Web designer code savvy tool

[brunovinhas]

An excellent app add-on to the Affinity graphic suite would be a web or app designer code savvy tool like Macaw, Adobe Muse or like the on-line apps webflow and silex. But with more options to edit the code than the apps that I mention.

Macaw is a great tool, unfortunately the team behind the Macaw joined InVision and the app was discontinued with a lot of features that could be improved.

[Kristof]

Sadly Musevis also discontinued.

Affinity Web is more needed than ever. 

[MEB]

Hi Kristof,

Welcome to Affinity Forums

There's currently no plans for a web design app.

[Kristof]

14 minutes ago, MEB said:

Hi Kristof,

Welcome to Affinity Forums

There's currently no plans for a web design app.

 

That’s sad. Anyway thanks for the quick response. 

[Medical Officer Bones]

The Pinegrow developers are planning to add Macaw-like design features. Keep an eye out.

And their new all-visual WP theme building tools don't require a single line of code - only understanding of basic WP theme building concepts.

Check out this thread:

https://forum.pinegrow.com/t/css-properties-direct-user-manipulation-on-page-of-basics-properties-via-drag-etc/1423

[Alfred]

2 hours ago, Medical Officer Bones said:

The Pinegrow developers are planning to add Macaw-like design features.

 

That’s fine as long as they don’t also add Macaw-like longevity!

 

[Medical Officer Bones]

Macaw ended at v1.6. Pinegrow is at v4.6 and still going strong! Besides, Pinegrow blows Macaw out of the water in most respects.

[Alfred]

2 hours ago, Medical Officer Bones said:

Macaw ended at v1.6. Pinegrow is at v4.6 and still going strong!

 

That’s exactly why I suggested that the Pinegrow developers shouldn’t add Macaw-like longevity to their product!!

 

[SrPx]

 

There also Webflow, which is a CMS, subscription based, providing together the hosting, and everything, for those not capable of dealing with traditional hosting & domain registration. Super expensive in comparison, as the whole thing in reality -for anything serious- means like 35 bucks per month (I know, there are several plans, i believe even a very limited free one). And yeah, subscription only, very popular around here, lol. (I hate subscriptions with a passion, too). Still, needs a mention, because is VERY well done, is a totally visual tool. BUT you'd not use its full potential is have not coded before in html and css, to understand what you are doing (that is, I know my way through code, still could be practical for me a tool like this, for speed's sake). It exports to relatively -way less than the users thinks, then again, most using this are mostly allergic to web code...-  clean code. I've been having a deeper look -not a deep test yet !, work keeps not allowing to afford the needed chunk of time for a round I wanna do-  to this, a certain other tool, and Pinegrow.  I'm getting more and more convinced about the Pinegrow. No subscription, more flexibility to combine with frameworks -crucial, today- and... that I dislike the fact that the Webflow is actually a CMS, not a standalone wysiwyg tool (both are wysiwyg solutions, tho). Is as if other CMS like Drupal, Joomla, etc, would provide a better way to do things allowing to a visual mode that would export "somewhat" clean code. 

 

Thing is : Webflow seems it's being a total revolution for designers not willing to ever touch the code. My case, totally the opposite: I'm willing more than ever to sharpen my coding abilities, get *VERY* serious into JS and PHP/MySQL, which are/have been for a while, my weak points. After that, maybe even advance a bit in my Python low skills, and as a total must, once code is consolidated (not Python necessarily, I just love it truly, first language I really like )  , will be time for frameworks, which is today's "thing". Once I get there, lol, in months, probably the kings and queens of today have changed and might not be the today's frameworks:  Angular.js (server side JS solution, that is , back-end, not front-end), SASS and LESS (very important CSS frameworks), Bootstrap... still the king, as the other option is... use MORE modern CSS specifications which keep me excited (I've been always VERy strong in CSS, so, all terrain gained by JS was a threat for me... but now I'm gonna learn JS, mwahahah) like Flexbox, and very specially, CSS Grid, which can be the freaking bananas for mobile design, killing a TON of extra work of the crazy situation today in responsive design. Tons of extra dirty code gone for ever. Sustainability hell turned into sth readable again, and not time consuming, kicking things like bootstrap -maybe- out.....   But IE, hello, old friend, wont support it yet fully. And.. even a 2 - 5% is a problem in target audience in web development.... *sigh*. MS IE 11, even. So, as I know from the past, this might still take a looooong while. As always, some designers will be able to afford just doing some IE resets or sth. I know that most business owners will NOT want to leave IE alone in the rain, that's a ton of users.

