Can Adobe Fix the Muse EOL Issue Before May 2019?

[Brian Stoppee]

We were sad to see the official announcement, last week, that Adobe Muse has ceased development.

Let’s be honest. This Adobe decision is going to create a hardship for Muse designers, who do not code. There’s been a great deal of anxiety already expressed about this Adobe announcement. Many users of Muse create great websites for clients. Those Muse designers are justified in feeling abandoned by Adobe.

Adobe will continue to support its very designer-friendly app, for web/mobile projects, into May 2019, but after that, it’s pretty much entering the history books of Adobe web/mobile EOL (end of life) apps.

It is our hope that over the next 14 months, before Muse support closes, Adobe will provide a solution, which allows Muse users to cleanly migrate their projects to another Adobe app.

Your Muse app won’t stop working, but will it be useful? What happens is that browser apps are improved and computers and mobile devices get OS (operating system) updates. Older Internet creation apps are then not equipped to keep up with the newer technology. So, using Muse, this time next year, might create something which has poor user experiences.

We’re not new to this Adobe EOL thing. When the Internet was young, Adobe created a PageMaker like app called PageMill, which we enjoyed. PageMill’s 1.0 version launched November 1 1994. Later, Adobe dropped PageMill and acquired GoLive. During the 2005 Macromedia acquisition, Adobe sent GoLive to the graveyard in favor of the far more popular Dreamweaver.

So, how many websites do we have out there which we designed with Muse?

Zero.

For us, and many web/mobile professionals, Muse was a great tool for doing fast prototypes of sites. We do the heavy lifting with Dreamweaver. One of the downsides to Muse was that it was not practical to drop that prototype work into Dreamweaver and finish the project. The code which Muse generated was not as sleek and elegant as what Dreamweaver creates. The Muse code was quite “verbose” and could cause very involved websites to load slower than they should.

However, we felt a certain ownership of Muse. When Adobe was pondering the development of Muse, we were the first people they interviewed about it, to get our feedback on the idea.

The Muse UI (user interface) grew out of InDesign. It would be our dream to have some of the Muse UI become a great new feature set in Dreamweaver. (We’re not holding our breath on that one, though.)

So, how will we prototype things, now?

Admittedly, we have not been big fans of Adobe XD. It needs more love. Fortunately, the captain of the Muse ship is joining the XD team, so we have a feeling some good things are about to happen for XD. If a XD prototype project could migrate right over to Dreamweaver, that would be a huge plus for designers and make the lives of coders much easier, too.

Without a doubt, Adobe has made a mess of things for its users of Muse. In our minds, Adobe has about a year to make it right (sooner than one year is better).

[John T Smith]

Which now gives Muse users 2 years to find a different way to do web sites

[Brian Stoppee]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/John+T+Smith  wrote

Which now gives Muse users 2 years to find a different way to do web sites

The Muse help site says there will be no new features. It would be nice if they could do bug fixes, but fixes sometimes break other things, so maybe its best they don't touch it.

[cmgap]

2 - years seems reasonable IMHO. Sites that I create have a refresh option at 18 mos, longer for small business. I'm looking forward to working with Spark Page beta and seeing if that will make sense in some of the small businesses I work with. BTW - they love Page. It was a hard sell to see if clients wanted to learn Muse to take on managing their own sites... not so with Spark. May the talent that worked on Muse be integrated somehow into Spark - I hope so.

[Brian Stoppee]

cmgap  wrote

2 - years seems reasonable IMHO. Sites that I create have a refresh option at 18 mos, longer for small business. I'm looking forward to working with Spark Page beta and seeing if that will make sense in some of the small businesses I work with.

Janet & I 100% agree. 2 years from now Muse users will have had a chance to transition.

We're fascinated by your interest in Spark. Please keep the Adobe Lounge posted on how you are doing

[Nancy OShea]

Adobe Portfolio is another option for Musers who just need a personal web presence.  But as one CC subscriber lamented, it doesn't support e-commerce or access to source code.

[Ussnorway]

Muse does not have two years... one of the main points of using it for web design is the option to actually host your sites on Adobe BC and that option starts to end on 18th June this year

Hosting temporary Muse sites

a website (html or whatever else) that is not hosted online is less than worthless because people think they have it finished then when it does go online they discover it looks like crap in tablets or just doesn't load in iphones

Muse is eol and already showing issues as Adobe turns things off so if people have Muse made sites my best advice is GET OUT NOW!

[Nancy OShea]

Ussnorway  wrote

Muse does not have two years... one of the main points of using it for web design is the option to actually host your sites on Adobe BC and that option starts to end on 18th June this year

Hosting temporary Muse sites 

a website (html or whatever else) that is not hosted online is less than worthless because people think they have it finished then when it does go online they discover it looks like crap in tablets or just doesn't load in iphones

Muse is eol and already showing issues as Adobe turns things off so if people have Muse made sites my best advice is GET OUT NOW!

I totally agree.  I'll go one step further and discourage new Musers from investing any more time in a dead product.  Their time will be much better spent learning to work with code or finding other alternatives.

