The enticing idea of starting our own website is bound to occur sooner or later. What it could be about is secondary – there are just too many variants. We could tell the world about our favorite pet, a celebrity we worship, or even share the unique information about ourselves – the sky is the limit here. However, it’s exactly at this point when many people have to think about how to actually build a site from scratch.

According to the statistics, only 1% of Internet users can work with HTML code. With the emergence of such programs as Microsoft FrontPage, however, this skill is no longer seen as the key attribute of a successful site owner.

As time goes by, web editors are becoming more and more advanced, evolving in two directions and aimed at different users.

The first kind is aimed at a casual user who has no idea about HTML and CSS, or the way of using them. These web editors continue to evolve into advanced tools, more handy and intuitive than could be ever predicted. The templates are at the same time their strong point and weak point. Today’s web editors offer a wide choice of templates, which considerably limits their functionality and decreases their appeal for a professional user. 

The other trend in the development of web editors is intended for professionals. Obviously, it does not feature fancy buttons and nice layouts – something that every single program in FrontPage feels obliged to offer. Programs of this kind require the user to possess enough knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript and a number of other fields of webmaking. In exchange for those few requirements, such programs offer literally unlimited possibilities of creating and altering websites, no matter how complex they are.

The first thing every visitor sees is the main page, which is why it becomes so important to make sure it’s easy to navigate. Navigation menu is of particular importance here, as this is something the visitors will use in order to get to pages they are interested in. Flash menu builders are becoming increasingly popular, as they allow creating a decent menu by using Flash. Undoubtedly, professional developers and programmers will never abandon their Macromedia Flash, but for those not really familiar with this format the services offered below will be of great help.
 
CoffeeCup Flash Menu Builder

Official site: http://www.coffeecup.com/menu-builder/
Current version: 3.4
Type of license: shareware (conditionally free).
Price: $34

CoffeeCup Flash-builder is a great illustration to the proverb «they tried their best, you know the rest».

If you study the list of functions offered by this menu-builder you will find out they are quite standard. Two supplementary panels inside the window for creating a menu include Designer panel, which we will describe in more detail, and Menus, containing the description of future points of the Flash menu.

According to the official site, the CoffeeCup Company was founded in 1995. The last time any changes have been made to its design was in 2000, which can be easily concluded anyway by the primitive-looking buttons. The Designer panel, which theoretically is supposed to provide full functionality, seems to be of the same year, which gives little hope of creating a decent-looking Flash menu.

But let’s take a look at the features offered. The user willing to build a site menu with the help of this editor will be glad to find a lot of block templates, both on the menu and submenus; other options include the possibility to select text size and color, as well as to change its orientation within the block (left margin, center, right margin). Another feature persistently advertised by the site is the possibility of making the background image transparent. And these few features are pretty much it. 

Here we feel obliged to say the following: an equally limited version of the program would be a decent piece of freeware. But since we are talking about a program for which you will have to pay 34 dollars, seems like it’s not really worth that kind of money.

The main thing in brief: it’s a shareware kind of program, which means you have to pay after three weeks of using it; but the functionality it offers does not correspond to the price asked.

Pluses: minimalist design with large buttons and simple interface

Minuses: functionality that leaves much to be desired, not very convenient templates included into the suite, and insufficient tuning.

Grade: satisfactory.
 
Quadricsoft Menu Builder

Official site: http://www.quadricsoft.com /main.asp
Current version: 1.1
Type of license: shareware (conditionally free)
Price: $30

The site of this Flash builder has a great potential… of driving away any sane customer looking for a quality product and willing to pay for it. Surprisingly enough, this is a paid program with a shockingly primitive site design that seems to have been created by a ninth-grader for the Computer Ed teacher to leave him alone for a while. It’s like travelling back in time when Flash was just introduced.

