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| Nearly Effortless Web Editors |
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Reviews October 2000 • Vol.11 Issue 10 Page(s) 19-21 in print issue |
Nearly Effortless Web Editors Look Ma, No Tags! | ||
 Web pages for all! Not since the halcyon days of the Homestead Act of 1862 could average Joes stake out this much real estate for free. Of course, the real estate we're talking about is the online kind. Many ISPs (Internet service providers) give customers several megabytes of free Web space when they sign up for Internet access. You may choose to do nothing with your space, unlike the homesteaders who had to build a house, a fence, and a well on their 160 free acres, 10 of which had to be plowed. They also had to live there for five years. We urge you to build on that free space. Don't let your online acreage lay fallow. Obviously, you won't have to expend nearly as much effort to build your Web pages as the early settlers did to build on their land. You'll need the right tools. WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) editors make fast work of building Web sites. Rather than typing in every bit of HTML code, these programs let you type text into the Web document and add graphics and special effects with just a few clicks. They work very much like a Word processor. We reviewed five of the best WYSIWYG Web editors, all available for less than $130. We'll highlight the features of each and tell you which one is our favorite.  How We Tested We reviewed the following programs for this roundup: Allaire's HomeSite 4.5, Microsoft's FrontPage 2000, Sausage Software's HotDog PageWiz, SoftQuad's HotMetaL Pro 6.0, and Trellix's Trellix Web. We tested the programs on an IBM 450MHz (megahertz) PC with 128MB (megabytes) of RAM (random-access memory), running Windows 98. We used each program to create a basic Web site from scratch. We were particularly interested in how easy each program was to use, as well as the intuitiveness of the interface and the simplicity with which we could incorporate common Web site elements such as tables, links, and frames.  Allaire HomeSite 4.5 $85 (888) 939-2545 (617) 219-2000 http://www.allaire.com If you're really into creating Web sites, and we mean really into it, then Allaire's HomeSite 4.5 may be the program for you. This HTML editor was definitely the most complicated of those we tested, but it is a very powerful tool. The interface is thick with toolbars and menus. You'd better have a big monitor because you're going to need it to see everything. Because of this, the program leaves us a bit claustrophobic. However, you'll have everything you need and more at the tip of your mouse pointer. It's clear that HomeSite was designed for users who know HTML. The program opens in an HTML view, and everything, from the tools to the users guidebook, seems to be geared to old-fashioned HTML coding. However, a WYSIWYG view is available, and it works perfectly well. Most common tasks are quite easy to employ in HomeSite 4.5. You can whip up tables in a flash, and there are toolbars for creating frames and lists, modifying text attributes, and more. Having said that, we have to point out that this program will probably be a little too complicated for casual users, especially users who aren't at all familiar with HTML. We're not saying you can't create a great site using this program if you don't know HTML. Of course you can. But the process will be a lot more tedious than with the other programs we've reviewed here. Users who do know HTML and want as many features as they can get their hands on will really dig HomeSite's mojo. You should be able to do just about anything you can think of with this program, including using JavaScripts and other intimidating-sounding things. If you do not fear HTML, but rather embrace it, you'll be quite happy with HomeSite 4.5. But if you're a rookie, this program will make you dizzy. You'll want to wait to move up to HomeSite until you've learned a thing or two about creating Web sites. This is not the program to cut your teeth on.  Microsoft FrontPage 2000 $130 (800) 426-9400 (425) 882-8080 http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage Users who are familiar with Microsoft Office will immediately feel at home when they step behind the wheel of FrontPage 2000. The toolbars are very similar to those found in Word or Excel. Everything is laid out very nicely, and you can easily change from the WYSIWYG page view to the HTML view if you want to examine the HTML code. The Views window along the left side of the screen lets you jump from Page view to Navigation view with just a click. Use Page view when you're creating content on a Web page. If you want to see how all of the pages in your Web site are connected, jump to Navigation view. You can also click the Folders icon to see all of the files currently used in the Web site or click Reports to learn important details of your site, such as the total size of the Web site and how many hyperlinks it contains. FrontPage 2000 contains some nice features, such as hit counters, online forms, and Dynamic HTML special effects. However, these won't work if your Web host doesn't support FrontPage Extensions. FrontPage includes several colorful themes that are easy to implement and will spice up the look of your site. Of course, what really matters to HTML-phobes is how easy it is to create a Web site without hassling with mysterious computer code. FrontPage 2000 is easy to work with. You may have to play around with FrontPage 2000's features for a couple of hours before you really feel comfortable using it, but once you do, you'll be able to create detailed and interesting pages almost effortlessly. Publishing is a snap thanks to the simple PublishWeb button (again, assuming your Web host supports this). We really enjoyed using this program. Tables are a cinch to create and modify in this program, too. We loaded our test Web site with tables, and it couldn't have been easier. Frames were a little trickier to work with, but we were patient and started to get the hang of it after a few tries. We think FrontPage 2000 is a top-notch HTML editor. Perhaps the only knock on it is the price. At $130, it's the most expensive program we tested.  