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We are thrilled to announce the availability of the first public beta of EverWeb 4.4 for macOS and Windows. The upcoming EverWeb release will be one of our biggest, as it introduces Containers which will take your website designs to the next level. There will also be mouse transitions and animations, scrolling effects, borders, margins and padding, a new publishing framework and new options for the Navigation Menu widget. Plus a whole lot of other new and exciting features and improvements that will take your website building even more dynamic than it is today.

Before You Download The EverWeb 4.4 Public Beta Software…

As beta software is beta this means that it is likely that there are still bugs to be ironed out of the software. Although we have tested the software extensively before releasing the public beta, there is still scope for corruption of project files and crashes to occur. If you want to try out the new EverWeb 4.4 features in advance of its official release we advise the following:

1. Do not use the beta test software on live project files. Only use beta software on test project files.
2. Be aware that if you load existing project files in EverWeb 4.4 (beta), that you will no longer be able to open these project files in older versions of EverWeb anymore.
3. If you install the public beta version of EverWeb, it will overwrite your existing product version. You may want to rename your currently installed version of EverWeb before installing the beta version, so that you have the current official EverWeb release available as well as the beta version.
4. If you need to re-download the current, officially released version of EverWeb available to you, go to the Support-> Downloads area of your EverWeb Client Area to redownload it.
5. When installing EverWeb software, your Project files will not be overwritten as they are stored elsewhere on your computer.
6. Make sure you back up your EverWeb project files. You can do this within EverWeb itself which is recommended. We also recommend backing up your project files when you back up your computer.
7. When running EverWeb Beta software, a backup will be made automatically the first time you open the project file in the new beta version.

Accessing the New EverWeb 4.4 Public Beta Version

As stated at the top of this post, the new public beta release of EverWeb is now available to current EverWeb users. To gain access to this beta test version

1. Log In To your EverWeb Client Area
2. Once logged in, click on the Support Menu, and select the Downloads option
3. In the Categories section, Click on the ‘EverWeb Beta’ option.
4. You can now select to download the EverWeb version of your choice, macOS, Windows, or both.

Installing the EverWeb 4.4 Public Beta

Once you have downloaded the version of EverWeb that you want to install, you will either have an everweb44b.dmg file (macOS) or an everwebsetup44b.exe file (Microsoft Windows) in your file download location.

Before installing the beta software, check the Before You Download… section of this post again. Once you have done that, just click on the .dmg file, or double click on the .exe file to kick off the installation process. Follow the prompts to complete the installation of the software.

Testing and Feedback

One of the most important things about issuing a public beta of EverWeb is to get your feedback. If EverWeb does crash at all, please make sure that you send in the crash report, so that we can fix the crash. If you find issues when using the product, use the EverWeb Forum to document the issue and we will report back to you. Sometimes, recording a video may help here, but it depends on the issue that you are experienceing.

Also, remember to check back regularly on the EverWeb Forum as we often issue updates to the public release based on our continued testing and your user feedback. These updates will appear usually in the Public Beta Announcement Post. Checking the forums is also a good idea to check on updates for any issues that you have previously reported.

The Official Release Version…

We are often asked the question about when will the next version of EverWeb be available. We are just as keen to get a new version out with new features, but we will only do so once we are satisfied that the new version is really ready for release and has been tested thoroughly, both internally and ‘out in the field’

If you decide to help us with the new EverWeb 4.4 Public Beta, thank you for taking the time to do so and to help us with testing the product. We’re looking forward to your feedback about all of the exciting new features that are being introduced!

The EverWeb User Interface (UI) lies at the center of your website building project. We call the main UI the Project Window as this the area where you create your website. Everything that you need to build a great website is here at your fingertips. The UI has a lot to of features to explore which might seem daunting if you are a new user, but we have made the UI so that it is as easy to use as it can be. Secondly, there are also lots of ways in which you can customize the UI for a more personalized experience so that EverWeb is set up in the way that is best for your workflow. Here are some features that will help you get the bet out of EverWeb’s User Interface.

Light and Dark Mode

This is probably something that you will set as a system preference on your PC or Mac and EverWeb supports whichever mode you choose.

To use dark mode on a Mac,

1. Go to System Settings using the Settings Cog in the dock or by using the Apple Icon -> System Settings menu option.
2. Click on the Appearance section in the left hand column of the System Settings.
3. In the pane to the right you will see the Appearance options. At the top are three screen representations. Choose either Light, Dark or Auto.
4. Your Mac will update the screen automatically for the mode that you have chosen.
5. If you have chosen Auto, the screen’s light or dark mode will change depending on the time of day.

