I wrote about the release of Magix Website Maker 2.0 the other day and have since been lucky enough to get my hands on a review copy.

So what did I think?

Well as you’ll know from some of my earlier posts I’m always a bit suspicious of what website creators can achieve but once again I’ve been impressed.

Very impressed.

Magix Website Maker 2.0 is different from most website creator software because this one is online.

Why is this a good thing?

Well because it means that there’s no installation which is going to save you space on your hard drive AND it’s going to be quick to get up and running because there won’t be the hassle of working out how to get it from your computer and onto the internet.

It may be online but it feels just like working offline as you have there is Website Control Center from which you can design your website, manages domains and photos.

The package comes with it’s own subdomain (http://name.magix.net), 5000 MB memory space for 12 months included and there’s the option to choose your very own domain name if you want so you really do have everything you need to get your first website up and running.

I have to say the part I was most impressed with, with this software has to be the design templates on offer.

These design templates look modern and professional and are going to help produce a website that’s really going to impress and no one is going to believe you got it all for only £29.99!

So would I recommend Magix Website Maker 2.0?

There’s only one answer.

Yes.

This is a great piece of website creator that has made it easy for anyone to get their first website up and running and with such great design templates it’s going to be hard to convince someone you haven’t been doing it for years!

Magix Website Maker 2.0 is available from both Magix and Amazon for £29.99.

Popularity: 14% [?]

If you don’t know your PHP from your HTML and CSS then it’s likely that the thought of putting your own website together seems like an impossibility.

The good news is that it isn’t as there are many pieces of website creation software on the market that make creating your website a doodle.

One of the best pieces of software that I’ve tested that allows you to do just that is Website X5.

This website creation software prides itself on allowing you to produce a website in 5 easy steps with no programming skills needed.

But is it really that easy? Well having created many a website from scratch I have to admit I wasn’t too sure it could live up to its claims.

I was wrong.

This piece of website creation software does exactly what it says and does it incredibly well.

I used Website X5 Evolution and had indeed created a website in minutes.

The five steps are easy and quick and starts with General Settings, which is where you add all the basic details such as title, description, email and keywords.

Once you’ve done that you choose your template (and with 1000 there’s many to choose from) and make any additions to the header graphic you want.

The next step of Map Creation which allows you to create your menus which is followed by the creation of the pages,which is made incredibly easy as it is uses a drag-and-drop interface which makes adding text, images and email forms an absolute doddle.

We now hit the fourth step of advanced features and this is when you can really start polishing the site and making it your own by adding Shopping Baskets, refining menu graphics, incorporating RSS feeds and even include an Introduction page.

A feature I must mention which I thought was a great addition to this software is the Test feature that allow you to test your page out at any point without connecting to the internet, something that makes editing and refining the website much quicker and easier.

The last step is uploading to the internet which is quick and easy and yes that’s it!

The question is does it produce good accessible websites though? I was sceptical as many WYSIWYG programs fail to so but Website X5 again impressed with clean XHTML 1.0 Strict coding (if you don’t understand what means, take it from me it’s a positive!).

So overall what do I think about Website X5 Evolution? Well I have to say I was seriously impressed. This website creation software won’t ever take the place of the web professional but does allow the home user of small business on a tight budget to create an impressive site that they can be proud of and they’ll be able to do it in minutes, not hours.

If you would like a copy for yourself, you can buy it direct from Incomedia or at Amazon for £59.99 £29.97.

Popularity: 23% [?]