Sausage Software HotDog PageWiz $69.95 http://www.sausage.com Sausage Software's HotDog PageWiz is another HTML editor that has a fairly low learning curve. There are two modes available for creating Web sites: Express Mode and Editor Mode. In Express Mode you choose a premade template and substitute your own information for the information already printed in the document. There are four steps to follow in Express Mode. First, you choose the template for your Web site. Next, replace the existing text (which serves as an example of what you might want to include on each page) with your own. After that, you'll have the chance to preview your Web site. Finally, it's time to publish it. Simple enough. PageWiz also has an Editor Mode, which is more like the other HTML editors in this review. You can still choose a template as the basis for your site, but you have more control over exactly how the site looks. The Editor Mode includes an HTML view and has toolbars for creating tables and forms, inserting files, and formatting text. Creating tables, links, and other elements frequently found in Web pages is a straightforward affair because PageWiz includes several wizards that make these and other tasks no-brainers. Like Trellix Web, this package is short on the high end options, such as dynamic HTML effects and Web counters. On the other hand, users won't be inclined to pull out their hair trying to figure out how to use dynamic HTML and all those other bells and whistles. The extra features can be nice, but they can also make WYSIWYG HTML editors too complex for some users' tastes. Users who simply want to create a basic yet interesting Web site should feel at home with PageWiz, although we do like Trellix Web a little better. It's more intuitive.  SoftQuad HotMetaL Pro 6.0 $129 (800) 387-2777 (416) 544-9000 http://www.hotmetalpro.com The interface for HotMetaL Pro 6.0 reminds us of HomeSite's interface. It clutters your monitor with several small windows, but at least everything you need is at your fingertips. You can close the extra windows if they annoy you, however. HotMetaL features a lot of options for both new users and experienced HTML users. The Site Maker Wizard is our favorite feature. It lets you create a full-featured personal or business Web site with only a few mouse clicks. You can create a site consisting of 30 pages of personal information in seconds! All you have to do is fill in the information for each page. There are pages for your contact information; your favorite books, music, and movies; a photo album; and just about anything else you can imagine. The Site Maker Wizard is a great feature. You can look at your Web pages in WYSIWYG mode, HTML code, or several other views. The Web view shows a diagram of your site, which is handy if your site grows to several pages. This package includes a lot of neat extras for your Web pages. The Asset Library includes myriad buttons backgrounds, Dynamic HTML effects, and many other things that will make your Web page look sharp. And using these items is pretty simple. The Assets Library is simply a good idea. Using tables is also a snap, as in the other programs we tested. Frames are a little more difficult, but HotMetaL makes working with frames less of a headache than most HTML editors. You can use the Frames Page selection when you create a new document to include frames in your Web site and manage them from there. HotMetaL Pro 6.0 is one of the more complex HTML editors we reviewed, but it is extremely powerful. It's loaded with options, and you'll be able to create glowing, intricate Web sites once you get the hang of it.  Trellix Web $69 (978) 318-7200 http://www.trellix.com Trellix Web has become a popular WYSIWYG Web editor, and no wonder. It's user-friendly and includes several unique items, and you can create neat Web sites with it quite easily. The interface for Trellix Web is especially refreshing. This was the most intuitive program we tested. It uses an Explorer-type interface that includes icons for the tools you'll use the most, such as inserting images and adding new pages, Web Gems, and links. There is also a Map window that displays the structure of your Web site, making it a snap (or a click, as the case may be) to jump from one page to another, move pages around, and create links among pages. Trellix Web includes scads of easy-to-use templates and page designs, so you can create a site that looks nice without any hassle. There are several Web Gems you can add to your site, such as a guest book, animated images, sounds, and links to well-known companies such as Amazon.com. You can even include a search field from Lycos. Creating Web sites with Trellix Web is a cinch. The program includes a smooth tutorial that will familiarize you with the program very quickly. You can create a basic site in less than an hour, and you can create a very detailed site in only a couple of hours. Adding and linking pages is a breeze. You can create navigational links or buttons, as well. Trellix Web is an especially good program for beginners who may feel uneasy about the mysterious nature of creating Web pages. However, Trellix Web doesn't include quite as many options as some of the higher-end (and more complicated) programs we tested. For example, you won't be able to view the HTML code used to create your site. Then again, this program isn't designed with HTML coders in mind. Final Word Choosing the winner in this roundup wasn't easy. We really liked the simplicity of Trellix Web, the raw power of HomeSite 4.5, the familiarity of FrontPage 2000, and the flexibility of HotMetaL Pro 6.0. Sausage Software's PageWiz is the only program that didn't immediately warrant consideration for our Smart Choice award. Trellix is easier to use, and FrontPage, HomeSite, and HotMetaL Pro offer more features and flexibility. PageWiz is not a bad program, but it didn't enthrall us as much as the others. If we were to buy a WYSIWYG HTML editor, we'd go with FrontPage 2000, although HotMetaL Pro 6.0 is a very close second. But we like FrontPage's interface a little better, which is why we're giving it our Smart Choice award.  by Michael Sweet
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