Xara HTMs & XsitePro2

[Soporose]

There's a lot of noise at the moment about the new version 2 of XsitePro just released. Unfortunately there is no free trial available (a big marketing mistake IMO), so I'm wondering if anyone here knows the answer to this...

I use an older version of Dreamweaver which has been more than adequate for my needs, until I started doing the cool stuff that XXP4 allows even a mug amateur like me to do.

However, my version of Dreamweaver doesn't like Web pages created with XXP4 -- the display is all over the place, quite impossible to work with.

I downloaded a trial of the CoffeeCup HTML Editor and it imports Xara HTM files just fine, but for one reason and another I just didn't warm to CoffeeCup as something I'd want to use permanently.

The feature set of XsitePro2 is pretty impressive, and the price is very reasonable, but I'm wondering how it will handle imported Xara HTM files.

I can buy XsitePro and claim a refund if it doesn't do the job, but it will save me the trouble if anyone here has first-hand experience.

[Tallis]

I'm not a moderator or anything, but won't this get more answers in some general web or html section?

[Soquili]

Has anyone actually used XSitePro?

Google search only turns up sales pitches for the program but nothing from any of the standard software reviewers.

[Soquili]

I waded through some of the hype and it appears that XSitePro is mostly a get rich quick scheme.

Most of the hits on a google search are from people trying to make money by selling XSitePro using XSitePro to create the website

One hit said that XSitePro is not for anyone wanting to create a professional website. It is for marketers wanting to create prepackaged template websites to market a product.

[a4hire]

I would definitely not use Xsite Pro. Especially for 197 dollars.
Your copy of Dreamweaver is probably good.
The Coffee Cup editor might be ok.
Are you looking for a text editor ? You only want to edit the htm, or html files ?
Dreamweaver should be fine for that.
I use Homesite, which you can buy from Adobe,
http://www.adobe.com/products/homesite/
or sometimes HapEdit
you can get that for free!
http://hapedit.free.fr/index.php

[w00dy]

I went over to CoffeeCup HTML Editor about three years ago because Dreamweaver, Namo and Frontpage wouldn't display my Xara Webstyle templates properly. It's a "by the book" HTML editor and and takes a bit of getting used to but I'd never go back to a WYSIWYG. The only viable alternatives if I was going jump ship would be WebBuilder from Blumentals software or Topstyle 3, which is written by Nick Bradbury, who wrote Home Site.

Xara produces good code and I've never had any problems with CoffeeCup HTML Editor with any Xara product (and I've got the lot!). If I was going to get marooned on a desert island, I'd want my laptop, Xara Xtreme 4, CC HTML Editor and Camtasia Studio washed up with me and then I'd happily sit by until I got picked up. Be nice if the island did have an internet connection and some cool beer!

[dogbertbh]

I've been using Trellian Web Page for a free HTML WYSIWYG tool for modifying Xara stuff. It's free but works ok. a few small glitches.

I'm guessing your old version of Dreamweaver is having trouble with layers or something like that...

[Soporose]

TALLIS:
It's unlikely I'll find anyone in a "general web or html section" who'll be in a position to import Xara-created Web pages, which is my main concern.

BILL (SOQUILI):
I think the reason you're seeing so much bald promo for XsitePro is that (a) there is no free trial, and (b) they are paying an affiliate commission of $49 per sale. Although I've never used it personally, XsitePro as a Web editor has been around a long time. It's a genuine product in its own right, but I can see where you get the perception of it being "a get rich quick scheme" -- too many affiliate marketers are prone to hype and aggression. That type don't last long, they either become more polished or they drop out, but there's an awful lot of them around at any given time. If you check out the 7 minute video at http://www.xsitepro.com/video.html you'll understand why products like this are attractive to people who need a quality website but aren't capable of doing much of it themselves. Internet marketers fit right into that category.

BRUCE (A4HIRE):
You don't say why you would not use Xsite Pro. My copy of Dreamweaver, as I said, cannot handle htm files created in XXP4 -- whatever the reason. And as it's too old to qualify for an upgrade price, I'd be up for A$715 (almost on parity with US$) to upgrade to the current Dreamweaver, which has a whole heap of features that I would never use. By comparison XsitePro is dirt cheap at $197. I have plenty of text editors and hex editors and I don't need any more of those. Although I usually dip into the page code to write my own JavaScript client-side and ASP/PHP server-side code, I like to work with WYSIWYG. I'm not a professional designer, nor do I aspire to become one. I create income-producing Web sites for myself. If you know something about XsitePro that prompts you to say you would not use it, I'd really like to hear.

WOODY:
Your enthusiasm has convinced me that I probably should have another look at CoffeeCup. I've been using Dreamweaver for years and I'm comfortable with, even though I manually do many of the things it can automate. So maybe I haven't given CoffeeCup a fair chance. I'll take another look at it.

Anyway...

I know most of you guys here are professionals in some aspect of design work, so clearly an application like XsitePro wouldn't be what you would want to use. But I'm not in that category, and I must say that the video mentioned above makes XsitePro look very attractive to someone who can't or doesn't want to manually control every aspect of a site development. Still, because I like to get my hands dirty with the server-side aspects, XsitePro may even be a bit too black-box for my liking. The thing is, if my old Dreamweaver would handle Xara htm I wouldn't even be considering a change.

[Egg Bramhill]

Isn't this just a commercial CMS product simlar to the freeware Joomla! etc. I'd try these freware products first before parting with my dosh.

I wouldn't expect XXP html generated site to be editable in any of these apps however.

[Soporose]

Isn't this just a commercial CMS product simlar to the freeware Joomla! etc. I'd try these freware products first before parting with my dosh.

I wouldn't expect XXP html generated site to be editable in any of these apps however.

Egg, I don't know Joomla, but yes XsitePro does look like a CMS. You're probably right about that sort of thing not being able to handle a Xara htm.

When I get a moment I might knock up a page in Xara with a few pop-ups etc and to see if anyone in the XsitePro Forum will try to load it.