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 “Down, Periscope!”
Beyond first impressions, there are a few things in WE4 worth looking into a bit deeper. First, let’s go more into its “dynamic functions” ability. Keeping
an “even keel” with some other webbing products, WE4 has quite a few add-ons built right in the program. Through a simple to use Wizard, WE4 adds things like marquees, wipe effects, animation effects,
and background fades among other assorted “party tricks” of web dev. But, the Wizard also has the ability to quickly insert things like:
Popups Rollover effects Scrolling text Expanding nav menus Drop Downs Slide & Floating Layers Access information
Peering deeper through some of these functions, you inevitably come to a point of needing to work on the back end of connecting your fancy buttons and text
to a database or some other server-side scripting. Again, through the use of a Wizard, you can quite easily add database function to your pages. Of course, you’ll still need to ensure your server is set
up to run your database, ASP, or PHP as with any server.
Though creating the pages for these types of dynamics is fairly straight forward in WE4, you may find yourself having to figure out your own
work-arounds when the pages don’t connect in the back end. WE4 tends to generate code in places that don’t work well for tweaking, which in turn may not give you the outcome you desire! In this aspect,
WE4 becomes a bit of a tangled net you get caught in, due to its lack of flexibility.
 “Dress Right Dress”
Another side to WE4 we should cover is...... “How does WE4 make my pages LOOK?” More specifically, how well does WE4 let me make my pages look the way I want them too?
WE4 is a great program for those who may lack in the design or graphics ability to enhance their web sites. With the click of a button, you can easily add graphics from outside sources, or use one of the over
8900 graphics that come with the licensed version of the program (the nag screen in the trial version will do an excellent job of reminding you about this!)
For sites which don’t require custom design, WE4 comes with over 200 Themes. You can apply the themes to the entire site, or change them up per your pages. Additionally, you can quickly add “hot
buttons” and other special feature graphics to your pages.
“Catch......and Release”
For those who have their “sea legs” in the world of web design, unfortunately, WE4 won’t be much more impressive than that of a “by the numbers” program. One of the biggest complaints to hit the list
was WE4 pages are table based which can be very(!) limiting when you’re used to “drop in” at pixel precision layout!
WE4 took WYSIWYG to the extreme here. For example, though WE4 comes with many, many Themes (site styles), you can’t do much with them. You can change a button or banner from one to
another in the program, or size it up a bit. But, there’s no place in the program that allows you to “import” your own theme! Maybe one day, but WE4 themes are built in a proprietary format, so
until they “open” this area for more flexibility, WE4 takes a demerit here.
Though WE4 comes with some image editing tools, many of you will find you’ll probably rarely, if ever, use those tools (why edit the images, when they should have been created correctly before they went
into the pages)! As for the “supplied images” (in the trial version anyway), they are classic “cartoonish” gifs and bmps.
Sample of included graphics
Haven’t most business finally
outgrown the “cartoon-y”?!
Unfortunately, these kinds of design restrictions are what could keep WE4 docked for many seasoned designers. In a world where creative placement and layout is very important, designers will look to other
programs for better freedom of these key aspects.
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