Xara Designer Pro X

For those who want relatively easy-to use WYSIWYG webs-design software to get away from the relative "same look" of the instant, on-line web site space providers, this could be the programme for you.

While it has a multitude of templates for purchase that are fully customisable, you do have ultimate control through the fact that you have the software installed locally on your machine, which is one of the biggest advantages. One of its other big advantages is that it is easy to get to know how to use - you just need a little experience with placeholders to get things right. That having been said, it is very easy to start a website from scratch out of the box.

The software allows you to make a PC, tablet and mobile-optimised website side-by-side as you work, which is a very useful function.

Adding third party elements such as html code to run widgets etc is very easy, and you can inspect things as you go along. here is the ability to view the single web page or the entire website you are working on (internally via the software or via the browsers [driven by Xara] that you have installed on your PC).

The software always opens "where you left off" and the in-built tab system lets you load any multiple sites you may be working on (very useful if you are working on a main site and its sub-domains).

And if you are a bit beyond out of the box website design, the software allows you to take things more into your own hands

You do have to have access to the PC you installed the software on as well as your files for design elements you add such as images and text (this is not a collaborative piece of CMS software), although with know-how you can possibly make a portable version of the software.

You need to keep an eye on where you locate your files, especially if you make a large website, so that you have access to any elements you may wish to change - the software doesn't remind you where you keep the elements you use, so if you use, for example, a photograph from a memory stick, you must remember to ensure that photograph is also stored locally on the PC in case you need to make changes.

Sometimes design elements can be hidden at the back of the page and you miss that they are there, or frustratingly you place an element on the page and you can't find it.

I love the flexibility of this program. It has a lot of capability and is still and light program that does not bog down your system.

It can be buggy at times and customer support is overseas so it takes a long time for them to hit you back. I wish this was available on MAC. They have a new software that is cloud based but it is not up to par yet.

Vector editing, photo editing and enhancing, web design, layout and print design, presentations are also available all in one package. Did I mention vector editing? Yup! Now lets add some cloud editing option on the last release!
Memory (RAM) consumption is quite low compared to Illustrator or Photoshop, which makes it a great option for basic computers.

Coming from other graphics software Xara Designer could mean a new learning challenge, but the curve is not that steep. The interface is quite simple to understand after a few runs but the color picker and the layers palette could mean the dedication of minutes of playing around to fully understand how to get things running to usual designing times.
Transparency options are also limited as compared to Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. Masking could also be cumbersome and understanding how they work needs some trial and error hence they work together with the layers palette (under masks options).