[Brian Stoppee]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Nancy+OShea  wrote

I totally agree.  I'll go one step further and discourage new Musers from investing any more time in a dead product. 

Thank you for getting that point out here.

That point never crossed my mind that because Muse is still available it may attract new users.

1. When I click on the Creative Cloud app's Apps tab, I no longer see Muse there.

2. It not on the CC apps page: Adobe creative desktop apps | Adobe Creative Cloud

3. When I click on the All Applications link I don't see Muse there, either: Adobe products: desktop, web, and mobile applications | Adobe

So, how would a new Muse user obtain the app?

[Brian Stoppee]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Brian+Stoppee  wrote

1. When I click on the Creative Cloud app's Apps tab, I no longer see Muse there.

2. It not on the CC apps page: Adobe creative desktop apps | Adobe Creative Cloud

3. When I click on the All Applications link I don't see Muse there, either: Adobe products: desktop, web, and mobile applications | Adobe

So, how would a new Muse user obtain the app?

BTW: We should offer Adobe some thanks on being proactive in clearing Muse out of the pathway of potential new users.

They deserve all the heat they have gotten for this disruptive discontinuation of a popular app, but at least they are making an effort to focus any further involvement with Muse as be primarily Support, it would appear.

If there's a means for Adobe CC subscribers to get the Muse, now, for the first time, could someone please post how to do that, here?

[Nancy OShea]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Brian+Stoppee  wrote

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Brian+Stoppee   wrote

1. When I click on the Creative Cloud app's Apps tab, I no longer see Muse there.

2. It not on the CC apps page: Adobe creative desktop apps | Adobe Creative Cloud

3. When I click on the All Applications link I don't see Muse there, either: Adobe products: desktop,

If there's a means for Adobe CC subscribers to get the Muse, now, for the first time, could someone please post how to do that, here?

Why would they want it?   But since you asked, do you have show older apps checked in your CC Desktop App under Preferences?  See screenshots.

[Brian Stoppee]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Nancy+OShea  wrote

Why would they want it?   But since you asked, do you have show older apps checked in your CC Desktop App under Preferences?  See screenshots.

Just because some of us stay in the loop of many Adobe happenings, we cannot assume that the majority of Adobe's CC subscribers know the Muse development is at EOL or they even understand the implications. I see how a Muser user may not know about this and recommend it to a buddy.

But, again, Adobe has done a pretty good job of making it tough to find.

[Brian Stoppee]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Nancy+OShea  wrote

But since you asked, do you have show older apps checked in your CC Desktop App under Preferences?  See screenshots.

Thank you for this Nancy. I forgot this option is there.

Is it off by default?

Maybe I decided a long time ago, "Why would I want the ACC app to be cluttered by a bunch of old apps?" and turned if off.

Around 5 years ago I was on top of all things ACC but today other media technologies have taken a greater priority in the worlds of Janet & I.

[Nancy OShea]

Effective Monday (6/18/18) no more new Business Catalyst trial sites.

Product Announcement

[Brian Stoppee]

Do we have a sense as to how many Adobe CC subscribers still use Business Catalyst?

Has there been sufficient lead time for the remaining users to transition or will this be a hardship for a few users?

[Ussnorway]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Brian+Stoppee  wrote

Do we have a sense as to how many Adobe CC subscribers still use Business Catalyst?

all of them... site testing on Adobe BC is the main workflow and Muse is less than worthless without the option to test your code on a live server before you move to whatever host platfrom is picked for the finished site

[Brian Stoppee]

Ussnorway  wrote

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Brian+Stoppee   wrote

Do we have a sense as to how many Adobe CC subscribers still use Business Catalyst?

all of them... site testing on Adobe BC is the main workflow and Muse is less than worthless without the option to test your code on a live server before you move to whatever host platfrom is picked for the finished site

You are telling us that 100% of all Muse users also use Business Catalyst?

If so, what's you source of that data?

[Ussnorway]

I think we are talking about different stages of development here Brian

I’m saying that Adobe BC and Muse are linked (at a base-code level) for testing i.e, a user pushes the “publish” button to create a temp website (on BC) that they can test against ipads, Windows phones, desktops etc and perhaps show to a client

After the testing phase is over the final design can sit on Adobe BC as a launched site and for myself in Australia that was a very attractive option because the bulk of US network services assume making a tunnel into Sydney is the same thing as actually having a physical server here… which it isn’t 

I assume you want stats on the people that used Adobe BC for their final launched layout which Adobe would have but the percentages will be much smaller

[Brian Stoppee]

Ussnorway  wrote

I assume you want stats on the people that used Adobe BC for their final launched layout which Adobe would have but the percentages will be much smaller

My question was, "Do we have a sense as to how many Adobe CC subscribers still use Business Catalyst?" meaning "at this moment."

My guess is that when we take into consideration all the millions of CC subscribers, less than 1% currently use Business Catalyst, so we can see why BC ceased to make sense to Adobe. They had to ask themselves an important question, like, "What's our return on investment?" (ROI). It may have become a losing proposition.

