A few "pre-purchasing" questions...

User 2028484 Photo


Registered User
94 posts

Interested in buying Visual Site Designer but first I had a few questions about it. If a person knows how to code HTML and CSS can they still tweak what Visual Site Designer generates manually?

Second, are the sites made with Visual Site Designer compatible with all browsers (IE,Firefox, Safari, etc...)?

Thanks





PS - if you're using Visual Site Designer to create your website could you please post a link to it so that I could see some active examples of what this program is capable of? THANKS :)


You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
User 122279 Photo


Senior Advisor
14,447 posts
Online Now

Hi Angel,

With VSD you are supposed to use it throughout. Any tweaks of code outside the programme will be lost when you reopen your project in VSD. You cannot edit the code within VSD. Also, you cannot open a project made in some other application in VSD.

Having said that, you can add code to VSD using a 'HTML tool', and what you add that way will not get lost when reopening. Some people use it to create an external CSS file and insert a reference to it in VSD. Since I'm a coder, I don't use VSD myself, but I have helped other people with css files for sites created with VSD, an example of that could be this site: http://nqpdesigns.com/ .

I know of people who actually code most of the page in some other programme and use the HTML tool to insert a more or less ready made site, but for such a purpose I'd recommend a html coding programme, like CoffeeCup's HTML Editor. If someone knows how to code, it's actually not necessary to use VSD.

There are other users in this forum who are real experts on VSD, they will probably chime in here.

Anyway, I'd recommend that you download VSD trial version and play with it to see what you can do with it.

Good luck anyway! :)
Ha en riktig god dag!
Inger, Norway

My work in progress:
Components for Site Designer and the HTML Editor: https://mock-up.coffeecup.com


User 122279 Photo


Senior Advisor
14,447 posts
Online Now

Forgot to mention that sites made with VSD can be opened in any browser. The code it creates is fully valid.
Ha en riktig god dag!
Inger, Norway

My work in progress:
Components for Site Designer and the HTML Editor: https://mock-up.coffeecup.com


User 271657 Photo


Ambassador
3,816 posts

If you already know HTML and CSS, sure, you can customize VSD. It's quite easy to create things outside of VSD (in any HTML editor), then add them into the site. You should download a trial version and give it a try. It has built in features for adding HTML and Flash to your site, scripts and CSS to the header, plus any of the other CC programs you might find useful (forms, galleries, menus, blogs...).

Here's some examples (both are works in progress):
1 - Used the HTML Editor to create the scrollable menu:
http://elaynas.com/services.html
2 - Added a slide show to my home page:
http://callendaledesigns.com/

VSD is so fast and easy to use, if I were writing my own code, I'd go ahead and do the basic site in VSD rather than starting with Photoshop (or any other graphics/lay-out software) to see how everything's going to look and work. VSD sites should display just fine in all modern browsers (as long as one doesn't go overboard with overlapping text and images and sticks to standard fonts).
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. (Douglas Adams)
https://www.callendales.com
User 187934 Photo


Senior Advisor
20,181 posts

Angel, From your post it sounds like you already know how to code to some degree. I do a little but have found that VSD allows me to make web sites more quickly. I don't build web sites for a living but have made a few to share things that are in my life. Yes you can edit the VSD code in an html editor but as Inger pointed out it gets overwritten every time you make a change and publish the site. There's a couple of work around's for this that don't involve a lot of time if the need comes about. One way is to name the page in VSD a name that you don't really want it to be in the final web site. Then after you publish the site through VSD you can just reopen the page in the editor and change the name of the page to what you want and any other code changes that are required and FTP it back up. The other way is to preview the page in your browser while in VSD and right click on the page and view source to get the page code and copy this to your editor. I would only recommend doing these custom code changes for very special circumstances as it may become very difficult to keep track of what you've done. I love the simplicity of VSD but also like the fact that I can place code inside it if I need to. As paintbrush pointed out if you wanted to see how elements on a web site project played together, there would be no quicker way to do a mockup then in VSD. My sites aren't to fancy but they meet my needs and I improve on them as I get the time. The other thing about VSD and any other CC product is the warm friendly support from people that don't even work for CC but belong to the CC family because of being a registered user. Help with problems is always close at hand when you join to the CC family. Give VSD a test run to see if it will meet your needs. Don't forget to checkout the sites that other users have posted.
http://www.coffeecup.com/forums/designer/post-your-website-here/
Here are three sites that I am always working on.
Good Luck


