INCOMEDIA WEBSITE X5 PRO 13 £149 REVIEW!
#Web #Design #WYSIWYG #Incomedia #WebSiteX5 #Responsive
Synapse Circuit brings you what could be the new WYSIWYG Website Design application...
TAKING ADVANTAGE
Yes, it looks as though Serif has dashed WYSIWYG Web Design from its roster of creative software, choosing stick to photo editing/manipulation and illustration applications. I'll be doing reviews on Affinity Photo & Designer respectively! Stay tuned…
With Serif out of the WYSIWYG Web Design application game, it leaves great opportunity for competitors to fill the gap that WebPlus (X8) has left in its wake. Synapse Circuit looks at what appears to be a strong contender…
The modular step-by-step approach remains unchanged; this is a little frustrating coming from applications such as Xara/MAGIX Web Designer, WebPlus, and, of course, Dreamweaver!
WebSite X5 Pro 13 has many templates that can be easily modified to suit. As always, I recommend that you start from scratch! The danger in using templates is that thousands of X5 Pro (13) users could use the same template as you.
Responsive web design is all the rage at the moment. In a nutshell, a responsive web design means that your website will adapt to different screens i.e. mobile, tablet and desktop. WebSite X5 Pro 13 makes light of creating responsive web pages; it takes a lot of the guess work out.
WEBSITE X5 PRO 13
It has been a while since I looked at Incomedia's WebSite X5 Pro application. I think I reviewed version Pro 11… Let's take a look at the Pro 13 incarnation…
Like most WYSIWYG Web Design applications, X5 Pro 13 is aimed at the non-programmer - not that HTML is really a programming language. X5 Pro 13 is meant to be very easy to use, and for the most part it is pretty straightforward.
INTERFACE
The modular step-by-step approach remains unchanged; this is a little frustrating coming from applications such as Xara/MAGIX Web Designer, WebPlus, and, of course, Dreamweaver!
While the interface safeguards the novice from making errors, Incomedia needs to add a secondary optional interface for advanced users. This secondary interface would allow the designer to place content precisely on the page.
PREDEFINED
WebSite X5 Pro 13 has many templates that can be easily modified to suit. As always, I recommend that you start from scratch! The danger in using templates is that thousands of X5 Pro (13) users could use the same template as you.
However, the templates can serve as a lesson to understand a particular layout. If you're a novice, it'll take you a bit of time to learn good design principles. It's time well invested!
RESPONSIVE
Responsive web design is all the rage at the moment. In a nutshell, a responsive web design means that your website will adapt to different screens i.e. mobile, tablet and desktop. WebSite X5 Pro 13 makes light of creating responsive web pages; it takes a lot of the guess work out.
You should know that Google's search engine will rank responsive websites higher than non-responsive ones. A responsive design comes with a few challenges that makes you think about how the content is presented. Personally, I nearly always request the desktop version over mobile designs when browsing the web on my Samsung Galaxy Note 4.
My opinion is that most mobile sites pack too much information in a cramped space. Oh, well… … It takes a bit of getting used to. In fact, I don't like most mobile versions of websites (as I've stated above). That said, responsive websites is a must and WebSite X5 Pro 13 handles this aspect very well!
KEY NEW FEATURES
Digital Products
This is a great attribute for budding entrepreneurs that provides a means of selling digital products such as music files, photography, eBooks, etc. Yes, sell your work independently!
Parallax & Animation Effects
These days many sites show off slick scrolling effects and animations. Used selectively, these attributes can complement thoughtful design.
Online Control Panel
Here you've got an online control panel that helps you to be on top of certain aspects of your website such as online store orders, blog discussions, etc.
Title Object
Here you can add Search Engine Optimization tags to titles in order to increase the chances of a search engine finding your site and/or specific page.
WebSite X5 Manager
There's an app for Android and iOS that allows you to get notifications on your mobile device when an order is placed on your online store or when someone comments on your blog, etc. I love it!
OTHER ATTRIBUTES
WebSite X5 Pro can work with databases and can create areas that users can access by registering.
You can also connect your blog to FeedReady, which of an app that feeds off the RSS of your blog. Not bad at all. Your audience will use FeedReady if you've got great content!
CONCLUSION
WebSite X5 Pro 13 is a hard WYSIWYG Web Design application to beat. Yes, it's a tad more expensive than similar apps by about, on average, £50 but you're getting very useable professional features that will have you producing websites with a back end that doesn't require the expert knowledge of a programmer.
Now that Serif WebPlus is no more Incomedia WebSite X5 Pro 13 rules the cost effective WYSIWYG Web Design arena.
And when you use WebSite X5 Pro 13 with Incomedia's WebAnimator… WOW! FREAKING WOW!!! You'll be able to create your own Flash-like animations in HTML5; interactive content; and custom video and audio players! You can get them both for under £300! That's an amazing achievement!
Here's a link to the Synapse Circuit WebAnimator review: WebAnimator
SCORE
WebSite X5 Pro 13 is definitely a winner and it comes through for the non-programmer with shining colours. Despite the step-by-step nature of the interface - I do hope we get an optional interface for experienced designers - WebSite X5 Professional 13 scores a well deserved Synapse Circuit Platinum!
WebSite X5 Pro 13 Scores a well deserved... Synapse Circuit Platinum!
You can purchase it here: WebSite X5 Pro 13
Enjoy! Thank you for reading!
Enjoy! Thank you for reading!
Synapse Circuit / Blue Gene
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