[Ussnorway]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Brian+Stoppee  wrote

My guess is that when we take into consideration all the millions of CC subscribers, less than 1% currently use Business Catalyst, so we can see why BC ceased to make sense to Adobe.

for web hosting yes it would be even less than 1% imo but BC also did other network jobs that worked in the background and ibe, library, sub based type fonts etc all used its routors

[Brian Stoppee]

Ussnorway  wrote

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Brian+Stoppee   wrote

My guess is that when we take into consideration all the millions of CC subscribers, less than 1% currently use Business Catalyst, so we can see why BC ceased to make sense to Adobe.

for web hosting yes it would be even less than 1% imo but BC also did other network jobs that worked in the background and ibe, library, sub based type fonts etc all used its routors

My guess is that since Muse has ceased development, that less than 1% is now… well… less!

We mourn the loss of a great app but most of us know the reality of the lack of use the Business Catalyst service is getting therefore means Adobe's shutting it down makes business sense.

[Ussnorway]

I wasn't at that meeting two years ago so have no idea why Adobe decided to kill BC but I would argue that having slower networks with more crashes | down times and just pisspoor reliablity isn't great business sense... at the end of the day if people keep paying their sub fees Adobe will make money

[Brian Stoppee]

Ussnorway  wrote

... at the end of the day if people keep paying their sub fees Adobe will make money

That's pretty much the case.

Adobe may lose a few subscribers over this but its surely minimal.

[WhatsUpDoc_1_27]

I would like to chime in on the Adobe Muse EOL stuff I'm reading. I've just started using Muse about two months ago and I've caught on pretty quick on how to use it. As somebody who has used Adobe Flash, Dreamweaver, SwishMax 1 and SwishMax 2 (Before its death), a Photoshop guru since 2002 and well thousands of applications since the mid 90s I can say for a fact that Adobe's decision to kill off Muse is one of the worse decisions ever. People want applications, they don't want a web base application that forces a person to be online to build a website. Internet and ISPs is not always online and I can tell you where I live if it rains my internet goes down here in Central Florida. There is nothing wrong with my coax lines, nothing, its just how Comcast Xfinity is because of all the lightning we get here. If Adobe really forces people to be online to use the so called Adobe Spark I can tell you people will start using other applications besides Adobe applications. This is not a complaint but a warning Adobe,  you will lose business because there are many people who are building software applications to replace Muse right currently because people who has been using this great application will still want to have that Muse feel to their applications and they will want to build their sites offline.

So, take this as you like Adobe and others, trust somebody who has nothing to gain from telling the truth and by saying "It is the worse ever decision to EOL Adobe Muse!!!!!!!!!". If I were in charge of Adobe Products line, I would in fact upgrade Adobe Muse and add more features to it. It doesn't matter what you add or delete features people will always complain and whine about this or that in every application there is. I've seen it first hand whenever I use to be a gamer. I've never seen so much complaining in my life until I started playing games years ago. I am glad I stopped years ago also, got tired of all the whining and complaining. My point is, no company will ever make everybody happy, there will always be those who will complain about something. So, Adobe please rethink this about ending Muse and just upgrade it!!!

I can tell you this, I'm still thinking about ending my subscription if Muse is no longer supported. I just do not see the point of keeping Adobe's subscription when I use Muse more than any of it apps currently. There are plenty of applications out there that can replace Photoshop, Dreamweaver and even Adobe Flash and many replacements for Adobes other products. Adobe best think really hard on this because I think its going to affect Adobe where it really hurts, right in the wallet!!!

[Nancy OShea]

You're not talking to Adobe here.  This is a user lounge.  We're all product users just like you.

WhatsUpDoc_1_27  wrote

I can say for a fact that Adobe's decision to kill off Muse is one of the worse decisions ever.

I don't  agree with your opinion.  I think it's the only responsible thing they can do.  Adobe can't fix Muse.  It's a substandard app that cannot keep up with the modern web.  Ironically, what made it so appealing to designers (click & drag ease of use) is also why it cannot be "upgraded."   To fix all the problems  in Muse would require a complete re-programming of the core software which would also kill the current widgets that Musers rely on.   Endiing Muse now is a sensible decision.   Tech support will continue until  March 2021.  So keep using Muse if you want to.  But do it at your own risk of eventual failures 'cuz as you know, nothing lasts forever.   We learned that with Flash.

People want applications, they don't want a web base application that forces a person to be online to build a website.

Fair enough.  If you want to build responsive websites offline, you have a long list of alternatives,  in no particular order:

• Dreamweaver
• Wappler
• Pinegrow
• Visual Studio
• Mobrise
• Coffee Cup
• Atom
• Sublime Text
• Sparkle App (for Mac only)
• Blocs App (for Mac only)
• and others....

Happy coding!

[Ussnorway]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Nancy+OShea  wrote

Ironically, what made it so appealing to designers (click & drag ease of use) is also why it cannot be "upgraded."

I see your point but I'm not sure the Adobe XD team agrees

anyway Muse is dead and its time to move on