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Muse alternatives - now that the dust has settled

Explorer ,
May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

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So, the initial shock has worn off. I am still extremely disappointed in Adobe. A company I have worked exclusively with my entire professional design career. I can't understand the reason why they would pull the plug on such useful and popular software. But... that is beside the point. They don't seem to be budging on their decision.

I am curious to know what other designers are planning to use for their web design. I know Webflow has been high on the list for many of us. I have not had a chance to fully check it out. I see that MuseGain has released some videos on how it works similarly to Muse. As a subscriber to MuseThemes, I see that they are now offering an application - Without Code, but I haven't had a chance to play with that either. Time is precious and I hate to spend a lot of time on something that won't work - or - get burned again and have the software pulled out from under me.

I would like to know what other professional graphic designers who have little interest in code, but still want to build beautiful websites are doing. Even though I can't code, I still believe that I have a lot to offer in the world of web design.

Thank you!

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Mentor ,
May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

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DesignDiva93  wrote

I would like to know what other professional graphic designers who have little interest in code, but still want to build beautiful websites are doing. Even though I can't code, I still believe that I have a lot to offer in the world of web design.

Please try to remain civil, folks, but my heartfelt answer to that question is...

Designers who have little interest in code are essentially leaving themselves at the mercy of other people. This is a shame because this thing called coding is actually quite easy to learn. In fact, it's far easier to learn to code than it is to design. Coding is not programming. Learning markup and CSS is equivalent to learning how to use a word processor efficiently and properly. That is, using styles to define paragraphs, headings, and normal text, rather than the Enter and Space keys. The only difference is that with web pages, the resultant code has far more impact on both the ultimate viewer programs (browsers) and the ability to manage and edit the page content.

The problem in Adobe-ville is that designers are led to believe that the sole means of coding a web page involves Bootstrap. Nothing could be further from the truth. Before Adobe purchased (and ruined) Dreamweaver, there was an online community that embraced teaching rather than pontificating and early Dreamweaver users learned how to be web designers (consider the two words: Web + Designer).

So, no matter what you choose as an alternative, you will e well on your way to being an excellent web designer if you take the time to learn HTML and CSS. It is not difficult, and far easier than mastering photo or video editing in Photoshop  or Premiere.

Good luck to you all!

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Explorer ,
May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

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Thank you for your response!

I wouldn't say that I have little interest in code. I do! I have taken many classes and attempted to teach myself to code. I know enough to be dangerous! But for those of us who are visual - I guess I am lumping most designers in this category - tech "stuff" such as code is not the way our brains are wired! I do not find photo editing difficult at all, but when trying to decide if a div is in the correct spot or if I have an extra space where it shouldn't be - well, I just throw in the hat. My talent lies in graphic design. Knowing and accepting this lead me to Muse. It was the best of both worlds for me, but ... that ship has sailed.

Trust me - I wish coding would work for me! Things would be much easier.

I do appreciate your response and while I think there is some truth to your point, I don't know that it is realistic for all of us.

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Mentor ,
May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

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I understand your feelings. I really do. But I'm just saying that if you don't understand the code then you are at the mercy of companies like Adobe, who really have no people onboard who are proficient enough to write their own page layout code. This is why they stuff open source CSS frameworks inside Dreamweaver and Muse. If I were a product manager for Adobe, in charge of either Muse or Dreamweaver, I could fix that in a week. We produce extensions that allow non-coders and coders alike to lay out a page as if they were playing with Legos. Adobe is not capable of this. Most of the alternatives you've seen posted on this forum are also incapable. So, the alternative to learning code is to rely on other people's code. The problem is that the other people are also using other people's code . Not a good situation, because you totally relinquish control of quality and efficiency. The ideal web designer uses tools, but has the ability to judge the quality of those tools. You probably believe with your whole heart that Muse produces good code. It doesn't. Oh, the pages will tend to work OK, more often than not... but the code, to someone who understands code, is kind of horrible.

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Explorer ,
May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

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Yes! I am aware that the code that Muse creates is gross. Not that I can tell! Just what I have read. And I understand your point. I hate being at the mercy of others, which is why I am nervous about my next web building solution. If Adobe, one of the most reputable design companies, can pull out, then anyone can!

ALsp  wrote

We produce extensions that allow non-coders and coders alike to lay out a page as if they were playing with Legos.

What are you referring to in the above? Who is "we"? I am intrigued!

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Mentor ,
May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

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What are you referring to in the above? Who is "we"? I am intrigued!

