Member Article

Serif Launches Website Designer for Businesses

A powerful yet easy-to-use website designer for computer users with no HTML experience has launched today. WebPlus X6 from Serif, the award-winning creative software developer, empowers small businesses to confidently create stylish and interactive websites without hiring a designer.

Combining drag-and-drop simplicity with advanced customisation power, WebPlus X6 is perfect for business owners who do not have time to learn to write code or have the budget to hire a specialist. It allows users to create and control their own attractive websites – including mobile versions too – that feature social media integration, e-commerce, search engine optimisation and more interactivity.

“It’s essential for all businesses, from self-employed to medium-sized organisations, to have a website if they want to create the right impression, engage with customers and boost business,” says Gary Bates, Managing Director at Serif. “Yet almost half1(41%) do not have a website and, of those that do, many have not created a version optimised for mobile devices. So we’ve introduced stylish mobile website templates to allow them to target the 84% of smartphone owners that use the internet on their phones2.”

WebPlus X6 allows users to create websites that can automatically be viewed on devices like smartphones and tablets, based on a visitor’s browsing device or screen size. The mobile version of a business site, which matches the original website, can be created from scratch or by using one of the professionally-designed themed layouts. In addition, Facebook, Twitter and Google+ integration enables live feeds, social bookmarking panels and Like or +1 buttons to be added – essential for improving search engine rankings and spreading the word.

Other new features include the New Site Wizard for starting a website design from scratch, and animated sliders and banners for showing off images, text, and interactive content on any device. The Quick Build tab makes it incredibly easy to add feature-rich elements like text, video, social media widgets, maps, forms, and e-commerce straight onto a page. In addition, the Asset Browser allows users to easily find and add ready-made graphics, and the Asset Manager makes it easy to organise ready-made content and graphics into save-able packs for future use.

“WebPlus is still the only web design software that truly gives business owners all the tools they need to create an interactive and unique website – with ease and without limits. There is no need to be online during the design phase and there are no restrictions on the number of sites, pages, store sizes or items per page. Businesses can create multiple sites to suit different audiences or for other needs. And, unlike most online template editors, users permanently maintain ownership of their websites, templates and custom designs, plus they can upload changes in one click.”

Users will continue to be impressed by WebPlus’ legacy features and the design freedom it gives – businesses can choose from a selection of 60 regular and mobile-friendly themed layouts and unlimited colour schemes. Everything can be customised including site structure, colours, page layout, logos, graphics and text, and even interactive features such as forms, photo galleries, podcasts, YouTube™ videos, blogs, forums, RSS feeds and online booking.

WebPlus X6 is compatible with Windows 7/Vista/XP and retails at £81.69 (inc. VAT). It is available directly from Serif at www.serif.comand includes a free 30 days hosting package with sub-domain web address. A retail version is also available from major stores including Amazon and PC World, where it includes a bonus 12 month hosting package with a full domain name. Existing Serif Software users should contact 0800 376 7070 for further information on preferential upgrade pricing.

To follow @SerifBusiness on Twitter, go to www.twitter.com/serifbusiness or to join the SerifBusiness LinkedIn Group, visit http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4144769

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Homer .