Karl Steinmann

Apple's own iWeb and other consumer-friendly programs just aren't sophisticated enough. They're good for what they do, but they're way, way, waaaaay too limiting for a professional like myself. I needed more capability than those apps provide. Worse yet, the "online web builder" suites offered by companies like GoDaddy.com and 1and1.com really weren't going to cut the mustard either. They're fast, that's true. For instance, GoDaddy advertises "Web Site Tonite" which allows you to build a simple 1-5 page site in minutes. But they're designed for rank beginners and, again, don't offer what I was searching for.

Requirements
Ideally, I wanted something that made quality site building much faster than the process one goes through with GoLive, my old "tool of choice." And given that Adobe's emphasis is now on Dreamweaver, I didn't see any point in continuing to invest time and energy in a "dead" program. I was also looking for (dream of dreams) an app that was inexpensive and Mac-like. Besides having a very steep learning curve (from what I have heard and read), Dreamweaver was overkill for what I wanted to do.

I didn't really know if  what I was looking for existed. But given that Adobe GoLive was heading in that direction before it was unceremoniously dumped by it's creators, I figured there might be a chance of something that would fill the bill. Besides, I'd heard tell of such. I clearly didn't have the time for (or want to spend the money on) on yet another major piece of software that would take many weeks and even months to learn, which was what I was looking at with Dreamweaver. So, I had to find a better way... 

I looked at a lot of possibilities, not really knowing what I would find. Strangely enough, after doing pretty extensive research and due diligence, I found two really exciting, capable programs along the lines of what I was looking for. 

PageSpinner is like a cross between BBDEdit and GoLive. It's sharp, inexpensive and full of features. It offers straight-up coding capabilities with lots of built-in contextual help, as well as live previews, CSS, HTML validation and much more. I've played around with it quite a bit, and I really like it! It's great for certain things, and I'll continue to use it. I may even build a site or two with it down the road. Right now I'm using it to help me de-bug pages and do simple, standards compliant HTML. However, it's still too much like GoLive and not enough like iWeb. I kept looking. Then I found...

The Sandvox Solution
Huzzah! The solution to my problem turned out to be a little wonder called Sandvox. It offers everything I need, in one simple and easy to use package, at a great price. In fact, it's what this site is built with. Pretty cool, huh?

Sandbox is like a word processor with drag-and-drop graphics and "brain dead" site building. There's no HTML, scripting or knowledge of any kind that you have to have in order to take advantage of the program. In fact, too much experience (or expectations that are too high) may actually hinder you! Seriously, use of the program is made easier for those with some web site building experience, but it is definitely not necessary to make Sandvox work for you. 

I quickly found that I could literally "design a site on the fly," almost as quickly as I could think of things to do and write them up. For somebody who is used to sweating major bullet on even relatively simple sites, Sandvox turned out to be a godsend! Even if I am an agnostic! But I digress...

With Sandvox,  if you can pick a template (there are over 40 quality designs to chose from, with more on the way), you can build a website. The program does all the hard work of actually assembling the site for you. It generates compliant HTML, validates the code, checks your links, tags and imagery, uploads the site via it's own built-in FTP program and just makes sure every "i" is dotted and "t" crossed! It even builds blogs automatically, and "plugs them into" Haloscan (the universal blog comment tracker) so you never have to think about or worry about "back end" blog maintenance.

It's fast, fun to use and nearly bug free. I have had a few minor problems with page titles truncating on their own, but this is easily taken care of. 

On the subject of templates, I should add that as a rule I have generally been unhappy with most of the offerings out there. This probably reflects the fact that I've been a creative director for many years, and aesthetics are very important to me. Within certain limits, they should be important to you, too. But having said that (and having dealt with far too many left-brain suits who didn't get it), I know that most folks are not nearly so picky as me. That being said, I was very impressed with the range and selection of Sandvox templates, and more are being added all the time.

Better still, Google Analytics can be plugged in easily, and the program does all the rest to apply the appropriate code to new pages. There's no need to worry about pleasing Google as you build, which is yet another one of those "simple little jobs" that result in major hair pulling. WIth Sandvox, you don't have to do it anymore! Heck, Sandvox builds your Google (XML) Sitemap for you automatically too!

I'll have much more to say about Sandvox down the road. Right now, I'm just really busy using it, learning it and enjoying it. What a relief this program has turned out to be! It was just what I needed and wanted, and it's freed me up to do the things I enjoy spending time on. Instead of spending boucoup hours on "fiddly sh*t," I'm actually getting a site built and up and into play! 

Sandvox is awesome, and I can't recommend highly enough that you check it out! 

NOTE: For you PC people, I'm sorry to report that Sandvox, like Pagespinner, is exclusively a Macintosh product. Sorry.