What’s new in iWeb ‘09? Do you need it?
Despite the lack of public lovin’ given Apple’s WYSIWYG template-based website creation tool at Macworld San Francisco, there’s plenty of new stuff in iWeb ‘09 to talk about. Plus, get your iWork ‘09 user guides here!
The coolest new features in iWeb ‘09 are real throw backs, things that should have been in there from the start—support for multiple sites and FTP publishing. Previously, iWeb’s integrated uploading feature only worked with Apple’s $99 per year MobileMe (ie .Mac). Yes, it was possible to export your site as .html and then upload it manually to your site’s host using Fetch or another FTP client, but that was a lot of extra work.
Social networking widgets
Whereas iWeb ‘08 introduced the idea of .html widgets (ie add custom code to your pages), Apple has expanded the concept to include social networking and RSS widgets. iWeb ‘09 offers fast and easy ways to customize your pages with YouTube, Countdown, Maps, Last.fm profile, FaceBook notifications and more.
For example, the iSight widget does just what you would imagine it does—allows you to quickly add snaps or video to your site using your Mac’s built in iSight camera.
— See also: iWeb ‘09 video tutorials
Apple posts iWork ‘09 user guides
So, now that you’ve read Blorge’s What’s new in iWork ‘09? Do you need it?, it’s time to download and dig into the mans—manuals that is.
✔ Pages ‘09 User Guide (.pdf)
✔ Numbers ‘09 User Guide (.pdf)
—Numbers ‘09: Sending a spreadsheet to iWeb✔ Keynote ‘09 User Guide (.pdf)
For better or worse, when iWeb ‘09 finally arrives on February 20th with the rest of the iLife ‘09 suite, there will only be two new site themes for a none-too-shabby total of 28 uniquely crafted looks your site can have. Of course, if these aren’t enough Jumsoft will be happy to sell you ready-to-use themes or you could chose to roll your own.
So, do some retro features (multi-site, FTP), expanded widget functionality (FaceBook, RSS, etc) and a couple of new themes make this is a must-have update? Well, perhaps not iWeb alone.
However, taken together with what’s new iLife ‘09—face recognition, slick new movie tools, music tutorials, etc—it’s easy to find enough reasons to invest $79 in the latest version of Apple’s digital lifestyle suite…
What did Apple get right in iWeb ‘09? What’s still missing?
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January 16th, 2009
Thanks for this post. I was wondering what was added to iWeb. It sounds like the new additions will greatly improve iWeb (I hope). – Claire
January 22nd, 2009
Does anybody know if iWeb ’09’s FTP publishing includes the ability the edit the source code? Adding things like Googe Analytics scripts in a seperate editor is a bit of a pain in the neck.
January 24th, 2009
You can edit your source code at any time thru your iDisk files and a text editor. The problem is that iWeb will write over anything you change in your next posting.
Ed
January 24th, 2009
Will iweb 09 work when using Internet Explorer?
I did this with the last iweb and it looked great in safari but not IE.
January 26th, 2009
iWeb is on of those weird little finds that has more applications than marketed. As a designer at a Mar/Comm agency, we actually use iWeb to build smaller websites for clients… all with custom graphics, integrated Flash (through snippet code), etc.
My ‘wants’ for iWeb 09 are as follows:
1. Page Titles? (Currently Use iWeb SEO)
2. Page Descriptions? (Currently Use iWeb SEO)
3. SEO Functionality? (Currently Use iWeb SEO)
4. Analytics Code? (Currently Use Automator)
Those are the big ones that Apple must address. FTP is a ‘Nice to have’ but its just as simple to publish to a folder and use CyberDuck to upload. Its all the work in the middle after ever publish that becomes tiresome.
Any news whether the above listed have been addressed?
January 27th, 2009
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January 27th, 2009
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February 3rd, 2009
Scott, I agree with you. Now I’m using “MassReplaceit” – a free app with ability to save presets. I’m replacing title, page description every time after editing iWeb. I’ts tiresome and I would like that iWeb had the feature you mentioned too.
March 4th, 2009
Having upgraded to ‘09, I’m actually not glad I did it. Using the built-in FTP feature might be nice if you’re using iweb for your whole site. If you’re using it for a just a portion of your site, using the built-in FTP is problematic as it overrides your index file. Much safer to publish to a folder and upload with CyberDuck.
Also, they still haven’t added a way to edit headers and the other things Scott mentioned.
Biggest problem I have is that it has created a problem for many users, myself included, in uploading video and photo album sites published to folders and uploading via ftp. Many users have experienced that once uploaded, their videos, photos, and blogs no longer appear on the page despite showing up on the locally saved version. This problem has really crippled one of my sites. Apple definitely has kinks to work out. I’d hold off on the upgrade if I could do it over.
March 22nd, 2009
Has anyone had difficulty with lengthier text not uploading to the web as you have it on your page while developing.
I am also have trouble sending behind and bringing forward. The Apple Creative had the same problem.
March 26th, 2009
iWeb fun tips
1. Create your webpage background in Photoshop and using just a few of the functions in iWeb. This is a great way to be original.
2. Use a square and bring the opacity down to put text anywhere. Then you can make the text and the square a button.
3. http://www.sitemeter.com is great for analyzing hits on your site.
April 2nd, 2009
No sitemeter.com. Statcounter is the best. No adds, no baners, 500 logs … for free.
April 26th, 2009
I’ve just done a simple iWeb 09 project and it views well and very quickly in Safari.
The problem is when it is viewed on Explorer; it is not holding information like typefaces, text ‘runarounds’ with pictures and some of the rules/lines.
It’s a pity; I haven’t found a solution but as 80% of the world uses IE it means it is pretty useless. My web hosting company told the best solution was to rewrite it is Dreamweaver.
Any other suggestions very welcome.