Adobe Muse EOL announcement - Alternatives to Adobe Muse?

[Preran]

Hi all,

For those of you that haven't received the email around the Adobe Muse EOL, see the FAQ Product Announcement that tries to answer some the common questions around the announcement including the reasons behind the decision.

Before we proceed with discussing alternatives, the Muse application will continue to open on your computer. You will be able to continue to edit existing or create new websites with the application. Adobe Muse will continue to be supported until May 20, 2019 and will deliver compatibility updates with the Mac and Windows OS or fix any bugs that might crop up when publishing Muse sites to the web. However, it is quite possible that web standards and browsers will continue to change after Adobe stops support for the application.

While there is no 1:1 replacement for Adobe Muse at this stage, the FAQ link above provides some alternatives. Also, Adobe is making our own investment in DIY website creation and welcomes all Muse customers to join our upcoming pre-release program for a new format that will be introduced this year as part of Adobe Spark. Build a beautiful website—in minutes | Adobe Spark

That being said, I would like to open up this discussion for discussing other solutions and migration paths. It would be ideal if we could focus our efforts on the topic at hand.

Thanks,

Preran

[Nancy OShea]

<Adobe should just create an export to Dreamweaver from Muse and be done with it.>

Um... well actually they have.

1. In Muse, go to File > Export to HTML.  Note the folder location.   Example, C:\myTestSite
2. Open DW and go to Site > New Site and point to your folder.

[JustiBru]

I mean sans any Muse-specific added files, scripts or dependencies.

[Nancy OShea]

Owing to how Muse was programmed, those added files are essential.  Otherwise your site wouldn't work. 

That said, if you use some restraint in your MU comps --  keep the layout simple and avoid 3rd party widgets, your code will be a lot less bloated.

[any14poker]

Hi Nancy, thanks for the suggestion regarding the export function from Muse.  About a year before we found out about the EOL we needed to attempt an export from Muse for use in Dreamweaver.  We followed the same process you describe here, and some of the code worked fine, but a significant portion did not--I worked with Adobe support and was told that Muse was proprietary and it would be nearly impossible export/import a muse site into Dreamweaver and be able to work on the files in Dreamweaver.  So we gave up on it.  Until the EOL,

When I tried again with pretty much the same result.  I don't know why I decided to download the published files and then just setting up a "new site" in Dreamweaver using those files.  So far every site works great using this method. 

As to Adobe being responsible to create an "easy" way to do what I am doing, I guess I just don't see this method as "heavy lifting."  It literally takes us about fifteen minutes to download the files and set up the "new" site and then I can work on everything in dreamweaver.  Even the widgets work because we have the muse-created scripts. 

My hope is that knowing this is possible will alleviate some peoples' stress. 

Nancy, I'm sure there must be something I'm missing in the export/import method of bringing the files into Dreamweaver, but at least we know there are a couple ways to accomplish the same goal,

[Ussnorway]

fyi when you make a new site you end up with a Dreamweaver site i.e, it no longer works in Muse... if that is what you need then great

[any14poker]

Great point!! I should have pointed that out, thank you!

[hunterscotty]

Sorry, but Preran represents Adobe and knows the people involved in this decision making.

Is this decision final?

Will they supply the source-code, to allow the community to take over?

[Preran]

Yes, this decision is final, and there are no plans at this stage to outsource the code to the community.

You are right in the fact that I am the face of Adobe for this forum, and will do my best to answer your questions here.

Thanks,

Preran

[sstuart48]

Direct question Preran....

Can you confirm the Spark technical roadmap by Friday?

We will need to know if ANY Muse features will not be included in this final product. Whether you call it Spark / Muse / whatever...

[osxmarky]

Second that... we need to know asap!

[hunterscotty]

Why were customers not consulted on this decision?

Why not release the source-code as a sign of goodwill and allow the community to continue with it? It would potentially save many small businesses and restore some trust in Adobe, which has now hot rock-bottom for a committed base of customers.

So far Preran, you have answered no questions and mitigate no fear or anxiety.

Will Adobe have a like-for-like equivalent for Muse? Yes or No?