To use dark mode on a Windows PC

• Click on the Start menu button
• Click on Settings
• Next click on Personalization
• Chooser Colors from the list
• In the ‘Choose Your Color’ section, you can choose between Light, Dark or Custom.
• The Custom option will give you options for Default Windows and Default App modes.
• Once you have chosen the option you desire, close the Window.

Adjusting Widths and Heights

When you are working in EverWeb’s Project Window, there are two areas that can have their width and height adjusted. the first is the Web Page List that runs down the left hand side of the UI and lists all of the pages in your project. If you have long page names, these may become obscured, and there may be times where you want to see the whole page name. You can easily do this quickly by moving the mouse cursor to the right hand border of the Web Page List, adjacent to the left hand side of the Editor Window. As you do so, the cursor eventually change to a vertical line with a double headed arrow through it. When this icon appears, click and drag the icon to the left or right until you see as much of the Web Page List as you want.

In addition, you can use the same method but vertically to increase of decrease the spacing between the Master page section of the Web Page List and the regular page section. Additionally, you can also adjust the three sections of the Blog Posts page in the same manner. In the Blog Post list section at the top of the Blog Posts page, you can adjust the width of each section as well.

Changing these settings is a system wide change in EverWeb. When you log out and log in to EverWeb, the changes will be preserved. If you have more than one project, you will notice that the changes will be applied to all of your projects.

Show and Hide Features

The Window menu is the place where you can really customize how you want Everweb’s UI to look. Some options on this menu are system level ones so will be retained when you log back in to EverWeb the next time, some are only session specific. In our description below, we will indicate which is which.

• The Inspector Window: You can hide the Inspector Window that contains the Inspector, Assets and Widgets tab. Typically you will want to do this if you want to maximize your screen real estate for the Editor Window. Toggling this setting is not a system level change, but is only valid in your current EverWeb session. The next time you log in to EverWeb, the Inspector will be available again.
• The Toolbar: Hiding the Toolbar is a great way to gain screen real estate and is a system level change. If you hide the Toolbar, you can still access all of its features through the menu system, apart from the Check Page feature.
• Presentation Mode: This is a great way to preview the current page without having to use Preview! The Toolbar, Web Page list and the Inspector Window’s are all removed leaving just the Editor Window displayed. As you would expect, this setting is valid only in your current EverWeb session.
• Hide Layout: Usually when you are designing your website’s pages you will want to have the layout lines, icons and so forth displayed. At times, however, you might want to get a ‘clean’ look at the page without the design layout displayed. If so, this is the option for you! This is a system level change, so will be retained in your next EverWeb session.
• The Ruler: EverWeb will display the ruler that runs across the top and left hand side of the Editor Window. If you do not want this displayed, you can turn it off using the Window-> Show/Hide Rulers menu option.
• Breakpoints: This is usually an option that is hidden as EverWeb automatically takes care of the points at which objects will wrap on devices. If this is important in your design, you might want to keep this visible. Showing Breakpoints is a system level setting so they will be visible when you log in again to EverWeb.
• Show Hidden Objects: This option is by default unchecked. If you use Hidden Objects in your EverWeb designed pages, you may want to set this option on. This option is also session specific.

EverWeb Settings

The last settings that affect EverWeb’s UI are to be found in the EverWeb-> Settings (formerly Preferences) menu option on a Mac, and in Edit-> Options if you are a Windows user. Under the General tab, you will find options to show or hide alignment guides, show or hide hyperlink indicators, and an option to show small or normal sized layout buttons in the Editor Window.

EverWeb’s UI features gives you control and customization options to help you get the best working environment to design your website in!

In today’s web design world, responsiveness is essential. With users browsing on phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops, your website needs to adapt to every screen size. One of EverWeb‘s best tools for responsive layouts is the Responsive Row widget

First debuted in EverWeb 2.8, the Responsive Row widget was part of a larger debut, Responsive Website Design in EverWeb. That was back in back in 2018 and much has happened in the intervening years, with the upcoming EverWeb 4.4 release taking the next leap forward in responsive design. So remember to check back here over the next couple of months for more news!

What Is the Responsive Row Widget?

The Responsive Row widget is a layout tool that helps you arrange content horizontally in a way that automatically adapts to different screen sizes. Think of it like a flexible container for your content —TextBoxes, images, shapes, buttons, widgets and so forth. When the screen size gets smaller, the Responsive Row adjusts by wrapping or stacking the items inside it, so that there is no manual resizing needed!

Why Use the Responsive Row Widget?