But let’s take a closer look at the builder hoping that first impressions are not always correct. To our regret, the builder has obviously been created by the same person who designed the site. Quadricsoft menu builder is unable to offer even some basic elements expected by an average user – which puts it far behind many other, quite mediocre, programs of the kind..

The functionality is slightly better that that of the Flash-builder examined before. However, terrible design of the program the user is bound to work in, as well as its interface (the creator of which obviously has never heard the word «usability» before) spoil all the fun.

The main thing in brief: poorly designed builder that cannot offer an enjoyable experience even to the most unpretentious users.

Pluses: a bit more functional than CoffeeCup… if you have to choose the lesser of two evils.

Minuses: all the rest – inconvenient to use, monstrously designed and offering nasty-looking templates

Grade: failing.
 
A4 Flash Menu Builder

Official site: http://www.a4menubuilder.com/
Current version: 2.29
Type of license: shareware (conditionally free)
Price: from $19.95 to $69.95

The creators of the A4 Flash Menu Builder probably intended to provide their customers with as much choice as possible, which is why they offer four versions of the program for you to make up your mind. The difference between them lies in the number of templates offered and the price you pay for each one of them.

1) Starter Pack costs $19.95 and includes 12 ready-to-arrange templates (you pay about $1.66 per template).
2) Standard Pack costs $39.95 and features 30 templates (you pay $1.33 per template).
3) Professional Pack is worth $59.95 and includes 48 templates ($1.24 per template).
4) Design Studio Pack has the price of $69.95 and offers 84 templates ($0.83 per template).

Most interestingly, however, the functionality of this menu builder stays the same, no matter what version you go for. This is the strong point of this Flash builder, and, at the same time, its biggest failure - in case the user does not feel like overpaying for additional templates.

For those willing to test their creativity, however, the Starter Pack might be just the right thing, as you can create quite a decent menu using 12 templates included into the price.

The weak point of this program is that without a large number of templates the function is not that amazing anymore. This piece of shareware is obviously better than the ones offered by the CoffeeCup and Quadricsoft, and here are some other features you may find useful.

The interface you get is WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), which means the functions of every button are available from the graphic editor, which spares you the trouble of scrutinizing the code. The presentation of tools is obvious and clear, which is also a big plus.

Another thing worth mentioning is that you can easily create a menu for CDs. At the same time this function can be of little appeal to many, as CDs are pretty much on their way out. This is exactly the reason why this option (which nevertheless may be interesting for some users) is hidden in the panel of supplementary features.

The main thing in brief: a pretty good builder with pleasant visual interface, but heavily dependent on the templates included into the set.

Pluses: decent functionality, option of designing a menu for CDs.
Minuses: unless you purchase the version with a wide number of templates, the builder is quite useless.

Minuses: without a large number of templates, the builder is hardly a good value.

Grade: good.
 
Flashation

Official site: http://www.flashation.com/
Current version: 1.0
Type of license: shareware (conditionally free)
Price: $29.95

There was a time when animated menu buttons were on everybody’s mind, and about half of all websites made sure they had plenty of them. It all looked like a big competition in which webmasters were selflessly fighting for a mystery prize awarded for the most abundant animation. Flashation menu builder seems to have come from that glorious epoch, and it claims to be the ultimate Flash button- and menu-builder with a demo version intended to convince every client in doubt of the expediency of making the purchase.

Notice how the official site puts «buttons» before «menu», which says a lot. The truth is, it would be more accurate to call it a «button builder», as here you can go wild and do all sorts of things to the buttons you create – select different colors, types, sounds, animation etc. The site offers over 110 animated buttons that can be previewed on a separate page.

Although this builder claims to be a potentially useful program for designing a serious website through which you can do business, we wouldn’t take it in all good faith. Most of these features will still look a lot better on your homepage hosted by a free provider of the relevant service.

The main thing in brief: quite a cute program that brings back the nostalgic memories of the old times when animation was a craze of many.

Pluses: a great variety of buttons and wide choice of animations.

