Running a website as a business takes a
lot of time and effort. As Kris can attest, keeping
DragonSteelMods.com tuned up and running proficiently takes a lot of
work. Now to create and run a site, the user can either go with the
cookie cutter programs designed for beginners that are generally
limited in their scope or with something that is complicated with a
lot of code to be manipulated. The other option is to pay someone to
do the job.
Luckily, the folks at XSite Pro have
released their second web design/editor program – XSite Pro 2. This
program is a happy medium between the simple and complex web design
programs in the market. It can be entirely template driven, allowing
the user to avoid dealing with all the messy code that lies
underneath. XSite Pro 2 creates the code from the user’s input
information and sets it for HTML output.
So let’s take a closer look at XSite
Pro 2. Let’s get started…..
Reviewed by: Tomas Ratas
Tech Specs,Features or the
Basic Info:
Minimum System Requirements:
1GHz processor; 1GB RAM; Windows
XP/Vista; 300MB hard-disk space, Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher
Some of the Features Include:
-RSS Feed
Wizard – Add an RSS feed as content, select a feed, customize
style, insert into page
-Insert
streaming audio – Adds playback controls
-Insert
video – converts to web format
-Widgets – Banner rotators, image gallery, popups, faqs. Print page, image
rollovers, email cloaker
-Site Search – requires PHP, exclude pages from search
-Forms Wizard – Works with XMailPro, AWeber, Get Response, List Mail Pro, or
standard email.
-Advertising – Amazon, Google Adsense, PayPal
-PayPal
Advertising – Allows selling of digital products
-Social Network Link
-Mobile Site
Generation – Make a whole new version of your site optimized
for mobile devices.
-Siloing –
Create a virtual or physical interlinked site structure
-Links Page – Auto loads data from web page
-XML Syndication – Create an
RSS feed
A Better Look at Things
:
Since this was a digital download,
there is no packaging to describe. So let’s jump ahead and look at
the installation and testing section.
Installation, Testing and
Comparison:
Installation is straight forward. The
program will ask for the location of the installation and data
directories. XSite Pro 2 takes up approximately 325 MB of hard drive
space.
After the installation process
finishes, the program asks to reboot Windows. Upon re-launching the
program, you will need to enter a Registration Code which is
authenticated online.
Now, XSite Pro 2 is ready for your
first project. The main window has a toolbar with seven options
including: File, Tools, Reports, Publish, Go To, Settings and Help.
Below this toolbar is a set of Tabs which include: New Project, New
Website, Save, Close, Cut, Copy, Paste, Affiliate Wizard, Google
Adsense, Snippet Library, Report, View Live Website, Publish, Help
and Exit.
Finally, below these tabs, we find
buttons for Add Project, Add Website, Rename, Delete, Edit, Move,
Copy, Export and Import.
Now before you dive into using XSite
Pro 2 I would strongly recommend you check out the tutorials on the
website – http://www.xsitepro.com
To get going, you need to create a
Project which is where the creation and management of your website
occurs. XSite Pro 2 offers several hundred templates which are
independent of the content, thus you can change templates at anytime
and not lose your website’s content.
Most all of the aspects in these
templates can be fine tuned by the user at any point. From margin
size to characteristics of dynamic menus, these are all user
modifiable. The templates look professional, are CSS-capable and
dynamic. Because of all the possible tweaks and modifications
available, you don’t have to worry about your website looking the
same as some else’s who used the same XSite Pro 2 template.
Compared to a program such as
Dreamweaver, XSite Pro 2 may seem simplistic, but that is the point.
This program is designed for someone with little to no website
creation experience to be able to up and running quickly. Once you
gain proficiency; then you can “go under the hood” and fine tune
things.
Content can be added as easily as
typing in a word processor. The large royalty free clip art library
comes in handy for adding additional pictures and icons. Quick Pages
is a wizard for several types of pre-formatted web pages such as
contact info, forms, etc. RSS feeds can be imported or exported with
XML syndication wizard. The Audio/Video Wizard can help set up
embedded audio or video content of the website that you are creating.
For those looking to make some money,
aren’t we all? XSite Pro 2 lets the user insert Google Adsense
ads, Amazon Affiliate Products and Oxado ads into your web page. If
you are selling items, adding a Paypal Button is simple and will
direct the customer to Paypal for payment and then back to your
website.
Publishing is as simple as uploading
via FTP. If you need to upload content onto your website at a
particular time or date, then you can schedule pages for publishing.
This allows you to keep your site fresh, without having to sit around
and upload it yourself at the time you want new content. Automating
your work, allows more time for you the user to address other things.
The program can be figured out by
exploring, but if you want to jump in and get up and running quicker,
definitely use the resources on the XSite Pro website.
Summary:
XSitePro 2.0 is really as simple or as
complex as the user wishes it to be. There are templates, wizards
and other tools that will make your web site functional and better
than ones made with other tools.
If you have a website or are looking to
start a new one, then XSitePro 2.0 is one of the best web
design/editing programs available. This application allows the
novice to create professional looking websites in a matter of
minutes. XSitePro 2.0 handles all the scripting and html formatting
so you the user don’t have to. If you need to have a website up
and running and don’t have much experience in web creation, then
XSitePro 2 is the program for you.
DragonSteelMods gives the XSite Pro 2 a
5 out of 5 score.
Pros:
-Easy to use for beginners
-Easily change the layout of webpages
without losing content
-Schedule content upload
-Hundreds of predesigned templates
-Intuitive interface
Cons:
-Not free
I would like to thank XSite
Pro for the chance to review the XSite
Pro 2 and for their support of DSM.
review#529