Webdesign set up advice

manonthemoon

At the moment i am applying for a grant to set up my webdesign/ webdeveoper business. i am doing a business plan. i need to include how much equipment i need.

In the list below have i forgotten anythiing that i might need?

Adobe photoshop/ Image ready
Flash
dreamweaver
Fpt Software
Illustrator
Director

Anything else? i use most of this stuf but naturally they are trials/ cracks etc.

Who actually sells these packages? Anyone have an idea wher i can find the prices.

zAbbo

FTP Client is build into Dreamweaver and is ideal for synchronising your site. Alternatively Leech is free(i think). To be picky tou could also include Windows 2000/XP for IIS reasons. There are other HTML packages such as Homesite(macromedia) and aceHTML but Dreamweaver MX should do the trick.

Are you incluing only software side of things or hardware as well.

manonthemoon

Thanks pcirl.com
Oh yeah,

if i include for two Pc's (say) that would cover me for an OS (Windows XP)

Where can i find out how much all this software is?

Terminator

That just about covers it. Although you may not need Illustrator, flash or director as much as the others.

Also you should try and use the free trials that adobe and macromedia offer via magazine cds, etc, until you decide which packages suit you best.

You can also get tons of free stuff including adobe and macromedia trial software at www.download.com

zAbbo

To tell you the truth i don`t think you`ll need director or even flash(use Swish 2)www.swishzone.com.

afaik you may be able to purchase a reg online for the macromedia products, with a possibility of getting the studio mx version(if there is one) which will have dreamweaver and fireworks. around 100mg dl overall. You could try a few online computer shops and just get them to order it for you.

Try the back of pc mags for prices(usually jungle ads etc. in pcadvisor/pcpro)

Mr E

Some other apps I use....

Topstyle (http://www.bradsoft.com) - DWMX's built in stylesheet support is just above average. Topstyle gives me more control.

LView Pro (http://www.lview.com) - Powerful graphics app - brilliant for quick touchups on pictures (pixel cleanup, etc.).

Demos of both are available on their homepages.

- Dave.

Figment

swish 2 cant do a fraction of what flash can do.

Id also suggest getting office because you will be recieving a lot of files from clients in the office formats.

The Corinthian

If you intend to use MS Office, you may want to include that.

Elmo

swish 2 cant do a fraction of what flash can do.

Indeed swish is not the best program but is good for some stylish text animations however Flash MX now allows you to layer each individual letter after you have typed them into one layer, which is a pretty handy tool for disigners. (it allow you to be more flexible with designs)

There is a 3D animation tool which can be put into flash forgotten the name of it, does anyone know of it. their is 3D studio max but i am not sure if it provides an animation tool???????

zAbbo

my guess is that you want estimates for software , get grant money and then use cracked s/w.

Correct me if i`m wrong.

And don`t flame me outta it either, was just curious

Winters

If your only gonna have two PCs just get one of the Networking kits and network the two togerther.

Get IIS as you will need it. DONT go XP stick with windows2000 pro/server or whatever you need.

You will need all the usual, MS Office, Adobe Acrobat etc.
and for web site development get Dreamweaver MX, I think its a lot better then Dreamweaver4 and UltraDev.

For graphics get what you need. I use Fireworks.. MX is much impruved over 4

manonthemoon

Why would i not get XP, winters?

Also, What is IIS

Motm

Mr E

There is absolutely nothing wrong with XP. We develop .NET apps with XP and have no problems at all. XP may have some annoying eye candy (which can be turned off). However, it does have excellent driver support (its picked up anything I've thrown at it), and its pretty rock solid.

IIS is Internet Information Services, and is basically microsoft's web server software (the equivalent for UNIX is Apache). Windows 2000 (all versions, AFAIK) and Windows XP Professional come with IIS.

Good luck with your business. Hope it works out for you.

- Dave.

beaver

I'm reasonably sure that not all version of Windows 2000 include IIS. I thought non-server versions just came with MS Personal Web Server. Might want to check that one.

sceptre

Originally posted by beaver
I'm reasonably sure that not all version of Windows 2000 include IIS. I thought non-server versions just came with MS Personal Web Server. Might want to check that one.

It isn't included in a standard install - has to be added later (but does come as part of all the win2k packages)

mneylon

There are a number of privacy issues raised by the new licensing introduced by Microsoft that you might want to consider.
As for software.. if you get one of the Macromedia studio bundles you'll probably have just about everything you need.
For FTP you would be better off getting an FTP client if you need to do any server-side scripting, as the built-in FTP in Dreamweaver is not really designed for it. It is excellent, but when you want to upload a couple of files or download something, change permissions etc., opening up a memory hungry app like Dreamweaver might not be very practical.

the Guru

you also need

cigerettes
1 ashtray
1 coffee machine
and a lttle something to keep you up at Night
and of course Beer and lots of it ..................

tmcd

Who actually sells these packages? Anyone have an idea wher i can find the prices.

Try Micro Mail in Cork 0214317686

DJB

I buy direct from macromedia... the cost of MX Studio is $799. Macromedia Studio MX includes:

Dreamweaver MX
Macromedia Flash MX
Fireworks MX
FreeHand 10
ColdFusion MX Developer Edition
(Windows Only)
Macromedia Flash Player 6

Details of purchase can be found here... http://dynamic.macromedia.com/bin/MM/store/US/product.jsp?category=/Software/Development/Studios/StudioMX&type=FULL

Upgrade price and individual price also available. What will you be developing in??? ASP, CFM, ASP.NET, PHP, XML, or just HTML?

Regards,

Dave

manonthemoon

Thanks DJB,

I suppose if i get Photoshop and this package i will be away.
The sites will be pretty much standard HTML at first put i have plans to expand.

What exactly are ASP, CFM, ASP.NET, PHP ( i know it is probably a silly question).

Also, as i will be dealing with some businesses who are in no way Computer literate, i was thinkng of investing in a laptop, to bring around and show people in their work place.

Would i be able to use all these programs on a laptop. Does using a laptop cause any restictions?

Finally, does anyone know a good laptop for webdesign work/

Thanks people


Motm

The Corinthian

Originally posted by manonthemoon
What exactly are ASP, CFM, ASP.NET, PHP ( i know it is probably a silly question).

OMG! You want to set up a WebDev company??!! Scary :rolleyes:

Seriously - Don’t you consider it unethical to sell your services in something you appear to have little clue about?

Gavin

What age are you ? what qualifications do you have ? Have you done many websites ?

Gav

this is addresses to Mr Moon

Kali

Originally posted by manonthemoon
Also, as i will be dealing with some businesses who are in no way Computer literate

like yourself?

"where do i find out prices?"
"will dreamweaver work on a laptop?"
"whats php?"

dear god.