#Web design apps for mac full#

Depending on the complexity of your design, files can be exported from InkScape and into Illustrator and vice-versa.įree Dreamweaver alternative KompoZer (Mac)įeaturing WYSIWYG website creation and robust CSS editing, KompoZer is a mature, open-source alternative similar to Adobe Dreamweaver on the Mac, and has many of the same bells and whistles, too.Īlthough it can't top Dreamweaver's rich offerings, KompoZer offers full CSS support, code viewing/editing, tabbed views, FTP site management, a color picker, clickable hierarchical properties view bar for code isolation, split views, live preview, and much more.

#Web design apps for mac mac#

The open-source InkScape, another Mac application that requires X11, is a viable alternative to Adobe Illustrator with its ability to create and edit graphics in scalable vector format.ĪI users will feel at home using InkScape with options like layer control, gradients, connector path control/manipulation, various brushes (including calligraphy), type effects, masking, EPS exporting, a 3-D shape tool, object tweaking/sculpting, and even a diagram connector tool useful for a variety of purposes, like creating site maps. In the hands of the right designer, however, fairly sophisticated designs can be created with this nice app, which is also fun to use.įree Illustrator alternative InkScape (Mac) Basic drawing tools are also included but, as with Seashore, it's not billed as a Photoshop replacement either.

#Web design apps for mac free#

Sporting a sleek Mac interface, LiveQuartz describes itself as a 'simple and powerful free photo editor for Leopard.' It does two thing very well: layers and filters.

However, the program lacks many of GIMPs more powerful features so it's not exactly a GIMP replacement either. A range of tools for gradients, textures, layers, and drawing are found in Seashore. High quality plug-ins are freely available to extend the app, including the ability to use some native Photoshop ones.īased on GIMP, Seashore is a pure cocoa app which makes it very OS X friendly. Mac users familiar with typical Cocoa apps will find GIMP's interface and menu system very 'un-Mac' like (requiring the X Window System, commonly called X11), but if you soldier through you'll find a powerful image editing program with all the fixins – advanced multi-layering, text and image effects, pro-level image manipulation, and a full range of design tools. In a nutshell, GIMP provides designers with the power to accomplish almost any task that Adobe Photoshop is used for. Which are the best compared to their commercial counterparts? Or are simply great apps in a league all their own? Put away that credit card for now and let's find out!

Which brings us to free apps for the Mac crowd. While many of these programs are slick, they also of course cost. Others prefer to mix, match or blend.ĭesigners also rely on various supporting apps to accomplish every day jobs like FTP uploading, cross-browser testing (important if you're designing/developing on a Mac platform only), screen-shot snapping, pixel measuring, and the like. And when it's time to slice and dice, some depend on the excellent Dreamweaver CS4 for WYSIWYG design/development while many Mac code jockeys swear only by editors like Coda, BBEdit or TextMate.

#Web design apps for mac professional#

Professional web designers on the Mac platform rely on commercial heavy-hitters like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, and InDesign for their graphic design needs.