making websites is a breeze (Netobjects Fusion 5)

Member Name: davidg1234

Product:	Netobjects Fusion 5
Date:	09/07/00 (48 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: making websites is a breeze

Disadvantages: dreamweaver + frontpage are better

NetObjects Fusion is a tool for creating template driven websites — not web pages — websites. The primary target is for small businesses who don't wish to get their hands dirty with the design process.

NetObjects claims that the Fusion is the "fastest, easiest way to build business web sites". There is no doubt in that. For this review, I created a basic 5 page web site in approximately 5 minutes, with no previous understanding of the program.

This product definitely succeeds at what it aims to do. The question still remains, is it a worthy product for you? This depends on who you are. Fusion is not for everybody. If you like customization or a fine tuned design, or getting your hands dirty wading through HTML, this program is definitely not for you. If you have no interest (or time) in learning to build a website but still want a professional looking site that meets your needs, this is the perfect tool for you. The rank novice could put up a website of adequate quality within minutes.

The creation process consists of a few simple steps:

The Site: This is where the site is architected. The pages are organized in a tree-like setting. New pages can be created by right clicking on a page and selecting New Page. They are then positioned under the page they were created from in the tree.

A large site can be created quickly and efficiently with the use of this window. There is no need to worry about placing links on the pages themselves. Fusion does this for you.

The Style Window: This is where you create the look and feel of your website. There are several pre-set templates to choose from. Once a look has been selected, it is automatically applied to all pages in the site.

The style menu was nice and easy to use. In addition to the standard settings, such as buttons and banners, you can also specify style sheets within the document. It is also fairly easy to customize a template w
ith your own graphics. This can all be done from the Text Styles dialog box.

The Page Window: This is where you modify the individual pages, and add content as necessary.

There is a full toolbar where you can add elements easily. Any changes are applied only to the existing page. Styles and other settings can also be changed with the Properties Palette.

Summary: