May 06
CSS Edit vs StyleMaster
2004 at 06.18 am posted by Veerle Pieters
Some time ago I promised that I would make a post about a comparison of CSS Edit en StyleMaster. They are both great CSS tools to use to style your webpages. Now that I have used both programs for a while, I think I can give some opinion and list you my pros and cons. But bear in mind that there is a huge price difference between these 2 programs and so in my opinion we can’t make a “fair” comparison by mentioning the pros and cons. Still, I want to do it this way just to give you an overview.
my pros
- it's much cheaper then StyleMaster
- very nice, light Mac interface
- immediately recognition of your styles by their look in the list on the left
- fast and smart source editing
- the option to group styles
- the option to use Style or Font Favorites
my cons
- you can't view both Source Mode and Visual Mode at the same time
- there are no pre-formatted font families (but you can create your favorites, so this actually solves it)
- in comparison with StyleMaster there is no help file, no templates to start from
- there's no shortcut to "Comment In" or "Comment Out" code, which I found handy in StyleMaster
- this is not exactly a program for first time users (not really a "con" for me but I thought I'll just mention this)
- no W3C validation option
my pros
- available for both Mac and PC
- you view both the Source Mode and Visual Mode at the same time
- there is a shortcut to "Comment In" or "Comment Out" code
- you can instantly see supported browsers for a style
- the fully documented and very extended help, the CSS wizard and templates
- this tool is also perfect for first time users
- W3C validation option
my cons
- it's more expensive then CSS Edit
- to my personal taste, the interface is less attractive in comparison with CSS Edit
- on my Mac, a Dual 1Gig G4 (with 1,5 GB of SDRAM), StyleMaster 3.5.2 runs much slower then CSS Edit, especially when I work in the Source Mode with "Shorthands" (hints) checked on
- the lack of response from the company (I e-mailed them for a PDF invoice and still haven't receive any answer after days- update: I've received my invoice, see comments for details)
I think both tools are worth buying, but to decide which one is perfect for you I would suggest to download a demo first. If you're a PC user then there is no choice of course but if you're a Mac user then I would suggest to go for StyleMaster if you are still a beginner in CSS. If you're an advanced user then I would go for CSS Edit. Price might also be a factor : StyleMaster $59,99, CSS Edit costs $24,99.
6served
1
I had similar thoughts when I trialled both recently, StyleMaster looked like a mess of windows and drawers, but seem to hold more powerful features.
Overall, I still love using skEdit with its code-hinting for creating CSS.
2
For the PC user also Topstyle Pro is a very good choice IMHO
3
thanks for the interesting comparisons
The comments are on the whole pretty fair.
There is always a trade off between “power” and performance and perceived complexity. The challenge for developers is to manage these compromises to everyone’s benefit.
There is a lot under the hood of Style Master. Features developers might only find themselves using after they become very adept at CSS.
As to the responsiveness of westciv, unfortunately this was an adminstrative matter, which was handled slowly. Tech support gets very high prority, and is often handled within the hour.
john
4
Thanks for passing by John and to make sure I got my invoice. It’s much appreciated.
Keep up the good work!
5
Jon, I haven’t heard of skEdit… first I thought you made a typo and meant CSSEdit to be honest :-S but after a search on Google I knew it wasn’t. I’ve downloaded a demo version. Looks like a cool tool to try out ;-) Thanks for the tip.
6
I love StyleMaster. I’m a newbie at CSS and StyleMaster has helped me learn CSS by telling me what will happen to the tag I’m altering (if you use the ‘wizard’ feature to create styles).
Another big plus is that is does show you browser support for the styles you’re creating right at the bottom of the window.
I think it’s well worth the money.