 

As you see, it is a a crazy lot of work when choosing code instead of visual, and with the frameworks, its gets more complex -although funnily, allows people to not needing to know to code as deeply as before, in some cases. I do agree. But I'm doing so to improve one of my profiles, greatly (it depends on each one's focus in this web related thing). I do applaud those going for the visual way. Still, let me tell you this: A grasp at least of basic HTML and CSS wouldn't harm you and provide a lot more flexibility while using, say, Pinegrow (my total, absolute winner, by K.O, for now) or Webflow.

 

If you see, the more you think it, the more you realize how crazy is to ask the Affinity developers to deal with this whole crazy ever changing mountain of things, together with their current full plate.

Plus, there's too many competitors to beat in the field, and guess what, it's even growing every minute. I have not mentioned another one we were recently compared to, VERY good too, I just keep forgetting the name of the company and the app, sorry. And they are really nice people doing a very generous offer (even a free editor), is just my cr4ppy memory, they deserve better....

 

Pinegrow, besides visual development in general, can deal integrating with the super key -today- Bootstrap...and grids, and CSS frameworks, all in a point and clik UI, what else to ask...

So this, go for Fusion for some VFX freelancing, and so in general, there are today many solutions for each field, just get the ones key in their field, like Affinity Designer and Photo. That'd be my advice...

 

IF... you already count on good solid customers wanting to start ASAP websites for them, you count already on those bucks as a sure thing, and you count in that money in a monthly basis (for the time u'll be working on that), then Webflow is a good solution, if the over charge of 35$ is not significant to the monthly sum just in the months that the project lasts.  Don't quote me on this, tho, as I haven't used Webflow with actual clients, dunno yet the ups and downs, only that a ton of ppl is using it. I'd go better with Pinegrow (or as I said many times, pure code, better) + hosting that I'd choose for its best ratio in up time, good name, good balance of cost/bandwith/space, etc, plus, I like to keep the domain(/s) company apart hosting, and of course, any CPanel and other hosting config matters, I know them well (as I had to, lol). Webflow ease up all of that, too. But consider it also is WAY pricey in comparison (I put like 12 $ (I pay some extra addon, that's why) a year for a domain, and believe it or not, caught a HUGE offer on a great server, is 16$  per year (every year!) with a ton of space and bandwidth). As I code, the other (huge) advantages Webflow gives u,  are not that great for me or others in similar case... so, is 35$ * 12 (420$) instead of 12 + 16 ( 28$ ). Per year. Of course, when doing freelancing, you could somehow deal with the clients so that they'd stay with webflow hosting later on, and you'd unsubscribe, then cost is only like 1 or 2 months per client (unless you only freelance in web matters)... Or just use their "unhosted"  plans, so you'd deal with a hosting server (I'd do that, certainly) . But apples to apples, the cost comparison is amazing. Is this significant? YEP, for a freelancer doing CASUAL web gigs. For someone making A LIVING with a solid clients list... Webflow MIGHT make more sense in case cant help themselves with a regular hosting service. 

 

IMO: All these WYSIWYG solutions are a no-no for work in medium to large business / studios (IMO, any place having a front-end and back-end team, imho every mid size , or large size company, web focused or not.). You wont interact well with back-end teams in very changing dynamic environments where code (dynamic, server generated, cross platform, relying on linux console utilities,etc) is needed always. So, neither when freelancing doing tasks/gigs for this kind of business (unless they want you to do a simple landing page...). But the majority of freelancing is done for individuals and small business owners. And for this, IMO, quite some times Pinegrow and Webflow can be used. But realize that with pure code, you can do the small, and the big ones, everything. Just wanted to point this out.

 

Disclaimer : That said, I currently do illustration/graphic design full day, and since some years. I just try not to get rusted in my old profession. More interested lately back in these web matters, tho. (even if as a profession itself, might be the way of the Dodo, lol... But I might get back to it, without leaving my today's kind of projects. )

 

Hope it adds sth to the debate.

 

Edit: Coffeecup Responsive Designer is the third solution I was not remembering....