There are a number of reasons for using the Responsive Row widget in your site”

• Responsive by default – Your content looks great on all devices.
• Drag-and-drop simplicity – Build layouts without writing code.
• Full control – Adjust spacing, margins, alignment, and wrapping behavior.
• Combine with other widgets – Use it with FlexBox, Text Section, or other responsive widgets for powerful layouts.

When Not To Use The Responsive Row Widget

Whilst the Responsive Row widget to use in Responsive Web Design, it is not always necessary to include it in your page design. Remember that when you are creating your page designs in EverWeb, when you come to publish your site, your design gets converted to code. If you use design elements that are not needed in your pages, your code will become less efficient. The following is a list of when you do not, or should not, use the Responsive Row widget in your pages:

• When You Are Using A Fixed Width, Center-Aligned, Page Layout: If your page is not a Responsive Page Layout i.e. you are using a center-aligned layout, we do not recommend using the Responsive Row widget at all. In this layout style, elements are positioned manually and do not resize or stack for mobile devices so responsiveness isn’t a factor.
• When You Only Need One Full-Width Object: If you’re adding a single object such as a full-width TextBox, image or Navigation Menu widget it is likely that you do not need a Responsive Row to hold it. You can set that object’s width to Full Width in the Metrics Inspector, and it will stretch across the screen on its own. It is a common trap to add a full width object in to a Responsive Row widget when it is not needed.
• When You Are Using Widgets That Already Handle Responsiveness: Some widgets, such as the FlexBox, Text Section, or Responsive Image Gallery widget are already designed to be responsive on their own. If you’re using these, placing them inside a Responsive Row is optional—and sometimes unnecessary. Check the EverWeb User Manual for more details.

How to Use the Responsive Row Widget

1. Add the Widget To The Page: From the Widgets tab in the Inspector Window, drag and drop the Responsive Row widget onto the page. you will see the Responsive Row widget on the page together with information on how to use it.
2. Add Content Inside the Responsive Row: Once the widget is on the page drag and drop text, images, buttons, or other widgets in to the widget.
3. Moving Objects Inside the Responsive Row: You can easily move objects inside the Responsive Row to a different location. Just drag and drop the object you want to move to its new location. As you do this, a blue vertical guide bar will display to help you correctly locate where to drop the object being moved.
4. Deleting Objects from the Responsive Row Widget: To delete an object from the Responsive Row just select it then press the backspace key on your keyboard
5. Moving Objects Outside Of The Responsive Row: You can move and object outside of a Responsive Row if you need to e.g. you may want to move the object in to another Responsive Row. In this case, just drag and drop the object from one Responsive Row to the other. There may also be times where you want to remove the object completely from the Responsive Row e.g. you might want to move a TextBox outside of the Responsive Row. In this case, right, or secondary, click on the object (in this example, the TextBox) then select the option ‘Remove from Responsive Row’. When you do this, the object becomes a fixed width object ‘floating’ on the page. In our example, the next step would be to go to the Metrics Inspector and check the ‘Full width’ box so that the TextBox becomes responsive.
6. Moving the Responsive Row itself: As you build your Responsive page, you will have rows of full width objects that from time to time you may want to re-order. Use the Up/Down arrows attached to these full width objects to move them up and down the page.
7. Adjust Settings: Use the Widget Settings and Metrics Inspector to:
   • Set top and bottom margins and padding
   • Choose left, center, right, justified, justified-center or overlap alignment
   • Enable or disable wrapping
   • Control how content flows as the screen resizes by setting the Maximum Content Width value as desired.
8. Preview Your Page: Use the Preview button to test your design on different screen sizes.

More Tips on Using The Responsive Row Widget…

We have looked at the basics of the Responsive Row widget in this post, but there is more to discover… Here are some tips to help you further:

• Break your page into multiple Responsive Rows for better control.
• Keep each row focused—avoid placing too many items in one row.
• Combine with Full Width settings for edge-to-edge design.
• Use the FlexBox and Text Section widgets as fixed width objects inside a Responsive Row for complex layouts.
• Check out Show on Device for those times where you want to hide content e.g. you may want to hide a TextBox on a mobile device if its content is too long.
• Check out the Responsive Websites chapter in the EverWeb User Manual for more information.

Next Steps…

If you want to build clean, modern, mobile-friendly websites in EverWeb, the Responsive Row widget is essential. It’s simple to use but incredibly powerful when used right.

Whether you’re designing a product page, portfolio, or homepage, learning how to use EverWeb’s Responsive Row widget will improve your site’s performance and user experience across all devices. There will be also be more responsive tools coming in EverWeb 4.4 for macOS and Windows, so stay tuned for some exciting developments!

