Product Reviews

If you want to create a Web site for a business, you have two options - pay someone thousands of pounds to design and maintain it, or do it yourself. If you're on a limited budget, the first option may well be out of the question, so spending a hundred quid on a piece of software might seem like a good idea.

NetObjects Fusion MX is a tool for creating and maintaining Web sites and, unlike some packages, emphasis is placed firmly on making everything as simple as possible for the beginner, shielding them from the underlying HTML.

The main interface resembles a Web browser, and when you first launch Fusion MX you get a nice, friendly-looking page that explains how to get started. There's a single navigation bar across the top of the screen that takes you to things like the Site and Page views, and a nice feature is that if you don't have a project open, these buttons open up help pages with guides

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and video clips explaining how the different views work.

You can design a new site in various ways, but beginners are best off using the Site Wizard, which takes you through a series of screens to choose the pages you want and how they'll look. This kind of thing is common in packages of this type, but this one is simpler to get to grips with than most.

Once your site has been created, you can use the Site view to see the structure of your site, and to navigate between the different pages. Again, this is nothing new, but it's been done well all the same. The page editor itself is fairly straightforward, and in keeping with Fusion MX's overall philosophy, most of the underlying technical details are well hidden from you, although there is a good HTML view as well for the more technically minded.

The Styles screen is particularly useful, as it allows you to globally modify the appearance of your site using either pre-defined styles, or creating your own if you're that way inclined. There's a much wider range of styles available online, which can be accessed via a single button click.

So what does NetObjects Fusion MX have that other packages like FrontPage and HoTMetaL Pro don't? It certainly doesn't offer any more features than its rivals. The real ace up NetObjects sleeve is its interface, which is absolutely excellent. With this in mind, Fusion MX is a great piece of software if you're looking to make designing your new Web site as hassle-free as possible.