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What Features Would You Need in An iWeb Replacement?

We are all very upset by the fact that iWeb will no longer be updated. If an iWeb replacement or alternative website builder were to be released, what are the features that would be most important to you?

Please post in the comments what features that currently exist in iWeb would be essential for you to continue building your website.

Is it the ability to drag and drop objects anywhere, image galleries, podcasts, pre-built themes, blogging features or something else?

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31 Comments

  1. Really everything. I am not very computer illiterate and spent a long time designing my homepage. It was great to be able to iWeb. Even the small things like the counter was a valuable widget for me to see how many people were interested in my site. The ability for customers to send feedback with one click and the replies being shown automatically on my hp was so easy. I really miss iWeb, everything takes so much longer now and many things just don’t work anymore. If I update my site I have to publish to a local folder and then republish to the server. My homepage is bilingual, in iWeb it was easy, now I have to make two complete sites and use different urls. Mac really did drop a bomb, charging people for a service and then just dropping it.

  2. Besides all the functions already includes in iWeb I’ld very much appreciate that SEO and siteMap (for the tracking and analysis via google) were included. The easing of running a BLOG within my sites and an easy inclusion of a slide-viewer of images would be great …
    I do hope, that you will come up with something as handy as iWeb! 🙂
    Thank you for all the help you gave me so far!!! Great work, that you do! Thank you!

  3. iWeb is the only thing I’ve used in my brief dive into web page development, except for using WebDesign by Rage for editing. Rapidweaver, Sandvox, etc. are not that user friendly in my opinion. I’d like to see iWeb have built-in code editing, make the Snippet window resizable (it’s difficult to make changes if you have to work with only a few lines at a time), Klaus is right on with inclusion of a slide-viewer or at least make it easy to include the current slideshow on other pages (see http://www.lawsart.com), and comment and respond forms (see http://www.garlandcountydemocrats.org).

    Apple is missing the boat by not developing iWeb further. An enhanced version would be a huge hit, especially if it was cross-platform with Windows. I’d pay big bucks. Good luck! Hope you come up with something soon.

  4. The ability to create a database. Would like to be able to create simple social media sites, where a profile would be searchable. If we could create database’s with ease, iweb would be such a powerful tool.

  5. I have been using rapid weaver some since iweb is potentially going away and I think that it would be cool to incorporate an easier way to use sliders. The Podcast and blogging features on iWeb are amazing and I love the ability to make my site 100% customizable. Drop down menus would be a bonus as well. I would also like the ability to make my custom headers and footers automatically duplicate on new pages.

    1. YES!! 🙂 You’ve hit all the right buttons 🙂

  6. I loved designing in iWeb. It’s easy like in a vector program. I would love to have that with good, nice and clean code coming out in files. I haven’t seen anything liked that.

  7. I just love the easy way of desing a website in iWeb, you can design on a easy way you want.
    Just only want the same and I would by verry Happy.

  8. I would really like to see something with the same free-form design aspects that iWeb has. I like the way I can knock out a design in short order much like a page layout application.

    If you were to combine iWeb with some of Rage’s tools (web crusher, SEO tool, etc.) that would be near perfect for my needs.

  9. I too would like to retain the WYSIWYG ease of use that iWeb gives us. Not bothered about templates as I delete the standard and build my own pages. It is that easy, as readers of this site know. The widget tool in iWeb is very useful. What we need is an iWeb programme that is kept up-to-date with developments, such as CSS. I use Rage’s SEO Tool and Sitemap, so compatibility with those two would also be important.

    1. I hope the iWeb replacement does keep the original Apple templates because they are far and away the most attractive I have seen and save me hours of work designing my own. Drop down menus would be wonderful to have and SEO optimised is essential.

  10. iWeb was a great tool & I continue to use it for my site http://www.victorianpine.com/
    I would love a version of iWeb with all the SEO stuff….meta tags, H1 tags, I use rage software for this right now.
    ps…a decent slideshow for images would be nice.

  11. L’interface iweb est tellement simple d’utilisation… et tellement de possibilités de création. Si ce logiciel avait été développé à la manière des autres programmes Apple >>> ce serrai devenu une tuerie !
    Mais bon en jouant avec les insertions de fragments HTML tout est permis !

