I am never really clear what are the differences between Express and Pro. I assume the differences are great because of the price difference.
In attempting to understand the differences I was looking at the 3 different example web designs that are used on each of the Express and Pro product pages on the Softpress site.
I couldn’t see anything from the examples that made me think that the Pro version had more capability. As an Express user, I would have to pay another £159 on top of what I already paid for the Expreess AS version, to use the Pro version.
To my suprise then, when I looked at the source code for the 6 web site examples, I could see that the 3 Express examples were in fact created with the Pro version!
So the question is this: Is this misleading or would I (or the average internet user) just not notice the difference?
Hi spidercrab,
Of the three sample sites listed on the Freeway Express product page I can see that the Blink Motorcross site has now been updated to Pro. I’ll replace this later today for another Express site [1]. All three sites were created in Express when the Softpress site was created and the other two sites (seanbreslinphotography.com and maisontouffailles.com) still remain as Express generated sites.
Overall Pro offers more tools to features to get the job done quicker and easier. For example Pro will allow you to layout your pages using layers rather than tables. This in itself provides a greater degree of control and options when constructing your pages. It also handles native graphic file formats like PSDs so you don’t have to pre-process your files before starting work in Freeway.
The Pro options not found in Express are;
Native import of PSD, TIFF, AI, EPS & more
CSS-based layout + Relative Page Layout (Action)
Full support for the vast array of 3rd-party Actions
Multiple output options (HTML 3.2, HTML 4.01, XHTML Transitional and Strict)
Full choice of output encodings
Complete color and text style management across your entire document
Accessibility reporting
Employ multiple style sheets for each document
Full CSS text styling
Ability to specify relative and percentage positions and dimensions for layout items
Specify padding, wrap, margin and border (HTML items only) separately for each side of an item
Advanced visual effects on your web site using Scriptaculous Actions
Specify link styles on any CSS-positioned HTML item
Link map: overview and maintenance of all the links in your document
Multiple windows open for the same document at once
Snapping palettes for easier workspace management
Extended transformation options: Skew, Scale and Mirror content separately from its box
Freely combine and manipulate shadows, glows and other graphic effects with greater control over their appearance
Save items and pages as images
I would encourage you to download and try Freeway Pro (http://www.softpress.com/products/freeway-pro.html). It sounds like you’ve experience of building a few sites in Express so hopefully you’ll appreciate the extended features in Pro and see where these can save you time.
Regards,
Tim.
[1] If anyone has a cracking site created in Freeway Express that they would like to see showcased on the Softpress site please feel free to get in touch with me directly. Thanks!
On 20 Apr 2012, at 11:08, spidercrab wrote:
To my suprise then, when I looked at the source code for the 6 web site examples, I could see that the 3 Express examples were in fact created with the Pro version!
So the question is this: Is this misleading or would I (or the average internet user) just not notice the difference?
Tim,
Many thanks for the quick and thorough reply.
On checking again, I can see that 2 were created using Express - I can only assume I was looking at the wrong window. Sorry for my confusion.
Interestingly, my favourite of the 3 Express sites, i.e. www.maisontrouffailes.com was created with Express 4! When looking at it I liked the gallery which I thought was a Pro feature.
I have some familiarity with the phrases used in your list of differences and also in the Go Pro panel. However, I’m still struggling to visualise how those differences translate into a better web site. I think this is a question that many Express users might be asking themselves. Also I am reluctant to download the Pro trial in case it messes up my Express installation and sites - I just can’t risk that.
For an existing customer who has already created a web site, the productivity gains from going to Pro would I think, be small and not worth it.
One big advantage of going to Pro would be that you don’t waste time searching the forum and support documentation, only to find that you are trying to implement a Pro only feature. I can’t tell you how much time I have wasted doing that.
The biggest difference to me at the moment that I can see, is that when following SEO current good practice, there is no way to create header tags with Express. That may become the reason to scrap Express and buy Pro.
Are you going to do an upgrade from Express AS to Pro AS? That would certainly make financial sense from a customers point if view. I think you have a relatively untapped market out there which is the Express customers who don’t upgrade to Pro.
For an existing customer who has already created a web site, the productivity gains from going to Pro would I think, be small and not worth it.
Sure - if you have built your site already and are not planning on doing any more then stick with Express.
But the Pro in the name implies to me Professional ie the guy who is building sites for money not just for themselves. One site built with Pro pays for the software!