31
Replies
Any comments from Dani or the Muse Team on this?
Agreed that using too many widgets, images, etc. slows down the site. In most cases it is not even really necessary but stating Muse is only for design is extremely misleading. I understand that’s just your opinion.
Shiemer...I can tell you unequivocally if the site is generally less than 100 pages, not too loaded with widgets, and/or very large photo/video galleries Muse delivers a decent website in much less time to your client than WP or most other platforms. We use many different platforms but less so these days.
As a background for credible experience. Many of our clients we consult for are vey large corporations in various industries. 40 plus years.
Muse is used for intra sites in some cases and test sites in others.
A current trend in marketing is less emphasis on making the perfect website be the end all customer touch point. All marketing channels are critical. Branding, Logo, print, email, industry shows, sales calls, etc. no question loading speed “page speed” is very important. 2 seconds or less is ideal.
That said...Its important that your clients website tell their unique message quickly through simple non gimmicky complex design. It’s not print. So many websites being created look like print design. I think it’s a by product of how many designers have been unleashed on the web development world. 
it used to be that it was web design then the web developer built it...often that was and still is a battle between egos. The “coder” and the “designer”...let alone the client and what they actually want...Business ...
Check out Casper Beds, Fitbit and other sites. Most of these can and some were done in Muse originally. To designers it may look boring but there is more reliance on delivering business/customers!!! Tell the story message quickly rather than trying to tell everything about the company. “Why do we want to use or buy from you?”
Less is more is often more....especially for websites...Muse works in this regards. No it’s not a great CMS...but then WP is fraught with hacks and security holes too. There are many options.
A product page can be created without product with a master page then applied to the appropriate page. Add product title
description
image
buy now button...done
yes...there is no question that sites with large amounts of pages that need to be made over and over there are better choices.
I said I don’t disagree with that.
Muse lets clients have some access to updating the site themselves with out the typical $100 bucks every time they want to add or make a minor change. A good “basic site“ can be built with Muse, generally speaking, for a fraction of the cost and time. This is why so many other platforms like Wix, Weebly, etc. are flourishing. But Muse is in its own category.
More sophisticated sites need and or require more sophisticated software. But many multimillion dollar companies are using Muse as well, so its not just my opinion...they see the niche value Muse has had for them. I am not going to argue that point any further...The fact these companies and many others are using Muse makes my case. No it’s not perfect but Muse works. Just check out “Design Strategies” Len uses Muse quite effectively for many companies ...and they are quite happy. He is only one...but there are hundreds if not thousands of similar people using Muse all the time very effectively for their clients and not charging the kinds of fees once paid for.
Many like Valence Power realize it is not necessary to have anything more than that which fills their need...produce revenue. It’s a simple “layer cake” design. It works...and that is all that is needed. (The guy was cofounder of Tesla by the way) They do not rely solely on a website to sell or be their only face to their buyers.
The only thing is that Muse is still doing, is creating very slow “page speed loads” compared to many other hand coded sites, but even WP can be painfully slow. This kills audience engagement ...the majority of users often leave and won’t wait more than a second or two. WP has “excellerators plugins” to aide In these shortcomings of what was just originally was a blogging platform.
Bottom line Muse does what it is suppose to. Just wish with better code and faster page loads. Last but not least...a website built by the old way often is overkill...they often can cost $30-40,000 quite easily. When a potential client is shown that a site that fits their requirements can be built for a fraction of the cost...and still accomplish their marketing goals they are all ears! Generally in these cases a WP site isn’t going to produce any more revenue than a Muse site...it’s about the message and content not the framework.
But this is all acedemic and too much to discuss here.
AdChoices