The faster you can get your design work done, the sooner you can get moving toward marketing and promoting your website. XSitePro is excellent for doing that. Here is why…

1.) It comes with a ton of pre-loaded Templates and they are great templates. Usually it works out that I’m excited about a new website I want to create, but, if you are anything like me (a design idiot), it can takes weeks to get a decent design setup, or if I decide to purchase one it can cost 100′s of dollars.  What’s the easy way out? Fire up XSitePro and pick from one of the included templates. Your site is built and even loaded up (with it’s built in FTP software) in minutes. This one process makes creating a new website as easy as opening a document and typing, it’s that easy and I love XSitePro for that. The designs are well done and there are so many that they are not over-used either.

2.) XSitePro comes loaded with additional wizards. If I want to add audio/video to my website I don’t want to monkey around for hours trying to find the code, so once again XSitePro comes to the rescue. I open my website and follow along, answering a few questions and bam, my audio/video is inserted into my website in minutes.

3.) SEO Page analysis. That’s almost all I have to say here. I’ve paid hundreds of dollars for services like this in the past. But, these other services always need to be updated (at an additional cost), while XSitePro updates itself automatically, for free. The analysis is worthwhile and a great choice when getting started setting up a website. I like to use it before I even think about looking at competitors in the SEO market, it’s good, and it is included in XSitePro.

4.) Scripts are included, more than you wouuld ever want. A huge timesaver is when I can start up my design software and get the scripts already built in. I really can’t stand monkeying around with scripts trying to setup split-testing, a countdown timer, or even scheduling content to be uploaded. XSitePro provides all of this already, and the scripts are already tested and they work! It’s a no-brainer…

I could go on and on about the great features that XSitePro website design software has, but it’s easier if you just go check out their website and see for yourself. If you’re also amazed at what you see there, comment on this post, because I’d like to hear how you are using it to achieve great Graphic Website results instantly like I have… If you want to see a website I designed very quickly in XSitePro have a look at this one: http://www.dreampublishers.com

Here’s a link to  XSitePro web design software where you can see all of the features, when I say ‘this software rocks’, I mean it, and I’ve been doing website design for over 12 years now.

Here’s a quick list of the Editors I recommend and how I rate them:

1. XSitePro ***** ($197.00) – my favorite ‘graphical’ editor. This is definitely a force to reckon with.  I purchased XSitePro about one year ago, it’s fabulous for created SILO (directory structure) websites, it comes with tons of built in templates and plug-ins available for adding autoresponders, popups, audio, video, create a mobile website (with phone capabilities), and just about any other type of feature you can think of adding to your page.  It does all of it’s work behind the scenes, but you can switch to a code view to see everything if you need to.  An excellent editor, and also recommended, it’s free Graphic Header File generator: XHeaderPro and the XSiteProClub website which features monthly videos, tutorials, templates and other goodies.  Best all-around editor ever produced in my opinion.
2. KompoZer ***** (free) – my favorite ‘dreamweaver’ editor. This used to be called NVU, but it’s been updated and stabilized.  It’s almost exactly like using DreamWeaver, but with one difference, it’s free! A great editor with all of the extras you would want such as CSS/Stylesheet editor, WYSIWYG view, tables, template editing, tabs to switch between code/design view, color picker, spell checker, rulers, etc.   It comes in Windows, Mac, Linux, Debian, Redhat versions so it’s sure to be available to almost everyone.  A great editor available in 10 or more languages.
3. AlleyCode *****(free) – my favorite ‘code’ editor. It’s lightweight, fast, features tabs and CSS Stylesheet editing that even beats a  dedicated CSS editor I’ve used (TopStyle).  Get the hang of code quick and easy with AlleyCode.  Best for FireFox coding, as the layout produced with the SynchroView is FireFox, to get a good layout view for IE (Internet Explorer) see HomeSite Editor (below).
4. HomeSite ***** ($99) – still one of my favorite ‘code’/HTML editors along with Alleycode. It let’s you get down and dirty with javascript coding, tabbed WYSIWYG editing, XML editing, code snippets and other great features.  Unfortunately it was purchased by Adobe years ago and development has not continued in the last several years, even though there is still a somewhat active community of users – Adobe tries to steer everyone toward DreamWeaver – which doesn’t come to close to what HomeSite is capable of, in my opinion.  The best design editor for IE design, for the best editor for FireFox see AlleyCode Editor (above).
5. SeaMonkey Suite (formally Mozilla) **** (free) – based on Mozilla, the SeaMonkey(tm) suite now features more advanced editing that was lacking from Mozilla Editor such as full DOM (Document Object Model) editing, tabbed editing with WYSIWYG features and many more additional features which make Mozilla Editor obsolete.
6. Mozilla Editor (formally Composer) *** (free) – previously called Composer, Netscape’s editor is now featured as the Mozilla Editor, it has all of the features you would want from a good editor but lacks a decent CSS, Stylesheet editor.

That wraps up my review of HTML editors/designers.  Pick your tools wisely as you’ll find that you want something that can live up to what you ask of it.  It’s my opinion that you want the best tool (regardless of cost) for the job.   I have chosen XSitePro as my website editor, for mocking up full website designs and AlleyCode for use when I need a quick webpage update to make (such as adding a feedburner subscription code box) to my blog.    It’s up to you to try out what you think is useful and see how it fits with your style.  Leave me a comment below and tell me what your favorite editor is and why.

1.) Website Magazine – a completely free magazine that covers all of the bases.  When I first found out about this I thought it was too good to be true.  A free sample came to my mailbox, and now that I’ve read the last 15-20 issues, I have to say, this is one of my top favorites, and best of all, it’s free.   Get your free copy at this address: http://www.websitemagazine.com/scripts/sub/subscribe.aspx
Check it out at this address: http://www.websitemagazine.com

2.) The Net Effect – owned by Stomper Net, this great magazine just started a few months ago. I can tell from the content that this is going to be a great magazine. Everything is covered, SEO in great detail, linking, customer service and support, analytics and analysis, blogging, web audio and video. The magazine averages about 50 pages/month, the articles are detailed and actionable (they focus on you taking action) and it even includes a ‘How to turn this issue into a Goldmine!’ page at the end of each issue with 15-20 things you can follow up on from that issue. Great stuff. Unfortunately right now they are no longer accepting subscriptions, but you owe it to yourself to sign up for the waiting list, here’s the website to do it at: http://stse2.com/. The magazine goes for around $40/month and an additional $20/month for an accompanying DVD.

3.) Dot Com Profits – Russel Brunson’s magazine is a joy to read and also full of valuable content, just not quite as much as The Net Effect, but almost. The number of articles are fewer, but longer, and a DVD/video is included with each issue. I think this one runs $39.97, more info at: http://membershipsite.dotcomsecrets.com/

That wraps up my list for now, stay tuned and I’ll post others that I find useful – or post a comment and let me know of some that you enjoy…

Here is the logo I created:

You can design your own logo, modify it, save it, test it on the web, then make a purchase for $49.00 over at this website: LogoMaker

If you need a little more input and want some further choices have a look at Laughing Bird’s Logo designer for $29.95 at: Logo Creator

Those are the best two places to get a logo done fast with your own input, and with little expense, of course, you could have one designed for you using an graphic designer service – just do a search on Google for “graphic logo designer” or something similar.

Enjoy your week – it’s almost Independence Day (July 4th, 2008)…
-Brett

It’s amazing, featuring a drag and drop interface, tons of built in, professionally done designs, easily add opt-in forms for email/responders, and even add video – check it out, get signed up now while it’s free at:
BlinkWeb – free website and blog creator