Your computer’s mouse is a powerful tool that has been with us since its invention by Doug Engelbart back in 1964. For desktop users a mouse, or equivalents such as a trackpad, remain essential, even 60 plus years later on… You can take advantage of the mouse in your EverWeb project! Here’s how…

About The Three Mouse States…

First of all, we need to look at the three ‘mouse states’ as this is key to adding features to your site in EverWeb. When you use a mouse or trackpad, it will be in one of three states at any time. The first state is ‘Normal’, where you use the mouse to cursor, or move, from A to B on screen. The second state is when you hover, or ‘Mouse Over’. something on screen, e.g. hyperlinked text, or a button, which leads to a change in the target object’s behavior. The third state is ‘Mouse Down’ where an action results when you click on the target object that you have hovered over, for example, clicking on a menu item will take you to another page in your site.

EverWeb allows you to control what happens for each of these states using the Shape Options tab in the Inspector Window.

Example: Creating a Button…

In this example, we are going to create a button which we are then going to use to demonstrate how the mouse states work in EverWeb. Begin by adding a Regular Rectangle shape to the page, using the Toolbar. We can then size the button as desired using the grab handles.

Next we can add a label to the button simply by double clicking inside the shape, then typing the text label we want, in the same way that we would do if we were adding text to a TextBox. After styling the text, or applying a Paragraph Style to the text, the last step is to center the text within the button. To do this we just click on the Horizontal Alignment Center button and Vertical Alignment Middle button in the Alignment section. The button text is still not perfectly centered though as we need to set the After Paragraph value in the Spacing section to zero. Our button is now complete. With the button still selected, we click on the Shape Options tab in the Inspector Window for the next steps!

Using Shape Options…

Now that the button is complete we can apply Shape Options to it. Let’s start with the Fill section. Notice that to the right of the word ‘Fill’ is a dropdown menu with ‘Normal’ as its current setting. This corresponds to the ‘Normal’ mouse state as it relates to the currently selected object. If we click on the dropdown menu, we can see the other two states: ‘Mouse Over’ and ‘Mouse Down’. When working with objects and their Shape Options, always remember to check the selected object’s ‘State’ first, before adjusting any options.

When we add a shape to the page, by default its Color Fill will be blue, unless the default has been changed using the Format-> Default Styles… menu option.

We can change the Color Fill to something else if we want, just by clicking on the menu then selecting the desired Fill type e.g. Advanced Gradient Fill, or even Image Fill. As we are working with a button, it is likely that only a few options will apply here. In our example, we will stay with Color Fill as it is simple and clean in appearance to air visitors.

The next step is to think about what we want to happen when our visitor you mouse over the button. In our example, we want the background color to become yellow when moused over. To start we click on ‘Normal’ menu option and change it to ‘Mouse Over’. Next, we select the type of Fill which we is currently set to ‘None’. In our example, we will choose ‘Color Fill’ again. Finally, we will click on the color swatch below the Fill Type menu, then choose the yellow color swatch.

The button in the Editor Window will not change when we mouse over it, but that is alright for the moment. The final step is to repeat the above process, this time changing the mouse state menu option from ‘Mouse Over’ to Mouse Down. In our example, we would again set the Fill Type to be ‘Color Fill’, then select a green color as the choice for when our visitor clicks on the button.

To test the button, use Preview, then hover over and click on the button. You should see the color change to yellow then green respectively.

The final step is to change the colors of the button text. As the button is going to take the visitor to another page in our site, we will need to hyperlink the button text..

Hyperlinking The Button Text

One final thing where the mouse state has an effect is when you hyperlink text. In this example, we could hyperlink the button’s text to take the visitor to another page in our site. To set up the hyperlink, simply highlight the text in the button, then click on the Hyperlink Inspector in the Inspector Window. Check the box, Enable as Hyperlink to enable the hyperlinking features. In this example, we would hyperlink to another page in our site.

In the hyperlink Formatting section, we can choose the colors of the hyperlink in all three mouse states as desired. In addition to this, we can also choose whether to include an underline to indicate that the text is a hyperlink. In the case of a button, we recommend turning off the underline for all three mouse states.

Preview to test before publishing.

Using EverWeb’s Normal, Mouse Over and Mouse Down states to create active buttons gives you many more creative options and act as great Call To Actions for your visitors. It is also a useful feature for other shapes and images in your site to bring more attention to them.

Look out for the upcoming EverWeb 4.4 for macOS and Windows which is going to take mouse options to the next level! Coming Soon…

Building a website using a ‘no coding needed’ Windows app became easy with the introduction of EverWeb for Windows at the end of 2022. EverWeb for Windows released as version 3.9.1, using the same version numbering as its macOS counterpart.