http://selkirklake.net/
http://esmansgreenhouse.com/
http://hackettirishsoccer.com/
I can't hear what I'm looking at.
It's easy to overlook something you're not looking for.

This is a site I built for my work.(RSD)
http://esmansgreenhouse.com
This is a site I built for use in my job.(HTML Editor)
https://pestlogbook.com
This is my personal site used for testing and as an easy way to share photos.(RLM imported to RSD)
https://ericrohloff.com
User 2028484 Photo


Registered User
94 posts

Eric Rohloff wrote:
Don't forget to checkout the sites that other users have posted.
What scares me is that 95% of the sites that I've seen created with VSD don't render correctly. There is a lot of text overlapping text which ends up looking very unprofessional. I will download the trial version but so far I'm very disappointed with what I've seen, especially for what the program costs. If the code is fully valid then things on the page shouldn't be overlapping each other :/


You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
User 103173 Photo


VP of Software Development
0 posts

Angel Ars wrote:
Eric Rohloff wrote:
Don't forget to checkout the sites that other users have posted.
What scares me is that 95% of the sites that I've seen created with VSD don't render correctly. There is a lot of text overlapping text which ends up looking very unprofessional. I will download the trial version but so far I'm very disappointed with what I've seen, especially for what the program costs. If the code is fully valid then things on the page shouldn't be overlapping each other :/

Wow, 49.00 is too much? What other programs have you been looking at. ;)

Any time you see text overlapping issues it has to do with how the text object was added to VSD. We have a tutorial here at http://www.coffeecup.com/help/articles/ … -designer/ which will show you how text should be added to your page.

By following these steps precisely, your page will render virtually identical in all browsers.

Learn the essentials with these quick tips for Responsive Site Designer, Responsive Email Designer, Foundation Framer, and the new Bootstrap Builder. You'll be making awesome, code-free responsive websites and newsletters like a boss.
User 2028484 Photo


Registered User
94 posts

Hi Scott, it's not so much about the money. However, you wouldn't want to spend any amount of money on any product - and then find out that it doesn't work correctly now would you? When someone looks at a webpage they're generally not going to know what program was used to design it, if any program was used at all. They just notice if the page looks right or if objects and/or text is misplaced and out of adjustment. Those parts stick out like a sore thumb and make the website look unprofessional. I'll cross my fingers and check out the tutorial. Thank you for posting the link. I'll also check out the standard HTML editor. It had some nice features too.


You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
User 271657 Photo


Ambassador
3,816 posts

That's why I mentioned the overlapping objects and non-standard fonts. Sometimes people who are new to web design go a little overboard with their font choices. I've come across sites with several different fonts used and none of them are web-safe. So, in those cases, it's not the software - it's the site creator causing the problem. Scott's link explains the other issue.
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. (Douglas Adams)
https://www.callendales.com
User 1861272 Photo


Registered User
339 posts

Angel-

VSD is a great program for a person who is not into coding HTML or CSS. As mentioned, more for non-professional web site builders. Some people are happy with just getting a site online, others here are able to create very professional sites. I suggest looking through the Post Your Site Here forum to see the differences.
Myself, I am not a pro, but after using FrontPage 2003 for years and needing to upgrade found that VSD was a great option at a great price. I tried almost every WYSIWYG program before settling on VSD. But the BEST thing about Coffee Cup software, and something I doubt you'll find anywhere else is this forum and tech help. These guys are the best at helping with problems and giving ideas.
Good luck on your decision.

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