Aug 15, 2011

Adobe Introduces 'Muse' Subscription-Based Website Creation Tools


Adobe today announced the launch of a beta version of new website-building tools codenamed "Muse" that will allow users to easily create websites without needing to know HTML. Being compared in some ways as an advanced version of Apple's phased-out iWeb software, Muse is targeted at print designers with little or no experience in web design.

"Plan your project — Easy-to-use sitemaps, master pages, and a host of flexible, site-wide tools make it fast and intuitive to get your site planned out and ready for design. 
Design your pages — Combine imagery, graphics and text with complete control, flexibility and power (almost as if you were using Adobe InDesign). 
Add interactivity — Drag and drop fully customizable widgets like navigation menus and slide shows, embed HTML code snippets to include things like Google Maps, enable tool tips, rollovers and much more. 
Publish your site — Preview your site with Muse to see how it looks and test how it works. Then convert to a live website using Adobe for hosting, or export the HTML for hosting with a provider of your choice."

Adobe Muse offers users familiar with such products as Illustrator, InDesign, and Dreamweaver an easy transition to HTML-free web design, with customizable drag-and-drop widgets being complemented by embeddable code from sites like Google Maps and Facebook to extend the functionality. 

As Macworld notes, users will not be required to use Adobe's hosting service for projects created in Muse, but the company is planning to introduce new features such as blogs, contact forms, and shopping carts that would require users to utilize Adobe hosting if they wish to take advantage of the features. 

Muse is currently in a free public beta phase, with the official version set to launch early next year. Muse will be a subscription-based product, with pricing set at $20 per month or $180 per year. Adobe notes that it intends to roll out new features for Muse on a regular basis ("probably quarterly"), making a subscription model a better option than Adobe's traditional system of standalone purchases of major versions released every 18-24 months.


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