From its launch date onwards, EverWeb’s Windows and Mac versions are usually released in synch with each other. That means there is no feature lag between the two versions – the new features and enhancements you get in one, you get in the other! Currently, EverWeb for Windows is on version 4.3, with a new 4.4 release almost ready to enter beta testing. The upcoming EverWeb 4.4 public releases expected in the next few months.

Try EverWeb for Windows Before You Buy!

One of the great things about EverWeb is that you are free to try the product for as long as possible before you purchase it. If you download the demo product from the EverWeb website, you get the latest version of the product, so you can try all of its features in full. The only caveat to this is that you cannot publish your site without purchasing an EverWeb license.

Taking a Second Look at EverWeb for Windows…

EverWeb for Windows launched at the end of EverWeb’s version 3 cycle, and a lot has happened with EverWeb version 4, so why not take another look? Here are some of the features that you may not yet know about…

• Fully redesigned Text Inspector.Now it is super easy to select fonts for the pages of your site. In addition to adding ease of use, you can now save font parameters in to Paragraph Styles that can be applied to any text, over and over again!
• All NEW PayPal Modern widget. As PayPal evolves, EverWeb keeps pace with the changes and new features PayPal adds.
• Text Justification so that you can now add justified text anywhere in EverWeb!
• Scrollable TextBoxes
• Copy Pages and Objects between EverWeb Projects
• Map and Video Fill Options for even more flexible page layouts
• Lazy Loading Images
• …and much more!

EverWeb For Windows System Requirements

Before getting started with EverWeb for Windows you will need to make sure that you are running either Windows 10 or Windows 11 operating system. If you are, then you can go ahead and download and install EverWeb for Windows.

Installing EverWeb for Windows

Once you have downloaded EverWeb for Windows from our website, installation is super easy. Just double click on the EverWebSetup.exe file. This will kick off the EverWeb for Windows Installation. Simply follow the steps of the Installation Wizard, then at the end choose if you want to add a desktop shortcut for EverWeb.

Updating EverWeb for Windows

Usually when there is a new version of EverWeb available, you will be automatically notified when you launch the product. You can control this feature by going to the Edit-> Options menu option. The Account tab is displayed. At the bottom of the dialog box you have an option to ‘Automatically Check for Updates’. By default this option is toggled on. If you do not want to use this feature, simply uncheck the option.

You can check for updates to EverWeb at any time using the Help-> Check for Updates… menu option.

Mac and Windows Version Licensing

If you run in a mixed OS environment, you can easily purchase a license to run both EverWeb for Windows and EverWeb for Mac. Start by going to your EverWeb Client Area. Once you have logged in to your Client Area, click on the Services menu, then select My Services. Next click on the down arrow to the right of the Spanner icon which itself is to the right of your current EverWeb purchase (e.g. EverWeb Standalone or with Hosting.) Select the Manage Product option. On the next screen choose the ‘Upgrade/Downgrade’ menu option then select the version of EverWeb – macOS or Windows – that you want to add to your current license.

EverWeb for Windows is a great way to build a website in Windows. There are also over 200 themes to choose from if you do not want to create your own layout! As EverWeb is drag and drop, it is easy to quickly customize and make any theme your own. And if you are more experienced, you can create more complex designs using Responsive Web Design and you can add your own code if you want as well.

EverWeb is great for both novices or experienced website designs! And if you need help at anytime, there is our 7×24 support service to answer your questions as well as our lively Discussion Forum!

Find out more about everything EverWeb at www.everwebapp.com.

EverWeb’s in-site search widgets debuted with the introduction of EverWeb 3.5. These widgets easily let your visitors search your website on specific, predefined keywords, displaying the results either on the same page of your site, or on a dedicated search results page.

Why In Site Search Benefits You and Your Business

Using EverWeb’s in-site search widgets can of benefit to your business:

1. A Better User Experience – your visitors can find what they want quickly, which is beneficial for visitors who know what they are looking for. This results in a satisfied rather than frustrated visitor. You benefit too as there is a high probability of selling goods and services to this type of visitor.

2. Higher Conversion Rate: Those who use in-site search are often high intent visitors, so the prospect of converting them from visitor to buyer is higher, up to 5 to 6 times higher than a non-intent visitor.

3. Reduced ‘Bounce Rate’ – You usually want to keep your visitors in your site as long as possible, but often if a visitor cannot find what they want quickly, they will ‘bounce’ out of your site to somewhere else. Having an in site search feature will help reduce this risk.