Minuses: as a menu builder, it’s a very weak and not very functional program.

Grade: satisfactory.
 
Flash Tags Flash Menu Builder

Official site: http://www.flash-tags.com/
Current version: 1.0
Type of license: shareware (conditionally free)
Price: $24.95

Some things just get better with time – cheese, wine, even some women. Unlike all the  things mentioned above, high technologies are in constant need of developing and offering new possibilities to anyone willing to use them.

It’s a safe assumption that being innovative and up-to-date is the single most important thing every menu-builder developer should be aware of. The latest menu builders have no other choice but to be better and more advanced than the previous versions.

The copyright year indicated on the Flash Tags website is 2003, which basically means it has been 5 years since any modifications were made. The same can be said about the program itself. First impressions about the builder are most likely to send the potential user into state of panic, as it is not something you would expect to get in the twenty-first century – at least, so it can be concluded after studying the screenshot of the tool.

However, upon the installation of the program one thing can be said for certain: back then, in the year 2003, this was quite a decent program after all.

We felt like we need to ease up on the builder because of its age – this sort of takes the edge off the imperfect design and limited functionality. At the same time, with some diligent effort an proper understanding of how things need to be done, it’s not impossible to create a nice functional menu. This may take a while though.

The main thing in brief: a moth-eaten flash builder brought to you by the company that doesn’t feel guilty about offering outdated products. It might take you some time to get used to the clumsy interface and learn about the special features.

Pluses: the best way to learn how this was done many years ago.

Minuses: still too archaic to create a menu, unless you are ready to dedicate your whole life to it.

Grade: unsatisfactory.
 
Flash-Menu.net

Official site: http://www.flash-menu.net/
Current version: 1.0
License type: freeware (free)

It seems like it hasn’t been long since Web 2.0 appeared, but it’s already well-known on the Russian web. Thanks to the progress and constant evolution of new ideas every program is bound to be free and available to everyone.

The builder offered by Flash-Menu.net looks like its creators have done some pretty amazing job. Most importantly, it’s free, although a program with such a set of features might as well be paid. It is a real menu-builder that allows creating an efficient and quite complex menu for anyone intending to become a proud owner of a serious site.

A very nice thing here about this Flash builder is that it’s very easy to use. There is no need to leave the browser or download any other applications, so you can create a menu without making a single unnecessary step.

The builder consists of three supplementary panels – Component inspector, Item editor and XML editor and we are going to talk about each one of them.

1) Component editor is quite a basic panel intended primarily for people not familiar with XML. Using this panel you can build every menu parameter, including the type and color of buttons, width and transparency percentage, and so on.

2) Item editor. This panel allows adding new groups and even subgroups to the points of the menu, while at the same time you can increase or decrease in size the basic element of website navigation.

3) XML editor. This is a perfect option for those who are not big fans of WYSIWYG systems, as it contains all the features that can be found in the previously mentioned two panels. This is the ultimate tool for those into hardcore coding, and introduction by hand is also available.

As the result, you can obtain quite universal menus that with the help of flash-menu.net can be made into great navigation systems anyone will enjoy using. Such a system will be appropriate for a serious site through which you do business, or even to set up a home page. It is one of those few cases when universal means suitable for literally any kind of website.

There is, however, a small aspect here that can be somewhat unpleasant. In order to be able to use this function for free you need to make a reference to the creator’s website and insert it in the menu. The way to get around this annoying obligation is the following: after you do place the reference, the program developer will send you the menu without the reference included into it. From there you are on your own and can do whatever comes to mind.

The main thing in brief: undoubtedly the most efficient builder from the ones examined. Not only is it free, it also provides great functionality.

Pluses: convenient and obvious interface, constant updates, no need to leave the browser, and it’s free.
Minuses: not so many if compared to the pluses – the only annoying thing is placing the reference to the creator’s website – but then you can enjoy the menu you created with no limitations whatsoever.

Grade: excellent.