If you hover over my name you should see a popup with my company info. Our web site is here:

Responsive Web Design Extensions, Apps, Add-ons and Plugins for Dreamweaver

Harmony is the Lego-esque tool I was referring to:

PVIIHarmony Flexbox for Dreamweaver

And just so you know, we've been making design-side plugins for Dreamweaver longer than anyone else. We kind of started the whole thing, made Dreamweaver what it is, blah, blah, blah

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LEGEND ,
May 29, 2018 May 29, 2018

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we already have a thread for this here Adobe Muse EOL announcement - Alternatives to Adobe Muse?

having another one is pointless and I'm locking this thread

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Community Expert ,
May 30, 2018 May 30, 2018

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For bad or worse, I decided this thread could be useful so I unlocked it.   The other thread is so saturated with posts it now spans 50+ pages, much of it repetitive.  I tip my hat to anyone with the patience and stamina to wade through it all .

Going back to Project Seven's products  which Al mentioned above, they are all top notch Dreamweaver extensions.   The  point & click menus are well-suited for coding novices as well as pros who appreciate reduced production time with professional results.   Also  PVII's customer support is A++.

In the interest of fairness, I also invite Musers to have a look at Wappler  -- the newest kid on the visual web design block .  You can get a free desktop version for 64-bit Win, Mac or Linux OS below.   Keep in mind, Wappler is new and a bit of a work in progress.  It's also possible to create full-featured database driven sites without much coding know-how if you invest in the optional DMX Zone  extensions.

https://wappler.io/download

Below is a chart  comparison of Wappler with Dreamweaver, Pinegrow, Webflow, Wix and  WordPress:

https://wappler.io/comparison

Best of all,  projects created with Dreamweaver, Project Seven or Wappler are built with native web technologies.   There's nothing to export or import because native code can be opened in any code editor.   Sadly, the same cannot be said of Muse project files which only work in Muse

Nancy

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator
Alt-Web Design & Publishing ~ Web : Print : Graphics : Media

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Explorer ,
Jun 08, 2018 Jun 08, 2018

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Hi Nancy. Wappler looks good, I have been looking at Mobirise & Blocs & also Wocode although I prefer to host my self. interested to know your views on these.

I only do my own website & webdesign.

website done in muse: www.victorianpine.com

thanks. Andy

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Explorer ,
Jun 11, 2018 Jun 11, 2018

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Nancy, thank you for unlocking this. Yes, the reason I posted the question again was because the other thread was out of control. I was hoping that after some time when people are not as shocked and angry, they may have stumbled on some good information. I have not heard about Wappler - I will check it out! I am also curious to hear what you think of Without Code. I prefer to host myself and don't love the pay per site set up.

Thank you!

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Community Expert ,
Jun 11, 2018 Jun 11, 2018

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W/O Code is cloud hosting & a subscription based service built on Duda.   It might work for some but it's not something I would use.  See post below for more details.

Re: Adobe Muse EOL announcement - Alternatives to Adobe Muse?

I'm on Windows.  Blocs and Sparkle are Mac only apps so not an option I can use. 

On the surface, Mobrise appeals to me because it's a free desktop app for building Bootstrap layouts.  Since I already use Bootstrap, it could fit into my current workflow.  However, I would not spend money on the optional code editor.    I would use an editor I already have. 

Nancy O'Shea— Product User, Community Expert & Moderator
Alt-Web Design & Publishing ~ Web : Print : Graphics : Media

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New Here ,
Jun 26, 2018 Jun 26, 2018

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Anyone else have something to add? I am still trying to select options. I think I've narrowed it down to Without Code and Webflow. I'm not overly concerned about pricing b/c I feel like that's always something that can be passed onto the client without much trouble. I plan to design only around 3-5 (smaller) websites a year. I want my clients to be able to easily update their sites in a CMS. I want the ability to easily make an ecommerce site if need be. I also want the ability to easily import dynamic content. I am not a coder. I am not overly fussy about design freedom either--and my clients typically aren't either. It seems to me that Without Code might have an easier learning curve and be more suited to my needs. Any thoughts or links to other places that have compared these two programs?

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New Here ,
Sep 13, 2019 Sep 13, 2019

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LATEST

1.  Many of us abused Adobe Muse users own businesses that are in mfg or not in web design - so learning code.. not happening.

 

2.  I quickly jumped to Webflow.  Watched all the videos and built a 1-page site for a friend.  Now, I"m building my personal biz website (500+ pages).

 

3.  Webflow is close to WYSIWYG - but there IS a learning curve.  After watching video after video, it still wasn't clicking.  So I found a Webflow designer on Craiglist and arranged for him to teach me Webflow / 2 hr crash course and he made it clear as we built a page together.

 

4.  Webflow is NOT going to sell out or just go out of biz / close doors on thousands (FU Adobe).  They just got a HUGE 70+M investment from some of those rich kids in Silicon Valley or such.  You can read about it online...

 

5.  Webflow runs CIRCLES around Muse - It will be my design software for life!

 

Webflowwww.Webflow.com

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