Graphics

Since this is a site about web design, this section will deal with graphics for web sites, as opposed to print graphics.

The conventional wisdom used to be that PhotoShop should be the first choice of every web developer. Then Macromedia introduced Fireworks, a program specifically designed to create and edit web graphics. If you use Photoshop, you also need to use a slicing and optimizing tool such as ImageReady, while Fireworks allows you to do everything within a single interface. Many professional developers now agree that Fireworks is the best graphics program for web site development, and the cost is less than half the cost for Photoshop CS2.

Some developers, especially those who are just entering the field, may not be able to afford a program such as Photoshop CS2 or even Fireworks. There are less expensive alternatives such as Paint Shop Pro and PhotoImpact. There is also a small company in England, Xara Group Limited, that has some excellent specialty graphics software. A page in this section will be devoted to Xara products.

 

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