That's when you NEED Homesite. With Homesite has plenty of useful tools to help you tweak the code and make the code "look pretty".

This program is a MUST for your web page arsenal.

"Don't bother upgrading if you already have HS 4.5"
I upgraded to HomeSite 5.0 from 4.5, and it was not worth the expense. In fact, I've uninstalled version 5, and gone back to 4.5. Many of the "new features" hardly seem worthy of a full version-number upgrade. And don't look to Macromedia to support this product, other than through their useless "user's forum".

Further, they've actually REMOVED some features, such as the "Design" tab. I know that HomeSite is for those who like to write code by hand, and I do 99% of the time -- but there are also times when the design tab came in handy, such as when you're trying to quickly design a test page for something.

I was also disappointed to see that the so-called "deployment" features in the program, which supposedly will upload your changed files to your remote server, are still as mysterious as ever (I suspect they're really just a joke on the part of the programmers). I spent 45 minutes with the wizard, the on-line help, the manual, all to no avail -- after which I FTP'd my changes into the site manually, which took about 30 seconds.

HomeSite offers a nice way of keeping a lot of web files organized into a single project. And a couple of the wizards are handy, such as the Table design wizard, which is especially nice for quickly generating the code to a complex table layout.

Otherwise, it's just a glorified and overpriced version of NotePad.

"Poor customer support"
I'm holding on the phone right now trying to get support for this product. There is no 800 number for tech-support, so it's a long distance call. I have had the same issue for over a month and still have not been transferred to a tech support person. They offer only email support, but don't write back. If you call them on the phone they tell you a support person will call you, but it never happens.

"Easy for newbies and customizable...tell it how to help you!"
I had just started to learn HTML when I tried HomeSite4 via a free trial on the CD that came with a book (the BOOK had errors, so I won't recommend the book!), and I loved it! First, it was easy to use without a manual, because I looked at the help files first and they ARE a manual. I learned about a lot of advanced features that I would have discovered sooner or later. I upgraded to 5.0 now, and there is no learning transition. The only difference is instead of remembering a shortcut key to show the browser view, there is a tab always there to toggle between it and code view, and this is much quicker.

The 2nd BEST feature is the ability to customize the way HomeSite behaves. 1) You can turn "Tag Completion" on and off. Tag Completion inserts end tags when you type the start tags. 2) THE BEST feature is you can customize Tag Completion to complete ONLY THE TAGS YOU WANT IT TO. 3) Color-coding and indenting of tags makes your code easy to read quickly. This is also customizable. 4) The files view on the left show the folders and files on your computer, so you can work with files from different folders open. 5) HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF BOOKMARKING A HELP MENU? You can! Wow! 6) You can turn the "gutter" in your work area on and off, and decide if you want it to wrap in the view (doesn't change your actual code), show the REAL line numbers (when the validator shows an error, you can see EXACTLY where it is!), make jump-to bookmarks to easily jump to sections of code, etc. 7) HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF ADDING YOUR OWN FILES TO A HELP MENU? It was not easy, and besides the instructions I had to guess a little (which is unusual for HomeSite), but I added some pages about websites I had found on line, as well as a basic webpage I made with some notes. 8) YOU CAN CREATE YOUR OWN CODE SNIPPETS! This is great for me, since in one of my website's highly formatted sections I repeat blocks of code over and over, but not in the same order or number, so templates wouldn't help. You can create "snippets", or blocks of code, and assign your own shortcut to them, as well as a name by which it will be "bookmarked", in case you forget the shortcut and need to copy and paste quickly. 9) They include common tag shortcuts for HTML, javascript, and the list goes on. You can also decide which toolbars are visible, and even CUSTOMIZE the shorcut buttons that appear on them...I had problems with my computer when customizing the shortcut buttons, though...but then I had 4.0 and Windows ME, so I dont' know which was causing the problem...hmm, maybe it's time to try that again (now I have XP)! 10) The code validator is wonderful and easy to understand. 11) You can click-and-insert non-alphanumeric characters (such as the trademark symbol, angle brackets, etc.) with your mouse if you don't want to remember the HTML code for them. 12) Though HomeSite doesn't work with images except to display them in your webpage in the browser view, you CAN right-click on the image name in the file view in the left and get the properties for it, which is great when you want your PROPER code to have the height and width, which makes your pages load faster.

HomeSite 5.0 is the best software I have ever bought!

"Right Tool for the Job - Coder's Dream Come True"
Since its original release by Allaire Corporation in 1996, HomeSite has defined excellence in web development software in functionality, extensibility, and productivity. Six years and four feature-packed releases later it remains thus, and it still forms the cornerstone of my own development toolbox. Among the reasons for this are the software's configurable and highly unobtrusive workspace, a host of keyboard shortcuts and productivity-and-efficiency features, and a wealth of built-in validation and analysis tools including spell-check, link verification, and real-time, multi-language syntax validation and color coding. Also indispensable are the file tab, sophisticated find and replace functionality, and project management and FTP. Additionally, features can be added, or existing features enhanced, through integration with such excellent third-party tools as CSE HTML Validator Pro, WatchFire Linkbot, and the TopStyle CSS Editor included in the installation. The program even supports the configuration of server mappings to preview dynamically generated pages-ASP, PHP, JSP, etc.--in the same application as you code!

Macromedia HomeSite 5 is the only answer for the serious web developer and hand-coder today. Note that it is NOT a visual solution (e.g. a WYSIWYG), nor is it the same product alleged to be integrated with the new Dreamweaver MX. If you value the sanctity of you code (if you don't want it rewritten behind your back) or if you've enjoyed HomeSite in the past, don't be fooled into "upgrading" to Dreamweaver! It's not the same thing! Cross over and loose all your keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys and all the strength of the "unobtrusive" environment you valued in HomeSite. On the other hand, if you're a designer--if you're not comfortable coding your HTML by hand--or if you "just need" that click-n-drag environment, this is not the tool for you. HomeSite is not a FrontPage or a Dreamweaver. It IS the single most mature, most accommodating development environment for the professional developer (or even programmer) available today, so if that's you, jump! The cost of the software isn't even comparable to the rewards you'll reap in efficiency and professionalism.