't be chained to any one piece of software. It won't matter whether you're using a Mac, PC, or anything else. All you'll need is a simple text editor. This method will also give you a much better understanding of how your website works, and how to change it yourself in the future.
3. Get Textmate. It's cheep, but I have found it to be worth while. I use RoR for the backend of many of my personal projects. GIMP for Image Editing. I don't do flash.
4. If you want something professional, Microsoft Office Live Small Business is a great solution. It has a very good free, easy to use website designer. While it's targeted at small businesses, it works very well for charities, non-profits, hobby sites, musician and artist sites. This is a free service and Microsoft is offering a free domain name (i.e. yourdomain.com) for the first year. If you need help with website building, there is a great support forum there to help you out. Try it out: http://www.anrdoezrs.net/9a103ox52x4KOLNQLNSKMLQPMPNU