Computer currency

Citation

(2008), "Computer currency", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 25 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2008.07725gab.002

Computer currency

Article Type: Computer currency From: Journal of Consumer Marketing, Volume 25, Issue 7

Edited by Dennis A. PittaUniversity of Baltimore

Small to medium-sized enterprises grow by providing great products, generating effective promotion, and controlling costs very well. That comment may or may not apply to PhotonFX but their Easy Website Pro 4.0 makes it possible. For those of us who learned the hypertext markup language (HTML) one command at a time, this program represents an amazing leap in productivity. For novices, using the program once can result in a pretty good web site. A bit more experience can polish the site and increase its functionality.

The company

PhotonFX Software is a European company based in Austria. It has created application software since 2006, and has a multinational set of customers. Since 2006, it has followed a continuous improvement program featuring significant upgrades. The current program version represents extensive refinements.

Installation and pricing

Easy Website Pro 4.0 is available as a downloadable program. It is not shareware and has a cost. Since most users will order the program over the internet, it is appropriate to cover pricing and installation together.

PhotonFX makes ordering online easy and secure. It allows payment by credit card or that increasingly popular other online method, Paypal. Users also have the option of sending a check via mail, or using a fax or phone to supply credit card information. Moreover, one may use a bank wire transfer or request an invoice. The company certainly knows how to make it easy for customers to buy.

There are two program versions. One, the private license, allows users to create “stunning” web sites but without commercial elements. It costs US$59.95. The second version, the commercial license, creates those same “stunning” web sites but also handles elements needed for commerce web sites. The commercial license is priced at US$69.95.

We downloaded a copy of the software which took less than a minute using a high speed internet line and Windows XP. The installation program appeared in our downloads list and when we pressed the “open” option, it automatically started installation. The installation required no more than agreeing to the subdirectory location and a shortcut. We were then ready to go … almost. The last step was to activate the software. Purchasing the software supplies an activitation code which we entered without trouble. Notably, activation was almost instantaneous.

The program

Easy Website Pro 4.0 has a look and feel that is uncluttered and logical. Unlike programs aimed specifically at Microsoft Vista, like Word that have been changed significantly from the XP versions, there is little user confusion about where things are.

Help

Help is located in the normal place – at the top of the screen to the far right – and is actually robust. The help function states, “With Easy Website Pro, you can build a great web site without even knowing HTML. If you can point and click and drag and drop with a mouse, then you can build a site online right now!”

There is a “common questions” section in help that contains plain language questions like: “How do I preview my web site before publishing it?” or “Why does the text color change when I create a link?”

More important, the answers are in equally plain language. For example, the answer to the first question is in part: “To see your web site as it will appear to your web site visitors: 1. Press F12 or use the ‘Click here to Preview’ link under the main buttons. 2. The site with the currently settings will display in a separate browser window.” Help also provides a screen shot with appropriate highlights to avoid any confusion. Novice users will find help very helpful and a boost to productivity.

PhotonFX Software supplies eight major lessons as a tutorial to help those unfamiliar with web site design or html. They comprise a guided tour of all the necessary steps to create and publish a web site. Users can follow the steps and the helpful numbers (1-2-3-4 etc.) outlining each step. Even our technical guru was impressed with the program’s ease of use. He did emphasize that he could design an even better web site but we did not put him to the test. The important point is that novices will enjoy almost instant productivity. After an hour or less following the tutorial, they will have a web site ready to publish. That web site can be refined later.

Using the program

Starting on a web site is straightforward. The program features a number of circular buttons across the top of the screen. Seven contain links to elements of web site design and all have the same color, blue. There are three additional buttons, one is help, one is labeled Create Web site and the last one is labeled Publish Web site. Clicking on the Create button starts the process. The first screen that appears forces a choice of hard disc subdirectory for the location of the data files the program creates. It offers a suggestion but will accept anything the user prefers.

Users also can click on a link to open the evolving web site in a browser to preview how it will look and function.

Developing a web site turned out to be a fun experience. One of our testers, who had no experience with web site design, followed the structure that Easy Website Pro 4.0 provided and created a personal webpage with little difficulty. The program’s structure leads one through the process and provides elements to input along the way.

Templates

One starts by choosing a template complete with layout and a pallet of colors. Our tester chose one of the 34 templates supplied. As a user proceeds down the list, clicking a template makes a preview appear revealing much of the look and feel of the choice. After one makes a choice, the program automatically conveys the user to the next step, choosing a layout.

Layout

Layout choices include a prepared number of schemes, which are color choices for background, elements, text and hyperlinks. One can also change each and every color so customizations are easy. There are also 29 separate layout templates that differ in terms of the arrangement of elements on the page. Our layout also includes a number of images and backgrounds. The initial choice of image and background is tied to the particular template chosen. So, the Car Dealer template had a specific layout with pertinent elements like an image of an automobile. The images and backgrounds can be changed by selecting one provided by the program or using a special image provided by the user.

Logo

Each webpage template has an embedded logo “greeked” in and ready for customization. The car dealer template contained one overprinted with the words: CAR DEALER. Users can adopt the logo but change the text to fit their needs. Notably users have text choices with all the program supplied logos. Alternatively, they can select their own custom logo.

At each stage of the process users can get a preview of what their choices will look like on the web. The preview function is one of the most valuable parts of the program for novices. Web site design should not be a trial and error process but is for many designers. Easy Website Pro 4.0 facilitates learning design and verifying the wisdom of choices.

