Note: This is a guest post from Thomas Webster of Basekit.
A group of British software developers have announced that they are to launch an online service that lets web designers create rich, dynamic websites live online – without having to code.
BaseKit is a next generation website builder which automatically converts user-uploaded Photoshop designs into standards-compliant HTML and CSS – in seconds. For those who do not want to use their own designs there is a selection of pre-built site packs – each customisable from not just the colours and text but also the functionality.
BaseKit is currently in public beta, and plans to launch in March. Aimed at website designers and developers, BaseKit is purely web-based – ‘software as a service’. Having developed a working prototype, the team entered Seedcamp 2008, the premier tech start-up competition in Europe, and were chosen as one of 7 winners out of 400 European web technology companies.
BaseKit has a fully-featured content management system (CMS) with hosting included. This gives users access to powerful features from contact forms, maps and video to widgets and social networking. Adding functionality is as easy as point, click, drag and drop.
“Websites are online, so building them should be as well,” said Gordon Plant, User Experience Officer at BaseKit. “I’ve always been confused about why web design software is stuck, entrenched in our desktops and laptops – building a website offline only to upload it bit by bit. Often trying to make even the smallest of changes is an unnecessary stress.”
The team behind BaseKit are web professionals themselves so every aspect of the service has considered the issues that often dog development. BaseKit is cross browser compatible, including IE 7+ for the BaseKit editor and IE6 for published websites. The HTML and CSS BaseKit produces is standards-compliant and validates to W3C guidelines.
“BaseKit is a big step ahead in web design,” said Gordon. “The way BaseKit works will mean that designers can focus on creating engaging designs, while our team of developers take care of the hosting and functionality.”
It has never been easier to create websites without having to code. BaseKit is also underpinned by an intuitive content management system, letting users keep their websites up to date without special training.
“Of course, for traditional web designers, we also have a detailed code editing dashboard built in too.”
To try out BaseKit before it is launched, register at http://www.basekit.com
New Software To Offer ‘Live’ Website Design
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