[Preran]

I am not sure about what you mean by a "like-for-like".  The Spark solution being proposed is supposed to be an easy way to create websites without knowing code, but it will not be the exact same thing as Adobe Muse. Like I said, I have not used it myself, and will know more after I have had a chance to test it.

[hunterscotty]

Preran,

You know what we mean when we say "like-for-like"; don't play cute with your answers like a politician.

Will Adobe Spark allow for the same level of design, customisation, editing and flexibility that Muse provided users?7

If you don't know, you need to find out urgently.

[Preran]

I am just trying to be as honest as possible. No, I really don't know the answer to your question because, like I said, none of us outside of the team that is developing it has had a chance to test it.

[hunterscotty]

Then Preran, some questions:

1. Why has nobody at Adobe thought about the community that use Muse and what realistic options are available, before giving us this news?
2. Why are there not any Adobe staff on this forum that can answer these basic questions about the future functionality of Spark?
3. Does Adobe care about these customers that use Muse?
   • If (yes), then when will we get answers about like-for-like functionality with a new/reworked product? See second question.
   • If (no), can Adobe be honest and just tell us to go use Webflow or some competitor, as Adobe doesn't care.
4. When will we get answers?

[sstuart48]

Preran, you proudly announced earlier you are representing Adobe earlier in this thread. Hunterscotty is now asking for clarity on 4 points. What is Adobe's position?

[Preran]

I am trying to get to users across multiple spaces, so I request you to wait until I get back to your posts.

1. Why has nobody at Adobe thought about the community that use Muse and what realistic options are available, before giving us this news?
   • The answers that I know of are the same ones available in the FAQ under the Background section.
2. Why are there not any Adobe staff on this forum that can answer these basic questions about the future functionality of Spark?
   • Like with all other products, features and roadmap are not discussed ahead of time by the teams at Adobe. The closest one gets to learning about them is by joining the prerelease program that is under NDA.
3. Does Adobe care about these customers that use Muse?
   • If (yes), then when will we get answers about like-for-like functionality with a new/reworked product? See second question.
     • The new Spark solution (the only one that I know of) isn't going to be a 1:1 match, but will probably be the best bet for migration from Adobe Muse.
   • If (no), can Adobe be honest and just tell us to go use Webflow or some competitor, as Adobe doesn't care.
     • That choice is personal, and if the choices provided in the FAQ do not meet your requirements, you will have to choose something more suited to your requirements.

When will we get answers?

[courtneyl56030463]

Hi Preran, Ater a day of stress and risk of costing my business £1000's in damages I only want to know one thing. Will I be ok using unsupported Muse for just 1 important website for years to come. I don't care if it isn't up to date with the latest web status. As long as it's functional as it stands today I can cope with just transferring to another host. The site I want to keep running is around 200 pages so you can see how much hassle this would/is causing.

[Preran]

If your site is hosted on a third party server, and you plan to make no changes to it beyond the support timeframe for Adobe Muse, it should continue to live on the site without any issues. The only risk that I foresee is that web standards change as also does browser support for some of the code in Muse.

[hunterscotty]

Why are my posts suddenly being moderated Preran? I have not used any foul language or broken any community rules. Now Adobe try to silence criticism?

[Preran]

The platform guidelines flag posts for moderation based on rules. It could be because of an external link or because of a number of consecutive posts that the platform believes to be spam. Our moderators exercise discretion in unflagging genuine posts. Let me know if your post does not get posted for some reason.

[hunterscotty]

Sure, Preran, sure.

No links in my post. No bad language. And I don't type particularly fast to be flagging up as spam.

Still, it has been 'released' now.

Any reply from Adobe?

[Abambo]

As explained by Preran , the fora sometimes react based on algorithms that are not always clear and understandable, even for the moderators. However, moderators are basically users like you. Posts in the moderation queue get released around the clock. The only reasons for refusals are:

• Spam
• inappropriate language.

Criticizing Adobe, Adobe policy or Adobe products does not fall in this category.

[#abi]

I'm using 123.reg not BC servers, so I assume I will need to think about finding a new design App?

[sstuart48]

I know what you are saying Preran...

When is the announcement about Spark likely due?

The sooner, the less middleweights Adobe loses to webflow.

Don't become the next Kodak and give the future of digital production to a competitor on a platter