Serif Web Page Maker e-Design Studio

A good choice for those who want a simple way to start designing web pages.

The clumsily titled Web Page Maker e-Design Studio is actually WebPlus 7, an upgraded version of Serif's low-cost web design program, along with an extra CDRom with a large library of fonts, clipart and wizards to assist beginners.

The wizards consist of templates for business and personal use. However, they don't give a clear idea of the structure of a site or the links between pages, so you'll need to dip into the program's main tools to put finishing touches to your site.

A number of new design tools are included. The text and graphics engines have been enhanced so that they automatically provide smooth, anti-aliased text and graphics.

There's also a new text editing mode, WritePlus, that looks and works just like a word processor. It allows you to use powerful word processing tools, such as the new Auto-Correct and Auto-Spell options, and changes are instantly reflected on the web page in the main workspace, so you can see how your changes affect the layout.

You also have the ability to rotate text on the page while going back and editing it if necessary. There are also improved options for altering settings like line spacing and character formatting.

New graphics tools include options for drawing freehand lines and curves, as well as a range of pre-defined Quickshapes, such as spirals, stars and arrowheads.

A series of editing nodes let you modify these shapes quickly and easily, and the new transparency and fill tools can be used to add a variety of graphical effects. The gradient fill tool is particularly clever, providing dozens of pre-defined linear, radial and conical fill effects.

Rival web design programs such as Microsoft's FrontPage are better than e-Design Studio at creating large websites, but this package is a versatile and affordable option for beginners.

Price: £34.99 (ex. VAT).

Minimum requirements: Windows 9x/ME/2000/NT 4.0/XP; Pentium II 233MHz; 32Mb Ram; 65Mb hard disk space.

Contact: Serif 0115 914 2000
www.serif.com