Use of advanced CSS3 in HTML export

[steve.ledger]

No argument from me mate, just trying to add some perspective and a little personal reasoning
Remember, Xara isn't and doesn't want to be a HTML editor. We aren't talking about keeping up with high-end, high-priced professional web development applications.

[gwpriester]

a) The CSS button will contain text which can be read by search engines, can be changed easily (for instance translated)
b) The colors, shadows, gradients, size and other CSS effects can be dynamically changed using script or CSS code on the client (without having to export again each time)
c) The byte size is smaller for text/css based buttons

a) Designer Pro X adds text grouped to a button as Alt text so it can be read by search engines. Though I suspect search engines are less concerned with button text than they are with good solid Page Titles.

b) Small advantage. But how long does it take to change the menu bar and to republish the site?

c) I'm not sure that the size difference is significant unless someone is viewing the site on a 14K dial-up account.

I am not saying that these new advances are not significant, but at what cost to the average site designer who is not code savvy? And what is the benefit to the site visitor who is not going to know if the shadow under the button is a bitmap or a shadow created with a CSS3 script?

[mwenz]

No argument from me mate, just trying to add some perspective and a little personal reasoning
Remember, Xara isn't and doesn't want to be a HTML editor. We aren't talking about keeping up with high-end, high-priced professional web development applications.

High Priced? Microsoft Expression Web, which is really a suite of applications, can be had at just over $100 and at times for less than that. Aside from not as many add-ins, it is every bit, and in some cases better, than Dreamweaver. I have and use both, but for the money, it is EW over DW any day.

As for supporting what really is a moving target in HTML5 and CSS3, Xara should be moving in that direction in their conditional code. But it wouldn't be prudent to release half-arsed support for it now. I do hope for those using Xara for web sites, though, that they are testing and compiling such code so they are more ready once they become standard coding practices.

Take care, Mike