Our Verdict
A WYSIWYG Website builder needs a polished interface , a solid set of tools , and a flexible canvass . Without those basic features , you may as well code your pages by hand . Ambiera’sWebsitePainter1.4.1 lets you produce Web Page without knowing HTML , but its missing feature and limitation stand in the way of life of get the Book of Job done easily .
Some hits, some misses
WebsitePainter ’s single windowpane is build around a tabbed workspace . Beside it , resizable window pane contain a Toolset with elements you’re able to add to your page , a Properties editor to customize them , and a directory of all pages in your internet site for quick access . Twelve simple templates are included to get you started , but each hold in only a few pages , and they look monotony compared to offering in applications like iWeb ( ) or RapidWeaver ( ) . you’re able to design and store your own varlet as templates , however .
Whether you edit a template or start a site from scratch , you’re able to well add elements like text box , shape , YouTube video , or even forms and checkboxes by selecting the component , then clicking inside your Sir Frederick Handley Page . A hyperlink editor in chief turns objects into links and lets you customize and reprocess universal resource locator styles . For more interesting page designs , you’re able to check multiple objects in div element and position them in dynamically sized layout . WebsitePainter supports a extensive compass of thingmajig that can contribute HTML , JavaScript , and PHP code to your pages . you could also total extra computer code to the body or header of your Thomas Nelson Page ( to bestow Google Analytics to your site , say ) , but you ca n’t freely edit your pages ’ code as an substitute method of designing a site .
Design difficulties
Editing and emplacement objects can be frustrative because WebsitePainter does n’t take full vantage of the Mac ’s easy to expend port conventions . Common commands like Group , Duplicate , and Select All are missing or inconsistently used , and other features do n’t influence as you ’d await — some selected objects ca n’t be delete with the Delete key , for lesson ( though mileage may alter depend on which keyboard you ’re using ) . QuickTime movies added to your site appear crop at first , and must be manually resize to display at the proper dimensions . There are no rule of thumb or machine - align features to help you lay multiple object exactly with the pointer .
edit an object ’s place can be likewise clunky . Some setting can be changed by choose from driblet - down menus of predetermined choice , like dissimilar delimitation designs for text boxes . That ’s okay , but too many properties require you to edit out mystifying text theatre to make changes , like the photograph slideshow ’s nonremittal conversion meter of “ 250 ” ( I had to reach the developer to learn that the clock time is measured in milliseconds ) . Experienced users will be able-bodied to figure these things out , but lack of cleared labeling and consistent tools needlessly complicates the design process .
WebsitePainter let you easy tote up utile target to your page , but its gawky design make construction sites difficult––especially for MobileMe users .
WebsitePainter lets you easily add useful objects to your pages, but its clunky design makes building sites difficult––especially for MobileMe users.
Preview and publishing shortcomings
WebsitePainter ’s window does n’t expose live previews of dynamic object like movies or code doohickey , so it can take trial and error to properly size and localize them on your Sir Frederick Handley Page . Previewing your piece of work in a web internet browser is just a pawl off , but pages only open automatically in your Mac ’s default web internet browser . To examine pages in other web internet browser , you must spread them yourself .
Macworld’s buying advice
Despite a straightforward approach and some ready to hand feature , WebsitePainter 1.4.1 feels too much like a boisterous draft to urge . Other Web design programme strike a good balance between power and simplicity without quite so many sacrifices .
[ Adam Berenstain is a free lance writer in upstate New York . ]
