Review: Netobjects Fusion 10 web design software

Netobjects Fusion has a pedigree in Wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) website creation.

This means the focus is on design and Fusion's family-tree type overview is well developed.

It remains the best and simplest method to structure your work.

The downside to this approach is that, although there's a panel to see your HTML, you can't edit it, which can be very frustrating.

You can insert exerts of external HTML though, for example to embed Youtube videos into your site. The startup screen includes a section called Build Better Sites, which includes links to web hosting, advertising, buying a domain and other services from Website Pros, Netobject's parent company.

Absolute beginners may find this useful, but the services are poor value for money and it is tedious to see advertising such as this after having already bought a product. It's particularly disheartening when cheaper editors like Mr Site Takeaway include one years hosting for free.

The wizard now boasts 68 different templates for your website, however, on closer inspection it becomes obvious there are no more than 12 unique templates, with the rest just exhibiting different colour schemes. It is still an improvement over what was included with Fusion 9, though. Avoiding the wizard allows you to start with a banner and navigation bar, or you can delete these and start completely from scratch.

A to-do list is included on the right-hand side of the screen and includes useful reminders even seasoned designers can overlook, although once again the list is spoiled by an emphasis on buying domains from Website Pros.

A key feature Netobjects shouts about is cascading style sheet support built into the product, however, while fonts and colours are controlled via CSS, actual CSS page layout is missing. This means page layout is still table-based, which in our opinion is a less elegant affair that's getting rather long in the tooth.

The updated advanced toolboxes slide in and out from the left-hand side when your mouse hovers over them. These reveal a Flash Tools section with a selection of decorative animations and text; once again, you can't edit these effects. A Flash photo gallery is added to the Fusion photo gallery, forum, online calendar and guestbook.

Another new feature is W3C standards-based code. This is a welcome step that should ensure full compatibility with other website editors and browsers; in our view, it should have been added a long time ago.

The built-in site publishing feature is ideal for novice users who don't want the hassle of configuring separate ftp software to upload their designs to a host.

In truth, there isn't a particularly good reason to upgrade to this product if you already have Fusion 9, and for perspective newcomers the omission of the ability to use CCS for layout is a startling omission from a £135 product.

Fusion's development appears to have stalled over the last few years, with competitors offering more features and services. The presence of advertising is annoying, while full CSS support and raw code editing are sorely missed. However, the wide array of tools, such as the photo galleries, will appeal to novice users.

Also consider:
Incomedia Website X5
Wizard-driven web design for all

Serif Webplus 10
A solid webpage design tool with a strong publishing background

Webeasy 6 Professional
An easy-to-use web editor for a wide range of websites

All web design reviews

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