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

[Illostraight]

For those of you just finding out that Muse is no longer going to be supported. Here's a list I think W_J_T made of Adobe Muse Alternatives. BTW, Webydo is monthly.

[W_J_T]

Illostraight  wrote

For those of you just finding out that Muse is no longer going to be supported. Here's a list I think W_J_T made of Adobe Muse Alternatives.

Hi llostraight,

Just to be clear I have nothing to do with that list. It was first posted on page 10 on this thread by krayzee2k9. You can see the original post here [ Link ].

[HawkeEye]

Thanks and whoever did the list it helps all of us save time and effort.

I went down the list and unfortunately found no compatible alternative for Muse.  There is a big issue here that has to do with staying power.  I went with Muse because Adobe should have staying power in the market.  Just about every attractive offering on the list is a small, and I don't mean that in a derogatory manner, firm with great ideas but little capital.  These firms usually are bought by the Adobes of the world when their products prove viable, and so the cycle repeats.

The Microsofts of the world have proven to be more reliable with core products like Office, but even they have abandoned web products over time.

[krayzee2k9]

Thanks. I

  wrote

Thanks and whoever did the list it helps all of us save time and effort.

I went down the list and unfortunately found no compatible alternative for Muse.  There is a big issue here that has to do with staying power.  I went with Muse because Adobe should have staying power in the market.  Just about every attractive offering on the list is a small, and I don't mean that in a derogatory manner, firm with great ideas but little capital.  These firms usually are bought by the Adobes of the world when their products prove viable, and so the cycle repeats.

The Microsofts of the world have proven to be more reliable with core products like Office, but even they have abandoned web products over time.

know there's no real replacement for Muse out there but glad to hear the list was at least partially helpful.

[HawkeEye]

here is a little mystery.  According to G2 the two best development platforms right now are

1. Dreamweaver

2. Muse

https://www.g2crowd.com/categories/web-design

Highest in performance and in user satisfaction, with webflow and coda a distant 3 and 4

so is there more to this story?

[W_J_T]

HawkeEye  wrote

so is there more to this story?

Yeah check 100 different sites, reviews, suggestions, etc., get 100 different results. It's just one such instance.

[Abambo]

Without contesting what is presented there, they did not give a source for their data.

[Illostraight]

Can somebody add Sparkleapp.com to this list. It seems it was taken out and I can't edit. I've found it's the closest to Muse. Free, $44.99 and $89.99, Desktop Sparkle Visual Web Design

[Robert_Kenfield]

My Business invested years into Muse and we have many websites we’ve created and need to service for clients related to muse. I wouldn’t have chosen to do that if I had any inclinking adobe would kill muse. What do we do with our websites that need updating in 2019, 2020, 2021? What do we tell our clients? If I wasnt so tied into adobe for illustrator and other apps I would have cancelled my account. Now I’m left with a sick feeling in my stomach and a lot of extra work to do in our business to shift directions and clean up this mess.

[HawkeEye]

And I would assume your customer views this as your problem with no intent to pay for the transition to a new platform.  Financially for many small firms this could be a killer.

[work_at_it]

@HawkEye who said: "And I would assume your customer views this as your problem with no intent to pay for the transition to a new platform.  Financially for many small firms this could be a killer."

This is the one point that anyone from Adobe reading this thread will not touch with a 10-foot pole. They know it's true but the Adobe team in charge of this EOL would like to buy us off with giving us more time to spread out the financial cost we are bearing for the company's mistake in programming.

It's sad really, because it's also unnecessary. I say unnecessary because even a token appreciation of the financial damage they are causing their customers would go a long way to maintaining the corporate brand in a positive light.

Wouldn't even have to admit it directly if they were to do something nice like offer X-months free CC subscription for example to all those it knows have downloaded and published with Muse.

I understand that they don't want to open a legal can of worms for every time they decide to discontinue software they have to pay people off, however the degree of demonstrated self-interest goes beyond what is ethical behaviour by a company. Just because you can get away with something legally, doesn't make it right.

This Muse/BC EOL is not like retiring some of their other programs. It's going to cost me $1000s of dollars. The extended EOL time frame only spreads out my payment schedule for my business to support Adobe shareholders.

[yardgirl-gb]

I have never been that confident in pushing my webwork as I was always worried that someone would want something I couldn't produce. That changed recently as finally I was feeling confident on using Muse and confident that I could produce sites that customers wanted with the right features, individual looks and something that I or my clients could host. Hence I was very upset about the news that Muse was disappearing.

Typically this week I have had enquiries about two sites so now I don't know what to do. If I produce in Muse I risk it being obsolete in the next few years (both are sites that will require updating regularly) plus of course the expense to me if I have to redo in the future. Alternatively there are so many options - none which are perfect or even good from what I've seen and if Adobe isn't stable what is. It will take time I haven't got to learn a new application and I can hardly expect my clients to pay to be Guinea Pigs and it hardly looks professional. Adobe have caused so much trouble with this decision.

[guik189]

I'm willing to pay for every website I get from the program.

The main thing is not to close the project.

let the export be removed on the adobe server as a webflow for example

[Gaudin-Graphiste]

Comment vais-je pouvoir poursuivre mon activité ? Comment vais-je expliquer à mes derniers clients (et à ceux dont le site est en cours de finalisation) qu'il faut tout refaire, que c'est obsolète ? Je le leur fait payer ? Je les perds, je le fais gratuitement, je FERME ! Alors ? Quelle option ? Quel est le but pour adobe d'attacher tant d'importance au développement d'applications qui se remplacent les unes les autres au lieu de poursuivre le développement de quelques applications majeures dont MUSE faisait partie ?! J'ai aujourd'hui des projets en cours, je suis complètement incapable de déterminer si je dois tout refaire et finaliser autrement ou poursuivre… C'est vraiment une situation INGÉRABLE ! Adobe DOIT nous proposer des solutions d'export, des compléments de dreamweaver par exemple pour effectuer une transitions douce et durable par exemple !