4. Great for Mobile Users – Having to work through menus on mobile devices is not fun to do, so having a search field instead can save mobile visitors time and frustration.

5. Using In Site Search may have an SEO Spin off – Though not directly tied to Google SEO, a search function helps visitors access SEO-optimized internal pages more easily. It may also help index and expose older or buried content that still holds value.

EverWeb’s Search Field and Search Results Widgets

EverWeb, from version 3.5 onwards, includes two widgets that are dedicated to providing in site search.

Search Field Widget – This is the main widget you use to facilitate in site search. Once added to the page, you will see a search box and search button that you can configure in a number of ways in the widget’s Widget Settings.

Search Results Widget – Use this widget when you want search results to be displayed on a separate page in your site.

In addition to these widgets, if you implement search in your site, you can customize which page to use the Search on. This is useful as you may not want all the pages on your site to be searchable. To toggle this feature on or off per page, click on the Inspector button, click on the Page Settings tab if it is not already selected, then go to the Site Search section. Toggle the ‘Use in Site Search’ checkbox on or off, depending on whether you want the current page to be included in your site search or not.

Should You Use Site Search in Your Site?

You should include EverWeb’s in site search in your site if:

• You have more than 15–20 products or pages.
• You publish blog posts, articles, or tutorials.
• You sell similar or customizable items e.g. different colors, different sizes etc.
• You want to track demand or improve your user experience over time.

Using the Search Field and Search Results Widgets

If adding in site search capabilities is for you, then add the Search Field widget to your site. Usually you will want all of your pages to be able to access the widget’s search box, sort is recommend to add the widget to your site’s Master page. For more information on using the Search Field widget, check out our previous post. If you prefer your search results to be displayed on a separate page in your site, then use the Search Results widget.

Creating and Maintaining Good Search Practices in Your Site

EverWeb will look at fields such as your page’s text as well as fields that you use for SEO. As such, it is a good idea to take an SEO approach to completing fields on pages where you are using search. Typically this will mean completing the Web Page Title, Navigation Menu Display Name and Web Page Descriptions fields in the Page Settings tab. Additionally add in relevant keywords to the Search Engine Optimization section of the Page Settings tab as these will also be picked up for the in site search.

If you have many products and/or pages in your site, adding and maintaining a current list of keywords may take time and organization. You will want your list of keywords to always be up to date when you have added, removed, or changed products within the pages of your site.

Using in site search can be a real boon to your business and can help your visitors quickly and easily find what they are looking for. So it should be a win-win for your business and your visitors!

If you are new to EverWeb, one of the first things you will do with it once you have installed the product is to create your first website. Easy enough to do, just click on the ”Create a new website” button!

Once you click on the ‘Create a new website button” you will see the Theme Template Chooser. This is where you can choose the page style that you want from over 200 predefined themes, or choose a blank theme, if you want to design your own website pages from scratch.

EverWeb’s Page Layout Types

Choosing a theme template implicitly chooses the page layout type for you. This can have a fundamental impact on the way in which you design your website, so before selecting a theme template, it is important to understand the implications of doing so.

EverWeb has three built in page layout types:

Left Aligned: This page layout type is one where the width of the page is fixed with the objects that it contains aligned left. This type of page layout is very rarely used and remains in EverWeb for legacy purposes. You will not find any predefined theme templates using this type of page layout within EverWeb. We recommend that you do not use this page layout type, but use either the Centered Layout or Responsive Layout, as described below.

Centered Layout: This type of page layout is the second type to use a fixed width page layout. Objects that you add to the page are aligned at their center. You can change the width of the page layout in EverWeb’s Inspector Window on the right hand side of its User Interface. Click on the Inspector button, then choose the Page Settings tab which is the first button on the left hand side under the Inspector button. You will see a list of Page Settings, including a section for Page Layout. Within this section, you can adjust the page width using Content Width field. By default, this is set to 1000 pixels for desktop type pages and 480 for mobile type pages.

Responsive: The Responsive Page Layout Type debuted back in EverWeb 2.8, replacing the Dynamic page layout type, which in itself was a pseudo-Responsive page layout type. The Responsive page layout is aptly named, as its layout will change, or respond, to match the device upon which it is being displayed upon. As such, you do not need to think about page width or about designing specific pages for desktop and mobile devices. The Responsive page layout makes this unnecessary.

Choosing The Right Page Layout Type….

Essentially you will be choosing between the fixed width Centered page layout type and the Responsive page layout type. Here are some things to be aware of to help you decide what is best for you and for your website.

