Xara Web Designer and its more feature filled sibling Web Designer Premium are great no-code editors for people who want to get started building websites but don't want or need to learn the programming of HTML, CSS, or JavaScript. There are dozens of templates included and lots of ways to modify images, adjust your graphics, and change the look of your pages.
Some of my favorite features include:
- Embedded fonts
- QR codes
- Chart builders
- Presentation builder (Premium only)
- Support for Photoshop plugins
But there were some features I wish Web Designer had:
- Tables support. The only way I could add a table was by creating one with rectangle shapes. Another alternative was to build a table in Excel and then import it into Web Designer. I’m told that a tables widget is in the works.
- Mobile devices. I couldn't find any way to customize my designs for mobile (such as with media queries) or test on mobile devices or emulators. Note: there is support for handling iOS devices, such as tapping links and the lack of mouseover effects, but I couldn't figure out how to build and maintain a mobile site along with the desktop site.
Product Information
- Operating System: Windows
- Cost: Web Designer: $49.99 / Premium: $99.99
- Upgrade Pricing: $29.99
- Free Trial: 30 days
- Editor Type: No-Code / WYSIWYG
- Best Suited For: Small Business Owners or Newcomers to Web Design
Reviews of Current and Previous Versions
Web Designer Premium MX 8
- General Features: 49
- Technology Features: 12
- Scripting Features: 25
- Connectivity Features: 17
- Graphics Features: 17
- Multimedia Features: 29
- Extra Features: 36
Total: 185 / 75.2%
Web Designer MX 8
- General Features: 49
- Technology Features: 12
- Scripting Features: 20
- Connectivity Features: 7
- Graphics Features: 14
- Multimedia Features: 20
- Extra Features: 18
Total: 140 / 56.9%
Read the Full Reviews
What's New in the Latest Version
There are a lot of new features in Web Designer MX 8 that you can see on the Xara website. But here are some of the features I liked the best:
- Text styles let you easily modify how your text should look on the page. And the live style preview lets you see it immediately.
- JavaScript widgets can be resized. This was annoying in earlier versions that JavaScript and DHTML widgets were a fixed size. In fact, I didn't realize I wasn't just doing something wrong in Web Designer 6 when I couldn't resize them.
- Embedded fonts. As I mentioned above, you can now use embedded fonts to get more interesting fonts without making all your headlines graphics.
- Live effects let you apply Photoshop plug-in effects to both photos and vector graphics.
- Optimize all images will scan all your images and convert them to the optimum image size and type. Web Designer will also recommend optimizing JPEG images when you import them, if needed.
This product was reviewed using an NFR copy supplied by the publisher and information on their website. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