Buttons

Hyperlinks need to be accessed and the program makes doing so easy and attractive. The layout choice determines the number of buttons that appear on the page. Users can customize the buttons to contain what looks like a variety of text. In addition, one can choose a button shape. Our tester chose a button, which features a piece of text within a rectangle. It was an attractive choice that fit very well. We were surprised that users had the choice of two colors per button. One is the “usual,” the roll out color; the other, the color that appears when a mouse rolls over it, the “roll over” color. One can even select a sound that plays when a mouse rolls over a button. This page also makes it easy to insert a hyperlink associated with an object or text.

Content pages

Perhaps the heart of the program is the content pages section. Many internet users know that web site home pages are often called, Index.html. The program starts with that page and makes it easy to link to other content pages.

For example, if a web site owner wishes to display images of successful projects, one can choose one of the Gallery format pages to display those images. One pastes the images within a framework, supplies a title for each and the task is easy. There is no doubt about the position or size of images and no unanticipated changes.

The content function allows users to specify each of the pages within their web site. For professors, one could create content pages labeled, Teaching, Research, Service, and other pages like Interesting Links. Businesses can specify the nature and scope of their products, services, support, testimonials, contact information, or other important data.

The program offers an easy to use content editor that will allow users to insert Windows Media Player or Shockwave movies, to edit their content with a full featured text editor, to view the html code that represents the content. One can insert files, pictures or picture thumbnails easily. Businesses will value the ability to insert a Paypal selling link. The Paypal link is ideal for aiding the sales process and includes links to Paypal or credit cards, buy it now functions or even an online shopping cart. It also includes information boxes to insert item descriptions, prices, numbers and shipping weight. The process is very simple to follow.

Introduction

Many web sites have an introductory video that communicates something important to visitors. Easy Website Pro 4.0 has an Intro function, which allows users to select text or images and sounds as well as play options before visitors get to the main webpage. It also includes a “Skip Intro” link to go directly to the Index page. An introduction can be useful and it is “exotic” enough to set a webpage apart.

Extras

Sophisticated web site designers use tools that are usually not part of a novice’s tool bag. The program offers some valuable tools. Perhaps the most important is a meta-tag function. Search engines like Google and Yahoo look for matches to user queries using meta-tags. The program states that “a meta-tag is a special HTML keyword which provides information about the content of your web site. With this tag search engines can find your web site and add it automatically to the right category.” The meta-tag function offers some clear help in the form of examples. Once again, users fill in the boxes including the title, keywords, description and other data. One reason that certain web sites pop up on the first page of a web search is that they contain well chosen meta-tags.

Another valuable tool is a quick navigation function. It consists of a customizable pull down menu that will allow users to choose specific content to view. The customizable form contains spaces for link names and hyperlinks. More important, one can hit a “Paste Buttons Set” key to insert each of the customized link names chosen in the button stage.

Creating a web site

After choosing the content and designing their web sites users can press the Create button to save each file to a specific subdirectory on their computer. Users can create new directories to hold the files and are warned that all existing files will be erased. Once the web site is created, users can press one button to open their web browser and view the contents. Several of our testers created the framework of their web sites without supplying all the content. Nevertheless, the links worked and took users to each page and back.

Publishing the web site

After all of the decisions about content and layout and extras have been made and the web site has been created, Easy Website Pro 4.0 handles the next problem, how to get it posted to a web server. The process can be complicated and with computers, complication means problems. Fortunately, the program handles each element in a very intelligent way.

First, all of the files are contained in that single directory created when the user created the web site. All of the links that refer to each file are clear and accurate. Second, each of the settings necessary to transfer the files via FTP (File Transfer Protocol) can be entered in a series of simple boxes, some of which have examples for guidance. We were able to upload several web sites to the university file server. Results were very good. More important, changes were easy to make.

This author has suffered the laborious process of building an index page and linking content to it and to linking pages. In contrast, Easy Website Pro 4.0 made the process child’s play. The program’s structure avoids some of the pitfalls that this author faced repeatedly. First of all, the program remembers the exact spelling of each file and page, down to the case and suffix. Previously, there was too much trial and error caused by slight misspelling. The what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) editor was very helpful as well as the ability to preview each change.

Recommendation

In summary, our testers included novice internet users and some advanced web site designers. The new users were pleased with their productivity and results. The advanced users were impressed by the useful set of functions the program provides. For the price, Easy Website Pro 4.0 is an excellent value that offers great results with a minimum of effort to learn or use.

Perhaps its greatest virtue is that it is easy to master. For small to medium sized enterprises, that means that the “boss” can get his or her hands on experience and be able to design web sites and also to maintain them.

We have several clients who are entrepreneurs. One major problem that some of them face is that they hire some expert, usually a student finishing a degree and get a web site created. They pay the student, student wages and are happy until they need more changes and the student has landed a good job and is gone. They go through that same process repeatedly. If they had bought Easy Website Pro 4.0 and mastered it, they probably would gain valuable insight into their operations, promotion, and back office processes. In a pinch, they could make changes themselves.

We recommend the program highly for any company that needs to have an internet presence but does not have a trained group of web designers.

Available from: PhotonFX Software, Ortsstrasse 158/21, A-2331, Voesendorf, Austria: www.easywebsitepro.com

Many thanks to Mustafa Umarusman, Nelie Atanasova, and Tom Mueller for their invaluable help in testing the program.