Help! Why does InDesign not do what it's told

[Brendan157F]

I drew up this page (pic 1) in InDesign 2021 on a Mac running Mac OS OS 15.7.  

Exported it to HTML

Opened it on Safari browser and the image and the text had changed places. (pic 2)

I didn't ask it to do that.

What is the problem, please?

[Eugene Tyson · Accepted solution]

InDesign is not a WYSIWYG website layout/editor - it's a page layout programme for print.

The HTML export is rudimentary - you still need to get that into a web page layout either using coding or a Web Layout programme. 

Some good options here https://creativepro.com/exporting-from-indesign-to-html5-amazing-free-script/

[BobLevine]

If you want pixel perfect HTML out of InDesign you'll need in5.

[Steve Werner · Accepted solution]

I agree with Bob. 

Here's info about in5:

In5 home - Digital Magazines, Mobile Apps, Web Banners ...ajarproductions.com › pages › products › i...

[Jason Burnett]

Seriously at $80 per month for a subscription, I had better be producing a heck of a lot of HTML using inDesign. While people keep referring to this amazing and free plugin, it appears that they caught the greed bug and now they are charging for it.

And by charging, I mean they are not just charging a one time fee to ise their script, they are charging $30/month for their cheapest tier (if you pay annaually). and $50 for their recommended subscription fee. That's per month, mind you. And in fact, that's more than I pay for the entire Adobe Creative Suite. 

While I am sure this has been a good answer in the past, I was hoping someone would revisit it since this is simply intennable for most small InDesign users who would like to generate some HTML from InDesign. Either that or Adobe should top advertising a service they only marginally provide. 

Any other suggestions?

[BobLevine]

It was never free and the amount of work that's gone into it is obviously something you can't understand. Like anything else, if you don't see the value then keep on slugging through without it.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

InDesign users who would like to generate some HTML from InDesign. 

Any other suggestions?

By @Jason Burnett

Yes, I have one.

Don't use InDesign or any plug-in to export HTML from an INDD layout file.  Or from any other desktop publishing/page-based layout program, either.

If you want a glass of lemonade, don't grab an orange and squeeze it: that produces orange juice, not lemon juice. If you need to move cross-country, don't expect a Honda Fit to hold your precious possessions. You might need an 18-wheeler moving van.

Use the right, most appropriate tool to get the results you want.

Take a short course in HTML/CSS and learn how to code HTML correctly — better than the crap code you'll get from any page layout program like InDesign.

In the US, local community colleges are great for this type of training, either as a full semester-long course or a short 2-3 day intensive (in the Continuing Education department). So many designers have learned HTML basics and now have more job opportunities and business.

[BobLevine]

That's just crazy talk, Bevi. 🙂

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

You know how crazy I can be!