The Advantages of EverWeb’s Centered Page Layout

1. Pixel-Perfect Design Control

You know exactly how your layout will appear within the defined width, so there will be no surprises from text wrapping or object shifts across screen sizes. This page layout type is great for when you  want tight control over object spacing, positioning, and visual hierarchy.

2. Easier to Build and Maintain Than Responsive

This page layout type is less complex compared to Responsive page design, and you do not need to account for differences in layout on different devices. As such, this page layout type is great for smaller projects, or single-device-targeted sites.

3. Works Well with EverWeb’s Mobile Pages

You can easily create a separate tailored mobile version of your site in EverWeb. whilst keeping your desktop fixed-width design in tact.

4. Allows For Fast Prototyping

Fixed width page layouts are often faster to build because you’re not managing breakpoints or fluid containers, so creating mockups for clients is quick and easy.

The Disadvantages of EverWeb’s Centered Page Layout

1. Poor Mobile Usability if you do not Include a Mobile Version

On mobile phones or smaller screens, fixed-width sites often cause horizontal scrolling or squashed views which Google may penalize your site for having poor mobile performance in search results.

2. Inflexible Across Screen Sizes

High-res desktops and large monitors may display a lot of white space on the sides, whilst users with smaller laptop screens may see cramped or overlapping content.

3. Not Future-Proof

As more users browse on mobile and tablets, fixed-width layouts can feel outdated and Responsive design is now seen as the standard and is expected by users.

4. Extra Maintenance for Separate Mobile Site

Maintaining two separate versions of your project, i.e. a desktop and a mobile version, doubles your workload for updates. Responsive layouts reduce this redundancy by using a single, adaptive design.

The Advantages of Using EverWeb’s Responsive Page Layout

1. Mobile-Friendly by Design

Responsive design automatically adjusts your content to fit all screen sizes—phones, tablets, desktops, and large monitors. There is no need to build and maintain a separate mobile version. In addition, this type of design automatically meets Google’s mobile-first indexing standards for better SEO.

2. One Site to Manage

Using Responsive design means that you only need to manage one version of your site instead of having to manage separate desktop and mobile pages. Updating content, layout, or style will be applied immediately across all devices, saving time and reducing errors.

3. Improved User Experience

Your site’s visitors will get a seamless experience on any device. Navigation, images, and text scale appropriately, reducing bounce rates and boosting engagement.

4. Modern Design Standards

Responsive sites feel more up-to-date and professional. They are automatically future-proofed as your site site will be able to automatically against to new device types and screen sizes.

5. Better SEO

Google favors mobile-friendly and responsive websites in search rankings. Also, hainvg one URL per page (instead of needing separate mobile URLs) improves indexing and reduces duplicate content issues.

6. Flexible Design Tools in EverWeb

EverWeb includes responsive features such as specifically designed widgets for responsive design. There is also “Show on Device” which helps manage object visibility across devices, as well as adjustable font sizes As such, you can effectively create complex responsive layouts without needing to code.

The Disadvantages of Using EverWeb’s Responsive Layout

1. Steeper Learning Curve

Responsive design introduces concepts such as breakpoints, containers, and device-based visibility that can be harder to grasp than fixed positioning, especially if you’re used to pixel-perfect layouts, or are new to website design.

2. Less Predictable Layout

As the page layout changes based on screen size, you do not have total control over how every element will appear, for example, text wrapping and spacing may vary more than in a fixed-width layout.

3. More Initial Setup Time

A responsive design typically requires thoughtful planning to ensure content looks good across all screen sizes. You will need to test on multiple devices or use preview frequently to check your design works correctly at all times.

4. Complex Element Positioning

Precision design is harder, especially for overlapping elements or absolute positioning.

Conclusions

If you are new to web design we would recommend starting out with a Centered Page Layout. In this way you can quickly get your website up and running whilst learning how to use EverWeb. Once you have mastered these skills, you can build a Responsive site at a later date using the skills you have already acquired.

In our previous posts about blogging in EverWeb we looked at how to prepare for starting your own blog, how to add a blog to your EverWeb project and how to take advantage of all of the features of the ‘posts‘ page to create the perfect post.

In this post we are going be looking at the two other pages that are contained in an EverWeb blog: The ‘blog’ page and the ‘archive’ page.

The Blog and Archive Pages

Historically, the blog page is used to list your most recent posts, with the most recent post at the top of the list, the second most recent listed next and so on. The blog page only contains your latest posts so that your visitor can see what is recent and new. The archive page, on the other hand, lists all of your blog posts. Structurally, the two pages are almost identical as both of their functions is to display a list of blog posts.

