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NetObjects Fusion MX

NetObjects Fusion MX

List Price: $99.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: NetObjects Fusion MX
Review: I've been using NetObjects 5.0 for the past year, and wanted to purchase a web authoring program for home use. When NetObjects MX came, I was initially disappointed. All of the wonderful styles were missing that I'd been using with 5.0. Well, some were there, but not all. As soon as I figured out that the 5.0 styles (and more new ones) could be downloaded from the company's site, I was content.

This program is easy to use, and is compatible with all browsers (unlike Netscape Composer which might be free, but has bug problems for those who use MS Explorer as a browser. The Help section of the program, along with online advisors makes this a great program for beginner and professional alike.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Can't beat the function for the price.
Review: I've had the opportunity to try a lot of different software. I've used 'Hot Dog' which I thought was a little clumsy, I've used 'Page Mill' which was so so. I've used Allaire 'Homesite'which typically snubbed the WYSIWYG editors. They call their WYSIWYG What you see is what you need. WYSIWYN. Good Hype. Macromedia is a nice product if you want to lay out $300. Microsoft Front Page is pretty good. Netobjects offers a lot of features and function for the price. When you set it up for cross browser compatability, it really does work. A lot of auto set up of Dynamic HTML is a great feature and again it works in all browsers. It's reasonably easy to use, they have a good creation wizard for the faint of heart. The only thing that kept me from giving this a 5 star is the added baggage in the HTML. When you publish the site, trying to do an update by going into the html is really tough. Overall I think this is a good program, it does the job, it's reasonably priced and fairly easy to use. Well worth the money, I would buy it again.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Web Design Package
Review: If you're looking for a program that focuses upon the small business/professional/non-profit user who is not a programmer, but wants to build sophisticated sites, then this program is for you. I can assure you that you will find that you can build a complex site about four times faster than Dreamweaver 4. I recommend it to everyone!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I thought this was MY little secret!
Review: NetObject Fusion (NOF) is a hugely productive tool in my arsenal. While the focus of a review might be all the great features in the software--and there are so many, I would focus on what it has done for me.

I've used NOF since version 3.0 after trying everything else out there, including DreamWeaver. NOF was simply the tool I needed to get the job done fast and make it look great. In fact, you can buy the program, and have a professional site in only minutes--if you type fast--using their templates.

As I've progressed through my career, I've relied on tools to give my work a really professional touch: NetObjects, PhotoShop, Quark XPress, and a few really good font and graphics packages. People are stunned at both my creativity and productivity. I wish it was all my doing, but in fact, it is the productivity and control these tools give me.

One of the questions I'm often asked by newer staffers is how to progress their career. One of the things I always mention is to buy the tools you need to make YOU look good. This goes for employees as well as consultants and small business folks.

I've designed dozens of websites with NOF, including LeadEater.com, MikeGrigsby.com, LindaChandler.com, SeminarLove.com, HeavenlySounds.com, just to name a few. Along the way I've converted a lot of people to NOF and the business owners have often bought the program so they can maintain the site for themselves. I don't mind because I enjoy the creative aspect that the program gives me, and I don't enjoy the maintenance as much. This is a must-have tool in your professional arsenal!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Good Web Design Tool, But With Limitations
Review: NetObjects Fusion MX is a big improvement on the previous version 5. Although it may not add too many features, it has fixed a lot of the bugs that existed in version 5.

Fusion MX is the kind of tool that a beginner could use, and build pages almost instantly. With drag and drop ease, and the ability to position objects on the page quite accurately. Although this does have drawbacks. The most major of which is large HTML files. Other problems with Fusion include some incompatibility with Netscape 4, and some minor problems with Netscape 6.

Fusion also gives users the ability to create pages that fit to the browser width. This is achieved by using a text box set to fill the entire page. Sadly, this also has it's limitations. For example, if you want to make a page using this method that looks like Amazon's, you would place a table on the left, centre and right. However, this is sadly impossible in Fusion MX (A similar problem existed in version 5). The only way that would really be possible is by creating one big table, and putting all that stuff into it. That would keep the content together. But even that solutions create new problems.
Professional web designers may feel frustrated by the inability to directly access and edit the HTML source.

Fusion's strength lies in it's ability to create professional looking web pages, in minimal time. Beginners do not need to code any HTML, or do anything apart from design and maintain the page. Although it does take some time to learn all the tricks that can be used with Fusion, once you do, it should become a little easier to improve compatibility.

Basically, don't get Fusion expecting to create websites like Amazon or C|Net. You can make one that looks a little like those websites, but you will inevitably run into limitations that will stop you. Websites like those are probably only achievable through Dreamweaver, which is what you should be looking at if you want total control over the HTML source and other technical aspects of the site. But if all you want is to create a small business website, personal website, or other type of small websites quickly and with minimum fuss, NetObjects Fusion MX wins. If you want to create a website that has maximum compatibility with different browsers, lean HTML code and complex content with maximum control over most technical aspects of the website, go for Dreamweaver.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Stick with Dreamweaver
Review: Sure, it's easy to set up a simple web site with NetObjects Fusion; however, you can't edit the html, it uses cluttered and heavy code (since the program codes the html for you), it uses a lot of propietary modules, it produces confusing and redundant nested tables that is next to impossible to edit using a regular html editor, and it produces slow loading pages. The program is also not as flexible or extensible as other authoring software out there. If you want a professional authoring tool that produces lean, clean, editable code - stick with Dreamweaver.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is a great application for creating a comprehensive, sharp and polished website. It is an almost complete WYSIWYG, drag and drop Site Designer. All pages under a site made with NetObjects Fusion MX must be managed with NetObjects Fusion. You can't really go in and edit the HTML by hand. There are too many tags and too many remarks and comments added to the html and the format looks like garbage in a regular editor. But that is a minor quibble, because there really is no reason to edit by hand in most cases. Troubleshooting HTML might be difficult or impossible with a site designed with this app, though.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Simply The Best
Review: This is the absolute best software for building complex websites. There is no substitute for software of this quality.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Simply The Best
Review: This is the absolute best software for building complex websites. There is no substitute for software of this quality.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The ultimate web design tool
Review: This is the closest thing to magic that you'll find. Wave a mouse - there's a web site structure. Wave it again, there's a page. The manual says it will take 10 minutes to set up a site. I have managed it in three. The product is so good that I have been with it for three versions, and buy it for all my clients.

Fusion's great strength lies in two main areas - firstly the construction of the site is as simple as ABC. Pages can be copied or moved around at will, and structures altered, and the program recreates all the links and navigation bars on the fly. You don't ever have to worry that stuff will be out of date. Secondly, and very importantly for designers, you can make just a few simple buttons, and the program will *automatically* create unlimited rollover buttons for you. No fuss. No coding. Change your mind about the labels as many times as you want - it all updates instantly and without your having to worry. If all this wasn't enough, NetObjects Fusion supports database connectivity, all the latest e technologies, and writes some of the smallest, cleanest and most cross-browser compatible code in the business.

Don't be fooled by the price - this product gives Dreamweaver a run for its money. All included is a great set of support newsgroups, an online Knowledgebase, and the capability to extend the functionality in a kazillion ways, using third party components (yes! like Dreamweaver extensions do!) It's worth many times the price on the box. If you are a small or medium sized business, or a professional designer, you need this product. It makes web design totally pleasurable.


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