[ymc88]

Je suis d'accord avec toi. J'ai 4 chantiers en cours sur Muse avec devis payés... Et des formations de 5 pros de la comm qui sont en train de créer eux-même des sites pour leurs clients sur Muse...

C'est une situation que je n'ai jamais connu depuis 26 ans que je suis fidèle utilisateur des programmes Adobe !

Et les concepteurs de Widgets auxquels je suis abonné à l'année ? Adobe prévoit de nous les rembourser ?

C'est un gâchis incompréhensible et surtout que nous sommes en face de nos clients qui vont avoir des doutes sur notre professionnalisme alors que nous sommes trahis par notre fournisseur de logiciel que nous payons plus de 65€/mois !

Alors je vais faire un pas en arrière revenir vers Webacappella RC en espérant que ces bordelais garderont eux leur logiciel à jour.

[Abambo]

Muse n'arrête pas à fonctionner. Tu peux faire une transition "douce". Et Dreamweaver n'est pas un produit de remplacement pour Muse.

C'est BC qui s'arrêtera. Il faut changer le hosting.

[paulh3985020]

I have been full of praise for Adobe for the 26 years've been using your products, both at home and for the companies I freelance for.

Sadly my confidence in using your products has been shattered. I spent a lot of time teaching myself how to use Muse and had planned to do the same with some of your newer apps. What guarantees do you offer on other apps now?

[Abambo]

paulh3985020  wrote

What guarantees do you offer on other apps now?

Any tool you use today can be out of business tomorrow. Your design talents, however, will stay with you.

I remember well, when Europe Online went out of business and the legacy administrator unplugged the lines. That was some 25 years ago at the beginning of the internet age. Companies who connected to the internet via EOL were cut off from the world without warning. 

[Cliffsta B]

Hi folks,

I know a lot of you are upset - But moving on, has any Muse lovers started having a play with XD? I use Muse to build larger prototypes, but loved the way it had breakpoints and published to an FTP which could be viewed like any website. I was wondering whether it was possible to do the same kinda "fake website" build in XD, or if it has obvious team collab UI all over the place, breaking the perception it is a functioning site.

Cliff

[paulh3985020]

How long will XD be running for?

[Cy233]

My hunch is that in a year or two, XD will be better than Muse for building fully responsive prototypes.

It's an awesome piece of technology that has started off on the right foundation but it will never become a web editor because the code that makes it awesome design tool is not code you can use to build a website.

My guess is it will develop into something more like a layered, animated gif -- an animated gif that expands and contracts to fit the browser and changes states when clicked on.

When technology can 'read' images, then coding websites will no longer be necessary (OK, got a little carried away there)

[Peter Villevoye]

My hunch is that in a year or two, XD will be better than Muse for building fully responsive prototypes.

No way. Adobe XD broke with the traditional goal of trying to build a website. There have been some sneak-peeks in which they showcased a CMS being connected to a page, but that was over two years ago, I never saw anything back from it in a real version, and it was merely to populate a list like a catalogue page in real-time. All in order to whip up a mock-up – not a live website.

Adobe XD wants to facilitate and support the designer within a team.

[W_J_T]

There is certainly a race being had in the prototyping tools realm of the industry, getting crowded. It will be curious to see who if any get to the web or allow for such output. There are many companies and apps in this arena currently, none from prototype to deploy concerning web though that I am aware of.

[Guest]

If this is the way you respond to criticisms and or sometimes tough questions...I want no part of your app. You will need to get a tough skin and behave better towards potential customers.

That “attitude“ is very predictive and telling of the kind of service that can be expected.

The Muse team and some ACP’s never got it. Many had the same problem.

Muse was a great answer for many. I read of an 89 year old guy who was really enjoying the new lease on life Muse had given him. The chance to build websites without needing to know a lot about code. Muse sites were not perfect but I really feel for those that have lost or will be losing the ability to have a revenue stream.

Unfortunately many Muse users looking to move to something else don’t know enough t9 be able to make a wise choice.

[JGC1300]

Adobe is and has been making some really poor decisions over the last few years (e.g edge, muse, etc.) As an ACE in Adobe software I get comments from users of Adobe's products that express a growing loss in faith in the company. Since the move to the cloud model Adobe has seemly switched to a rapid decision, perhaps knee jerk reaction position that clearly isn't fully thought out.

I find it horribly short sighted to EOL Muse. This will ultimately only push end users to alternative products. You need to start listening to your customers and respond to their needs and wants. The idea that you can kill a product that so many rely on and simply say "just use one of our other products and trust us that we won't kill it too after you invested hours and tons of money on it" is crazy.

In addition to being a creative services business owner I also teach a nationally recognized college for art and design. Over the last 10 years, as an educator I have taught just about every product Adobe makes. Part of my responsibilities is predicting what tech we need to be teaching in the future. Adobe's poor consideration of how these decisions affect the end user, lack of listening and responding to those user's wants and needs and the now complete disbelief that any product is safe at Adobe leaves me to wonder about it's role as the industry standard.

Adobe needs to restructure it's leadership and start listening to it's customers. I for one am left with no choice but to begin seeking alternatives as I also have loss faith that any of this feedback from any of these abandoned users will have any impact on the decision makers at Adobe.