XSitePro Website Design Software Message Board

Don't get me wrong, tables are great - have been for at least six or seven centuries now (in Web-years, that is).

My first websites were hand-coded in basic HTML, no one having yet invented WYSIWYG, so when the HTML editors and site-builders came along, I was very happy. And I tried just about all of them. Dreamweaver was my favorite, but took a lot of time and effort - and just about the time you had a good handle on it, along would come a new version (we're up to, what, CS5 now?).

Then XSitePro came along and I went to a local pub just to learn how to dance an Irish jig in celebration (well, that's my story, anyway). Loved it, but it had a lot of holes. Then came XSP2 and the holes began to fill. XSP2.5 improved things more. But, when all is said and done, XSP is still a tables site-builder, at best giving a brief nod to some of the other developments (the sort of thing Dreamweaver keeps adding in), from CSS to - and please cover the childrens' ears and keep the dog and cat out of kicking range - Wordpress.

And, let's face it, while WP began life as a blog creator, it has somehow morphed into the fastest-growing general site-builder out there. And it has some good points, not to mention a plethora of themes and plug-ins and all kinds of things that keep it growing (yes, I know, so does XSP, to a lesser extent).

Nor should we forget a most frequent request - despite the entirely logical program problems cited for not doing it: A Mac version. I'm in my second year of conversion and, aside from the continuing need to run an XP virtual computer in Parallels so I can still use Word Perfect and InfoSelect and Quicken - and XSP - I couldn't be happier. Well, maybe when Lion debuts this summer, if, as rumored, it has a built-in Windows emulator and I can do away with Parallels and XP.

But what really would make my day-week-month-year-decade-century-etc. would be an XSP3 that somehow incorporates some of the best attributes of Wordpress and, yes, even Dreamweaver, that runs flawlessly on a Mac (even if it still has to use the Lion emulator), is more open to third-party plug-ins and the inclusion of new capabilities we haven't even seen yet.

Obviously, anything that tries to be all things to all users almost always becomes less than it was to each user and often useless to everyone. I don't expect XSP - 3.0 or 10.0 - to run the others off the Internet and become the one and only site-builder. But I would be willing to wait a little longer, if necessary, for the XSP programmers to at least get a start on some of those things that keep popping up as feature requests. It would make life a lot easier when we have to rebuild a site done by someone else using some other software (as I'm currently doing) or try to build an XSP site for a WP enthusiast (another project) or just build a site for myself that incorporates some of the cool stuff seen on other sites that aren't quite so tables-centric.

I still have Dreamweaver (CS3, but may be getting CS4 for Mac from a friend) and guess I'll have to learn how to use WP (which I haven't yet). But XSP remains my favorite. I'd just like to see a bit more modernization in the next version.

_________________
J.R. Wilson
http://TheFreelancer.com
http://Pollux.com
Those who place the quality of their work first are publishers.
All others are merely printers.

J.R.



Many of us up here have asked for this for quite a while, along with XML support. There are other things we have asked for for many years, such as a new Editor to replace PinEdit. For some reason, I cannot understand, Intellimon has chosen to not look at those issues when releasing version 2.5. Hopefully they will listen and do something about it in 3.0. If not, I will start to lose hope that it will ever be fixed, as some have already that have been asking for it way before I have.

Even with Tables XSitePro is THE BEST WYSIWYG editor for doing page design, etc... as long as you can keep the old-style tables in mind when you do your design. If you want to look at using CSS stylesheets have a look at WebPlus X4 from Serif, I purchased that and use it from time to time, as well as the free tool KompoZer.



Yes, I would like to see it too... Regarding WordPress it's not fun to work with either as the editor there is not much fun, I still prefer XSitePro over WordPress, but WordPress does have some interesting plugins that make it's use worthwhile for some features, so it's a tradeoff for me. I either use XSitePro (and deal with it's editor - no code locking, etc), or I use WordPress (and deal with it's poor security on the server, and plugin cross-compatibility issues).

If you're looking for add-ons to XSitePro you can find a full list on my website - which gets updated every week or so, find it at:
XSitePro plugins

_________________
-Brett...





XSitePro Templates - $297 | XSitePro Membership Sites, XSitePro Shopping Carts, XSitePro Scripts Integration

Even though it uses "Pro" in the name, XSite Pro isn't "professional" grade.

When XSite Pro is upgraded, it should come with a code generation system that doesn't leave lots of useless code sludge residue in the source code. Also, provide a source editor that is a professional tool and not an afterthought. Notepad++ is free, yet it has features way beyond the editor in XSP.
As many of us have requested, XSP should give us a way to lock code so that it doesn't get trashed by the WYSIWYG editor when switching to Design view.

I would like to see XSP move beyond just being a tables-based system. It's inefficient to have to build everything with tables when there are better alternatives. I cut my web page building teeth with tables using just a text editor. I can think and code in tables, but that doesn't prevent me from recognizing that that there are better and alternative ways to build websites.

Keep the good features that XSite Pro gives us for website and project management. Keep the excellent tables-building features. Give us CSS tools that are worthy of a professional grade development system. Being able to add additional CSS via scripts is okay for minor fixes. Having to add it in a little window in a tiny font size with a primitive text editor is not professional grade.

I find myself using XSite Pro less and less on sites that I know will require frequent updating...

_________________
XSitePro runs great on HostGator (WordPress does, too)

I agree with Brett and Copywolf. For sure Intellimon is working on this, but please hurry-up. When I started building website, I spent 100% of my time in XSitePro. Now it's no more then 20%.

I work with Notepad++ a lot and I love it. I code myself then call my pages & CSS to load externally in my website troughs xsitepro.

I now make my own menu, I insert video with HTML5, I use another RSS module, I use another DOCTYPE... and so on.

I learned to code without tables and I prefer this. I just float my elements and lists.

I am at a point where I wonder if I would be better to buy the 2011 Milonic menu and make all my website myself to gain total control.

But I love xsitepro. Please version 3, come to me.

Thank you.

_________________
"Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler"
~ Albert Einstein