Dreamweaver vs. handcoding

Dreamweaver is definitely, so far as I know, an outdated tool and unlikely in the toolbox of modern web developers. Maybe it can be chalked up to user error, but I've had to do cleanup on old sites that were designed in Dreamweaver, and doing so was a nightmare. Developers/designers tend to make static mockups with something like Sketch or Photoshop, or they do it in code with a CSS framework like Bootstrap or Foundation that does a lot of the heavy lifting for prototyping.

However, there are some modern WYSIWIG tools that allow you to more or less drag-and-drop, designing the visuals and then convert that into sane, readable code. One of those tools is Webflow and another is Macaw. These tools have drawbacks too, I'm sure, but they're a step up from Dreamweaver.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with using tools to make your designs and mockups go faster, but learning to hand-code HTML and CSS will go a long way in aiding your understanding of web layout and design, as well as aiding troubleshooting. Even if you choose to use one of those tools, don't let it substitute for your knowledge of HTML & CSS.

PS: I should mention that Treehouse offers a discount on Macaw via the Treehouse Perks page. Check that out, if it's something that interests you.

It's a matter of preference. I don't think there is anything wrong with using Dreamweaver. I started off with it back in the 90's when it was macromedia Dreamweaver (before Adobe bought them). It was cool because you could write code and/or use their graphical interface and see your updates "in real time".

As I got more comfortable with HTML I preferred not to use it. I feel like the graphical interface was fast for me at the time. For example, If I didn't know how to make a table I could click the table button and then use the generated code, or study it to see how it worked. But the generated code wasn't as clean as if I had written it. Back then there were no stylesheets so the generated code was already ugly and having sloppy html didn't help.

<!-- back then -->
<font face="verdana" color="#CCCCCC" size="14px">This is some <b>really important </b></font><font face="verdana" color="#CCCCCC" size="13px"><b>text</b> on my page</font>

<!-- now -->
<span class="important-text">
    This is some <strong>really important text</strong> on my page
</span>

As I got better I got faster, and preferred more control over my code. It may be different now. I don't know since I don't use it anymore. Plus these days if you want real time views of your code there are so many better options than buying Dreamweaver ( for example: grunt, gulp, codekit, prepros, brackets, and so on)

alright ty guys for your responses. Looks like I'll probably stick to handcoding. It's pretty slow going right now, but once I get more proficient with it, I'll be able to code faster, find shorter ways of doing things and be more efficient in the long run.

I think it can be a problem to learn something and then have to go and 'unlearn' it later. - this is what happened with me. if you can use a cool text editor like sublime & a live browser reload, its all you need.

Awesome. I use Aptana Studio 3 recommended in Murach's books. It's still coding from scratch but it still does autofills and preview buttons like workspace and has the ability to program javascript and other languages. You can also test in multiple browsers.