WYSIWYG Web Builder 9 adds ribbon interface, Google Web Fonts support
Pablo Software Solutions has released WYSIWYG Web Builder 9, a major new version of its DTP-style web building tool for Windows users. Version 9 debuts a completely redesigned user interface based on the ribbon found in Microsoft Office and other products. It also adds support for Google Web Fonts, bundles new and improved navigation objects, animations and transitions and supports CMS plug-ins for the first time.
The tool, which costs $45, aims to make web design easier by providing a desktop-publishing style approach to building web pages. In all, over 150 new features have been added to this release.
The highlight of the new release is a new ribbon-based interface, which works in a similar way to the ribbon in other applications, with both permanent tabs and context-sensitive tabs appearing as a way of making tools more accessible. Users can customize controls and create their own tabs, plus switch back to the old classic menu-based interface if they prefer.
The new release also adds support for Google Web Fonts and other non-safe web fonts with support for @font-face. Users can now set up timers to show and hide content at specific intervals while the built-in slideshow/carousel tool benefits from a number of new animations and additional options.
Navigation object tools benefit from new options -- by way of example CSS Menus now support sub-menus, images for different states and the ability to set the background color for main and sub-menus.
Support for CSS3 Animations and Transitions has been added to images, drawing tools, form elements, marquee, text and layers. Users can quickly and easily define animations using the new Animation Manager dialog box.
WYSIWYG Web Builder 9 also adds additional plug-ins for its Content Management System (CMS), including support for comments, photo albums and a FAQ. Also added are a number of new JQuery UI Widgets, improved layer options -- including floating, anchored and modal layer support.
Other new features include a new HTML "beautifier" option for formatting HTML for readability, plus a number of new social-friendly buttons, including Pinterest, Google Translate, and support for adding Google Analytics code to the <head> section of the page.
WYWIWYG Web Builder 9 is available now as a 30-day trial download for PCs running Windows XP or later. The full version can be purchased for $44.95 -- existing version 8 users can get a time-limited 33 percent discount on upgrading, while anyone who purchased version 8 after April 15 is entitled to a free upgrade.