Spring 2009

Have you ever wished you could prototype a web site without knowing anything at all about coding or HTML? Have you ever wanted to throw the task at a graphic designer, who could use familiar tools without having to roll their sleeves up, metaphorically speaking?

Xara Web Designer could be your answer. We don't normally review applications in F&E, but we couldn't resist marvelling at the sheer technical brio of this one. It approaches web design just like other kinds of graphic design task – which is in part, perhaps, a reflection of the company's heritage. Basically, you build everything interactively on your screen, and never see even a hint of code from start to finish.

The application works by creating the pages in its own proprietary format, which allows it to work very much in its own way. When you're ready, you click an 'export' button, and out come the HTML versions of your pages. And when viewed in a browser, they really do look remarkably like the interactive versions.

There's nothing new about this concept; what impresses is the slick, fully-realised implementation in the latest version of Web Designer. The system creates modern web pages using external cascading style sheets, not tables (the route taken by earlier interactive web programs), and includes advanced features such as support for layer control, transparency, PNG graphics and embedded fonts. It automatically includes patches and tricks to deal with browser incompatibilities, and delivers what the company claims are standards-compliant web pages.

 

There's a price to be paid for the automation, and that is the dense CSS and HTML coding that results. You might find it hard to edit the pages afterwards using standard web development tools. But that's not really the intention; if you want to make changes, you do it in Web Designer, then export the pages again.

Even if you only use it as a quick and easy prototyping tool, it could be a boon; it even includes a basic but surprisingly effective Flash animation tool. And because it's strong on the graphical elements, you may also find it a convenient way to generate images and shapes with graduated fills.

We're not sure how far you would go with the resultant pages in a real-world e-retail environment; the system won't build a web shop for you, or even a customer registration form. But it's certainly a fast way to put together a functioning preview of what your web site might eventually look like – one that you can put on a web site for your customers or board directors to review on their own computers. And all this for the remarkable price of just £39.