OpenElement for Windows

User Reviews

• Still not for the average user, or new users!

  AZPolecatMarch 7, 2018

  Pros

  - Free - Appears to be updated fairly regularly - Appears to have some powerful tools - Appears to have community support

  Cons

  - Free (You get what you pay for) - Despite appearing to have some powerful tools, many elements don't work, or don't work as advertised - Despite community support, questions for help from new people tend to go unanswered - Most "answers" in the forum simply refer would-be users to the WIKI page, which offers EXTREMELY limited help. Truthfully, the greatest attribute of the WIKI is that it offers a thorough introduction to the interface, covering every tab and option. However, there is no documentation that actual operation or utilization of the features - Not a true WYSIWYG editor. Many elements do not actually function properly with just drag and drop, requiring custom coding to get the desired results (not for the novice) - Almost all tutorials are for the previous version leaving would-be users of the current version stumbling in the dark - Many more, but why beat a dead horse. You probably get the point

  Summary

  This not a simple WYSIWYG editor for novices. To be able to effectively use this program, you will need at least some experience with another modern website development tool. If all you need is a very basic website with simple text and images, you would probably be better served hand coding in html. If you need the capability to build more robust websites, you would probably be better served actually paying for something like Adobe Dreamweaver if you are new to building websites. The primary reason is that you are going to get MUCH better documentation and support from a paid for application that a free one like OpenElement. OpenElement's greatest attribute right now is that it can be readily modified by professionals that are already experienced with website construction. The learning curve for new website developers is too steep, in my opinion, due to the lack of necessary documentation, examples, and tutorials. After a couple years experience with something like DreamWeaver, one would be more than familiar enough to use OpenElement without the need for in depth documentation

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• Awesome product / Produit de grande qualité

  Hobby001August 14, 2015

  Pros

  Flexible, easy to use, tutorials available on WEB, and FREE! Support on Forum realy efficient Flexible, facile d'utilisation, tutoriels disponible sur WEB et GRATUIT! Support sur le forum très actif

  Cons

  Nothing to say yet Rien à redire encore.

  Summary

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• very powerful web design tool

  smokieananaOctober 14, 2014

  Pros

  It allows custom css add, which is needed in creating pressable web buttons. It offers many abilities with login and user management, and it is a wysiwyg software.

  Cons

  It is still ongoing the development period, which is still a good thing, since when it reaches a top level of possibilities and aspects it will be a so delicious tool to use.

  Summary

  It is fairly easy to operate, to undestand its philosophy and to perform with.

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• Not for the average person.... difficult to use

  April 29, 2014

  Pros

  Probably a good program if you know how to use it

  Cons

  Seems one must know code in order to use this. It is not a drop, drop and edit type web builder.

  Summary

  I am fairly intelligent and have built 5 web sites in the past but with this program I couldn't get a single thing to work. Couldn't even put any text a page.

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• Awesome website building app!

  sofayamMay 17, 2013

  Pros

  Open Element is easy to use and has tons of features. It's really powerful for a free program. Tons of elements to use and you can tweak them however you want. You can edit the css and also use custom code. I'm still discovering features. Overall, really happy with it. Highly recommended! Great support on the forum too.

  Cons

  Couple of bugs and you can't import old webpages, but overall it's more than worth it.

  Summary

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• Great software! Makes great websites.

  TheyCallMeRedMay 6, 2013

  Pros

  -Free -Intuitive -Easy to use -Options for advanced users -Great support on their web forum

  Cons

  -Definitely a few bugs -Some features missing, but hopefully on their way

  Summary

  How did I not hear about this program before? I was looking for a program that would let me turn over a website pretty quickly. They have some decent templates, but it's also quite easy to start from scratch and import vectors or your own graphic templates. One of the cool things about openElement is their layer system, where you basically build a base-page that you can use as a model for all the other pages. It's useful for logos, navigation menus, backgrounds, and footers that will appear on every page. As far as layout, it's pretty true to the wysiwyg mantra. You drag-and-drop the elements (there are quite a few in a bar on the right hand side) to the page and they'll be displayed where you put them when you preview or publish the page. All the elements have tons of configuration options so you can really customize their look and functions. there's even a library of "presets" that let you change the look to something pre-formatted and designed. But if you really want to roll your sleeves up, you can get in there and play with the CSS. And if the built-in elements don't do it for you, you can write and integrate your own code using a code block. Comes in handy... The wiki is a pretty good resource too, even though some of the pages are I think in French? There are a few elements that seemed buggy, but one thing that's pretty cool is that their developers contribute to the web forum and seem really attentive. They answered my question pretty quickly and supposedly a fix is in the works. There are some things the program can't do yet, but supposedly, they're working on introducing things like database editing support, which I think would really make this a competitor with some of the major platforms out there. Publishing was easy. You can either export all the code and files to a folder, which i really like, or use the built-in FTP publisher, which worked well. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this find. I was looking for a decent wysiwyg editor that wasn't all online. And it's free! Like, not free to try, or "upgrade now" to unlock, but free. No ads or toolbars or anything. I found that kind of surprising. They have links to a hosting partner and an image store, but no obligation to use either of those. There's a donate button, too, which I'll probably hit up if I keep using it. I like what I've seen so far, and I'd be curious to see where they take this project.

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