  12. Just iWeb, please. With a few more gadgets like html5, with layered menus and non-java popups

  13. How cab we persuade Apple to make iWeb an open source project…

  14. The most important for me is a simple to use UI combined with optimized code, dragndrop, multiple widgets, drop down menus, customizable design, multi-browser support, multiple platform support (tablets/ Smartphones), possibility to include different code (HTML5, Java, Flash…), simple publishing, online dashboard, open source, possibility to incorporate full e-commerce solution, SEO, …

  15. Simple UI. Drop down menus. More widgets. Simple publishing. Ease of customizing design page.

  16. Simple answer: iWeb+ !!!

    Where the + stands for what is missing in iWeb, such as SEO, db, clean(er) code, more open addition of snippits or widgets (or something …)

  17. I just want a program that is as common sense as iweb was. NO OTHER PROGRAM has come close to true WYSIWYG… I am visual… Just give me a true iWeb experience and I will buy it… there is a massive market for this. So to answer your question…

    1.) Make it intuitive to build multiple sites.
    2.) SEO
    3.) Sliders and other ‘pretty’ HTML5 widgets
    4.) Intuitive instructions on posting your website to a web host.
    5.) Clean Themes and templates…
    ****MOST IMPORTANTLY WYSIWYG DRAG AND DROP FUNCTIONALITY****

    $199 is a price point that anybody looking for a iweb+ would be willing to pay.

    1. Yes! I agree! I am missing any hint, that “we” are heard at all?!

  18. There have been many responses and much feedback. So, now the question is: Is something in the works? I’ve tried Sandvox, Rapidweaver, Freeway and WebDesgian by Rage. Sandvox is too limited, Rapidweaver with plug-ins needed is too expensive and I found it limited as well. If one’s going to use Freeway they might as well use Dreamweaver.
    Take a look at my site, http://www.garlandcountydemocrats.org and you’ll see I was able to add slideshows, pickachoose, etc. If an application came out with all these things build in, I’d pay whatever for it.
    Please tell me something is in the works for an iWeb Pro.

  19. Most of all: keep everything the same as in iWeb, but give it a few extra possibilities:
    – floating blocks
    – percental block or page width
    – slide shows
    – shorter url’s
    – setting of image quality (possibility to keep images on a higher quality than 100% screen size
    – possibility to put pages in folders and when setting an internal hyperlink scrolling the folders without necessarily scrolling all separate pages (handy when you have a site with more than 100 pages)
    – possibility for replies in forum
    Still: I am not planning to change iWeb for another app now. I am waiting for iWeb 4.0 !

  20. All that iWeb have now must stay in the new program.

    Any other suggestions that would be very nice are, More modern functions, Social funtions like facebook like buttons, twitter, build in site forums and chat apps, a login feature so that members can use the chat app and build in forum. Guest can’t see that before they make an account and we must first accept that account before they can see and use these featurs.

    Slideshows, RSS slideshow that update automaticly with your blog, interactive menus and menu bars. Like motives for the menu bar when you scroll over it that the colour is changing or submenus that appear that type of stuff.

    And much more options for members that have an account on your site. Such like comment interfaces that you can link on foto’s, video’s, blogs you made.

    And what would be really nice is an option that i can choose a friend of my that he also can work on my site, so that he and i can both modify our site and that the site automaticly will be update if anyone of out both make changes on the site.

    Look forward to it !!! and i hope that it is just like iWeb but with a lot more functions, apps and modern features, and more freedom for us so that we can change a lot more than in iWeb now because there are limits now.

    Greets, Jens

  21. iWeb seems to resave every graphic that comes into it. This changes the colors of jpgs and degrades the files. PLEASE DO NOT have a new app do this. The beauty of iWeb is that you really can make a decent website without reading too much of an instruction book. So, ease of use should remain.

  22. better blogging platform, Rapid Weaver blogging platform is better thought

  23. I have a 150+ page site; rebuilding it with another app is not an attractive option, so a way to use either the iWeb domain file or an existing site to start with the new app would be a HUGE plus.

    I wrap text around images A LOT. iWeb usually does that fine (unless the image is on the right and the text is indented) — most other apps I’ve tried either don’t do that at all, or make it very difficult.

    Image galleries, podcasts, pre-built themes, blogging features are of no interest to me.

    Drag & drop of images is very useful.

    Internal anchors would be helpful.

    So would a search feature.

    I don’t know what it’s called, but the ability to expand/collapse sections, as Apple does in some support articles, would be a great way to include things of interest to only a few people, without excessive clutter for others, or requiring linking to another page.

    If you’re looking for beta testers, I do that for Apple, and would probably be willing to do so for this, too.

  24. I am looking for something to do a good calendar on our website. I think something to make flash type banners or slide shows would also be a good add. Lastly something for a good blog with response ability would be good.

  25. What is needed is, effectively, iWeb Pro – something that I am surprised Apple never did. iPhoto metamorphosed into Aperture, giving something to everyone and iWeb should have followed to same path.

    What I’d like to see in addition to the standard iWeb WSIWYG are:

    Drop-down menus
    SEO features
    Support for mobile platforms
    Pages within folders – great for large sites
    Better URLs – iWeb’s are always too long.

    But frankly if the new App was just as good as iWeb currently is that would be a great starting point.

    1. Couldn’t agree more with Peter above.

  26. Ability to use non standard fonts and have them automatically show in all browsers when you publish.

  27. I hope it will be possible import the old iWeb sites.

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