Today we will be doing a comparison of Dreamweaver vs WordPress to help you find the best platform for your new site. We will even help beginners with setting up their website below.
What is Adobe Dreamweaver?
Adobe Dreamweaver is a popular web development software that you can use to create, publish, and manage websites and mobile content.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is a free open-source CMS (Content Management System), which allows you to easily create your own beautiful website or blog.
What programming language does Dreamweaver support?
Dreamweaver was predominately written in C++. However, Dreamweaver supports various programming languages such as:
- ActionScript
- Active Server Pages (ASP).
- C#
- Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
- ColdFusion
- EDML
- Extensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML)
- Extensible Markup Language (XML)
- Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT)
- HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
- Java
- JavaScript
- PHP
- Visual Basic (VB)
- Visual Basic Script Edition (VBScript)
- Wireless Markup Language (WML)
Ease of use comparison
Is Dreamweaver hard to learn?
If you do not know how to code, then you should not be using Dreamweaver at all. Let me clarify, I suppose you can get by on limited knowledge. However, if you don’t know anything about HTML and CSS, then you will not be able to properly create a website. Many people ask, how difficult is the Dreamweaver learning curve? Learning Dreamweaver is not the problem, yet! Before you learn how to use Dreamweaver, you must learn how to code. You must learn HTML. When you learn HTML, then you have to learn how to use Dreamweaver. If you try to jump right into Dreamweaver without having any coding knowledge then it can be difficult and confusing. The time it takes to learn the ins and outs of Dreamweaver is dependent on the person. The more committed you are the easier and faster it will be.
Is WordPress hard to learn?
If you do not know how to code, then you have three options. You can learn how to code. You can use a website builder such as Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace. Lastly, you can use WordPress which is what I strongly recommend. WordPress is the easiest platform that you can use to create a website. There are many versions of WordPress and you have to make sure that you choose the right one. WordPress.com has 4 plans. There is the free option and several plans such as the premium option. Here is a WordPress.com Premium plan review. Never host your site on any WordPress.com plan. To get the most out of WordPress you will need to self-host which is what most successful bloggers and WordPress site owners do. There is no learning curve to self-hosting your WordPress site. WP has more of an install approach, which is what makes it so easy to use. Years ago, when I started my first website using WordPress I was able to create a website in minutes without having any technical knowledge.
Features and plugin comparison
Dreamweaver offers features to help those who desire to use their platform. Although there are features to help you improve the use of Dreamweaver you will not have plugins that can extend the functionality of your website.
DreamWeaver
- HiDPI support for Windows
- Multi-monitor support for Windows
- Git support
- New code themes
- Updated CEF support
- Improved onboarding
- Quick CSS editing within HTML files
- Creative Cloud Assets improvements
- Multiple cursors for repetitive tasks
- Adobe Stock integration
- Support for PHP 7
- Fluid Grid Layout
- jQuery Mobile Swatches
- PhoneGap Build Service
WordPress
WordPress offers a plethora of built-in features and you will have thousands of plugins that you can install to turn your website into anything that you desire.
- Available in more than 70 languages.
- Own Your Data
- Mobile Readiness
- Editing tools & design tools
- Embed Links, Videos, and Multimedia
- User Accounts
- Edit Images
- Extensive APIs
- Spam protection
- Thousands of themes to choose from.
With WordPress, you are given thousands of free plugins to choose from
I think that the greatest thing about using WordPress is that you have over 50,000 plugins that you can install at any time. With WordPress, instead of being charged hundreds and even thousands for different features. You can install them yourself in a few seconds. The capabilities of WordPress are endless. Allow me to give you a few examples of what can be done with WordPress plugins. If you wanted an arcade website all that you would have to do is type in arcade in the plugins search menu and install either the Arcade Ready, Miniclip Games Arcade, or Online Games plugin.
If you wanted to turn your website into an online store all that you would have to do is install WooCommerce, MarketPress – WordPress eCommerce, or eCommerce WD. If you wanted to add a forum section to your website you could easily install Asgaros Forum, wpForo Forum, or the bbPress plugin.
Maybe you might want something as simple as a code editor for your website. With WordPress, all that you would have to do is install the Advanced Code Editor, Code Snippets, Live CSS JS Code Editor, or the Admin Code Editor. When you choose Dreamweaver, you will not have these options.
Which is better for SEO?
It doesn’t matter if you have a website if no one can find your website. SEO is an integral part of your website’s success. We must remember that Dreamweaver is a simple code editor and it does not ensure good SEO. In fact, achieving optimal SEO becomes even harder.
To achieve what you can achieve with WordPress is going to cost you hundreds or even thousands with Dreamweaver. With WordPress, you have built-in SEO meta keywords, alt tags, title tags, and more. Not only do you have built-in SEO, but you also have the option of adding plugins to improve your search engine presence.
WP even allows you to install SEO Themes such as Genesis and Thesis for better SEO, which is what I’m using on this site. All these SEO options are why the top 10 million websites in the world are using WordPress more than any other platform. Dreamweaver does not have these options. With Dreamweaver, your brain has to be your SEO or you have to pay someone else to increase your website’s SEO.
Pricing comparison
Adobe products are expensive. Dreamweaver is going to cost you anywhere between $200 – $600 a year and this does not include yearly web hosting costs. If you are just starting a business, then paying $600 might be a killer for you. Dreamweaver might not be the best for you if you are on a budget. WordPress on the other hand is a free platform. The only thing that you need to worry about with WordPress is web hosting. SiteGround provides the best monthly hosting plans.
With SiteGround you can host your website for $3.95 a month, which is just slightly over $47/yr. Some features that you will get with SiteGround include SSD drives on all plans, NGINX server speed, free WordPress installation, affordable VPS web hosting with cPanel, PHP7, and HHVM, and more.
Bottom line
Dreamweaver can be a good platform for those who put their all into it. If you don’t want something that is easy or if you are an experienced coder, then you will be able to use Dreamweaver.
However, if you are not familiar with websites or if you want something quick and easy with the help of plugins I strongly recommend WordPress. I believe WordPress is the better platform even for experienced coders. There are far too many options available with WordPress. There is nothing that you can do with Dreamweaver that you can’t do on WordPress. Below I will help you to create a WordPress website in minutes.