Labs

NetObjects Fusion 10 is the most expensive program in this test. To justify its hefty price, it needed to offer something that its rivals lack. Unfortunately, it got off to a poor start with its limited and rather cheesy selection of site templates.

Instead of relying on these, we decided to create a blank site and design it ourselves. On opening our 'blank' site we were surprised to discover that it already had a header, a footer, a main content frame and a left-hand navigation bar. We were being channelled into using a corporate-style c-frame layout, which will probably suit many small businesses but can look

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dull. What's more, the readymade elements were blocky, with big, rounded corners. You can customise your site by choosing from lots of different styles, each composed of standard HTML files, CSS files and various elements of page furniture, but most are just as cheesy as the default options.

Compared with Namo WedEditor, Fusion's WYSIWYG environment is clumsy and imprecise. When you place an element such as an image on the page, it appears in a random location. You must then drag and nudge it to where you want it. Worse still, it's impossible to edit most of the HTML code. Only certain, often very small, areas of the page can be edited - most of the code is locked. On the plus side, the program makes it easy for non-technical users to add useful elements such as fly-out menus and animated photo galleries to their site, but while they might be technically impressive, these elements look as dated and corny as the rest of the design templates.

Anyone who's ever used a word processor or a basic DTP program will be able to find their way around NetObjects Fusion. Sadly, it doesn't provide enough control unless you're already an experienced designer, so the chances are your site will look cheesy.