WebPlus X4 - Slim case (PC)

I was delighted with webplus x2 and thought webplus x4 was a step up. In some ways it was in that it gave everything that x2 did and a bit more...but, yes always a but. WebPlus x2 worked well on both Windows XP and Windows 7 ultimate. My first problrm is that x4 will not allow flash gallery thumbnails to be viewed. This is a nuisance as it doesn't allow for instant reference for when you want to add, delete or move an image. This is also true if one wishes to use the new website wizard to construct a new website, no thumbnail images are viewable. I know it's not me doing something wrong as I can see all image thumbnails within the PC folders and that applies even to RAW images as I've downloaded the correct CODECS.

I had trouble in uploading my website repeatedly, in fairness Serif got me through this by telling me to set my firewall to allow Serif applications, however despite promising to get back to me regarding the absence of thumbnails, they have not and that's really annoying.

Serif WebPlus x2 states it is Windows 7 compliant, but the loss of thumbnails which were ok on XP means it is not totally compliant. Would I recommend it, well probably to someone who is fairly competent with PC's. Overall it has done what I wanted, but involved fiddle fixes and time, so some important issues remain unsolved. I would be very annoyed if I had paid more than I did at Amazon. Maybe someone reading this knows the answer to my thumbnail problem, Serif certainly don't!

Like most recent web design packages this one tries to cater for everyone from beginner to advanced and it mainly succeeds, it is the latest upgrade in the series and builds and improves on previous WebPlus offerings, it is worth mentioning that there is no X3 version and the series went straight from X2 to X4 which is Windows 7 compatible together with XP and Vista.
On a beginner level there are a number of complete templates where all you need to do is add text and away you go. This is fine if a template suits your needs and you like the design. There are other templates available in the resources pack, at additional cost and if you do not find the one you like in this Serif supply extra template packs. At this level you can have an up and working website hosted on the Serif server in only a few hours (hosting is currently free using the suffix ".webplus.net" but the documentation does not state if this free hosting is indefinite)
At the next level Serif provide a number of themes which are essentially outline web pages which contain to photographs or text but have appropriate frames to populate. This gives more flexibility than templates but needs a little more work however one of the advantages of X4 is that as you add or remove pages the navigation buttons automatically link the pages so you do not need to keep track of basic linking although you can always change the links.
At a more advanced level you can do pretty well everything with X4 including adding your own scripts and HTML pages or snippets.
If you do not have a host that allows server side scripts then Serif have an ingenious arrangement where you can use "smart objects" on their server even if you do not host with them, among these smart objects are Blogs, Forums, Hit Counter, Resource Booker (this allows for online booking of hotel rooms etc etc)
Among the many things this version of WebPlus can do are the ability to import Word format text and open office format, the ability to import RAW format pictures, inclusion of YouTube videos, podcast feeds, 2D/3D filter Effects, Tables and Calendars, Database Merging including .mdb, dBase and the ability to create photo database using EXIF fields. Remote content management which allows content to be updated from a remote computer that does not have X4 on it. Access control including CAPTCHA, Google Maps, Google Analytics and Google AdSense together with all the usual ecommerce arrangements.
Overall a great package which caters for most needs although to use some of the advanced features there is a fairly steep learning curve. There is comprehensive documentation supplied with the package with more being available on line from Serif's web site. This documentation is also available in printed form in the "User Guide" and the "Resources Guide" this software comes in a number of packages so check if either of these books are included if not they are available separately but the resources guide is rather expensive.

Unless you have specialist needs, or are going to build a massive site (with many thousands of pages), you will be delighted by WebPlus X4, for sure.

WebPlus X4 is great software for amateurs, to produce websites that (on the surface) look like they have been designed by professionals. [aside: for people familiar with Apple computers, this is a bit like iWeb]. It does deal with graphics very well, allowing easy placement on any spot on the page, a feature not found in some other products. A lot of stuff is intuitive - if you are familiar with Word and PowerPoint, this will be a breeze to use.

The tutorials provided on the website & the customer support is fantastic. I had a few queries which were answered very quickly. Really, their FORUM is an amazing and friendly place - you will get all the help you need; no question is 'too stupid'.

The software is very stable on my Windows 7 nettop. Be sure to download the very latest software updates!

Serif also bundles 18 months of webhosting, for 'free' (i.e. it's included in the price of the product). For me, this makes it a killer deal. (The hosting itself is easily worth [] quid!)

GEEKY STUFF:

I would only recommend this software to beginners. I'd advise coders to stay away (or be prepared to change their habits!).

It is not trival to edit the (HTML) code with other software, such as Dreamweaver. WebPlus x4 writes all web page styling (CSS) in the source for each page, instead of putting it in one or a few CSS files, as is standard today. This can result in slower page loads for visitors and provides less flexibility. There appears to be redundant code. In the real world, I don't think this is something the vast majority of people need to worry about.