WebPlus is a website design program for Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

, developed by UK-based software company Serif

Serif europe

Serif is an independent developer and publisher of desktop publishing and graphic design software for the PC. Established in 1987, Serif is a privately owned British company with operations in Europe and North America...

. It allows users to design, create and upload their website onto the internet without any knowledge of HTML

HTML

HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....

 or other web technologies.

Much like Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...

, WebPlus uses WYSIWYG

WYSIWYG

WYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. The term is used in computing to describe a system in which content displayed onscreen during editing appears in a form closely corresponding to its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product...

 drag and drop

Drag-and-drop

In computer graphical user interfaces, drag-and-drop is the action of selecting a virtual object by "grabbing" it and dragging it to a different location or onto another virtual object...

 editing to add and position text, images and links as they would appear on the finished web page. Once a user has designed their site, WebPlus can preview the site in a web browser

Web browser

A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...

 before uploading the site using the in-built FTP.

The software comes with a variety of pre-designed websites which can be used as a template for quickly designing a site. It also provides drawing tools for creating and editing buttons and web graphics.

WebPlus is available both as a paid-for version, WebPlus X5, or as a cut-down Starter Edition which is completely free.

Supported platforms

WebPlus was developed for Microsoft Windows and is fully compatible with Windows XP

Windows XP

Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...

, Windows Vista (32/64bit)

Windows Vista

Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...

 and Windows 7 (32/64bit).

History

WebPlus 6 1999

WebPlus 7 2001

WebPlus 8 2003

WebPlus 9 30th July 2004

WebPlus 10 6th October 2006

WebPlus X2 25th February 2008

WebPlus X4 26th October 2009

WebPlus X5 16th May 2011

(There was never a version 11 or X3 released.)

Features

• Web hosting
  Web hosting service
  A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own or lease for use by their clients as well as providing Internet...
  
  to upload websites to the internet with the address www.sitename.webplus.net and email sitename@webplus.net.

• E-Commerce tool to create online stores with providers such as PayPal
  PayPal
  PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
  
  .

• Form wizard generates online forms to collect information from website visitors.

• Add blog
  Blog
  A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
  
  s, forums
  Internet forum
  An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
  
  , hit counters
  Web counter
  A web counter or hit counter is a computer software program that indicates the number of visitors, or hits, a particular webpage has received...
  
  , online polls and content management system
  Content management system
  A content management system is a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based...
  
  s to websites using Smart Objects.

• Google Maps
  Google Maps
  Google Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...
  
  tool embeds maps and optional navigation markers within a website.

• Site navigation bar
  Navigation bar
  A navigation bar is a sub region of a web page that contains hypertext links in order to navigate between the pages of a website....
  
  s adopt a website's structure providing a tool for navigating around the website.

• Photo gallery groups a collection of images together and displays them as an animated slideshow
  Slideshow
  A slide show is a display of a series of chosen information or pictures, done for artistic or instructional purposes. Slide shows are conducted by a presenter using an apparatus, such as a carousel slide projector, an overhead projector or in more recent years, a computer running presentation...
  
  .

• Search engine optimization (SEO)
  Search engine optimization
  Search engine optimization is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid search results...
  
  tools optimise a websites search ranking with the likes of Google
  Google
  Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
  
  , Yahoo!
  Yahoo!
  Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
  
   and Bing.

• Collect website metrics such as page popularity and number of website hits using Google Analytics
  Google Analytics
  Google Analytics is a free service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about the visitors to a website. The product is aimed at marketers as opposed to webmasters and technologists from which the industry of web analytics originally grew. It is the most widely used website...
  
  .

• WebPlus X5 introduces a button studio for creating button graphics.

• Restrict access to specific pages on a website with a secure member’s area.

• WebPlus automatically converts images and graphics into a web targeted format, optimising them for fast download.

• Embed YouTube
  YouTube
  YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
  
  videos within a web page.

• Add animated effects to a website with Animated GIFs, Animated Marquees or by importing Flash videos.

• Stream news and information feeds to a website using RSS
  RSS
  -Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...
  
  and podcast
  Podcast
  A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
  
  s.

• Automated Site Checker analyses and corrects potential problems with a website.

• Adsense tool incorporates Google AdSense advertisements into a website

• In-built FTP transfers files onto a web server
  Web server
  Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
  
  , uploading a website to the internet.

• In-built Basic Photo Editor the PhotoLab can make automatic adjustments and "Quick Fix's" to photos.

• WebPlus X5 offers image editing and filters, through its PhotoLab and also provides a dedicated background-removal tool in the form of Cutout Studio.

• Display images, Flash videos and web pages using animated Lightboxes
  Lightbox (JavaScript)
  Lightbox, and the newer Lightbox 2, is a JavaScript application used to display large images using modal dialogs. The script has gained widespread popularity due to its simple yet elegant style and easy implementation...
  
  .

• Filter Effects can be applied to the graphical objects, giving convincing, realistic effects such as glass, metallic, plastic and other 2D/3D filters.

• WebPlus also provides QuickShapes for creating button and web graphics. These predefined shapes can be quickly modified with sliders to adjust certain parameters, for example creating rounded rectangles, etc. Shapes include: rectangles, ellipses, stars, spirals, cogs, petals, etc.

External links

• WebPlus official website
• WebPlus Starter Edition official website and free download
• Serif Forums official forums
• WebPlus X5 Review by Expert Reviews