Looking Familiar…

The blog and archive pages share the same widget on their pages with the blog page having one extra option, the ability to link to the archive page. If you use EverWeb’s RSS Feed widget, you will also notice that it looks quite similar to the blog and archive pages widget. This is not a coincidence as the RSS Feed widget links to RSS Feeds that display article links in descending order, e.g. new articles, or blog posts! Indeed, you can also use the RSS Feed widget in your site e.g. on your home page, to show your visitors links to your latest blog posts.

Blog and Archive Page Features

As you may already know, you can add a blog to your site using either a fixed width, center aligned page layout, or as a Responsive page. Once you have added the blog to your site, click on the blog widget that is displayed on the page so access its Widget Settings.

The first option is a checkbox to toggle show/hide the posts published date. The second option is for the ‘Total Number of Posts’ that you want to see within the widget. The default is set to 10 but you might want to increase this to account for the actual number of posts that you think you will make over time, e.g. 100. This number should always be higher than the value you use in the ‘Posts per Page’ field as it does not make sense to have, for example, the total number of posts set at 10 whilst you want to display 25 posts per page.

The next field is ‘Article Length’, which allows you to set how many characters of the post that you want displayed within the widget. Setting this value may be important so that you give enough text of each post to catch your visitor’s attention. The same applies to making the post title interesting to entice your visitor to click on the blog post link!

The next field, ‘Style’, deals with image alignment within the widget. The image itself is used it taken from the blog post’s ‘Post Image’ field. You can choose to display ‘Just Text’ (so no image displayed), or have the image as either on ‘Top’ of the post, ‘Left Aligned’, ‘Right Aligned’ or as a ‘Cover’ which displays the image above the post and centered.

The last option in the first section of the Widget Settings is ‘Extra Space’ which allows you to choose how big a gap you want between each post that is displayed.

Pagination Options

The second section of the Widget Settings, Pagination Options, is where you set up the widget’s pagination. If, for example, you have 30 posts and have set up the widget to display five posts per page in the widget, you will have a total of 6 pages that can be accessed in the widget. Pagination options allow you to click on any of the 6 pages using buttons at the bottom of the blog widget. You can also step through the widget’s ‘pages’ or jump to the first or last page with just one click.

To activate this feature, check the ‘Show pagination buttons’ checkbox. Once you have done this, you will see buttons displayed at the bottom of the widget. Use the color swatch or color wheel to set the colors as you desire. Additional options allow you to specify corner border roundness and the spacing between buttons.

The last part of the Pagination Settings section is only available on the blog page. This is the option to show a link to the blog post archive page. If you check the ‘Show full archive link’ checkbox, you will see the link displayed above the pagination buttons. You can name the link as you desire and you can also set its position to be either Center, Left, or Right aligned.

Styling The Blog and Archive Pages

After setting up your blog and archive pages how you want, the final step in setting up the blog and archive pages is to style the widget on the page as desired. All you need to do here is to double click on what you want to style in the Editor Window. For example, if you want to style the Title, double click on any one of the titles in the widget. All titles will now be highlighted. Use the Fonts panel to choose the font style, font color and font size that you want to use. Repeat this operation for the Date and body text fields, as well as the pagination buttons, as desired.

EverWeb’s blog and archive pages are easy to set up and customize so that they fit in to the look of your website. When you have completed setting up your blog, preview or publish to see the results!

In our last post we looked at the basics of blogging and how to get started with your own blog in EverWeb. In this post, we will be looking more in depth at how you blog, and how to make the most of EverWeb’s blogging feature so you get the best out of your blogging investment!

The Blog Posts Page

EverWeb’s Blog Post page is where you create and manage your blog posts. In this way, the ‘posts’ page is unique. It is comprised of four sections:

The Blog Post List

When you click on the ‘posts’ page, in the Web Page List, you will enter the heart of EverWeb’s blogging environment. In the top section of the posts page is the Blog Post List. Here is where you can see listed all of the blog posts that you have created. It is also where you can create a new post, delete posts, as well as add in SEO to your posts and import blog posts from iWeb and WordPress using the Settings Cog icon.

Once you have created a blog, you can also set the date and time that you want time stamped on the post, or set the publish date and time to the same as your website publishing date/time.. Simply click on the blog post’s date field to set this up. If you do not want the blog post to be published yet, e.g. if you are still working on your post, then you can click in the Draft checkbox. Notice also on the far left hand side you have red and green traffic lights that indicate whether the post has been updated since it was last published.

The Blog Post Editor Window

The heart of your blog post is your text and the Blog Post Editor Window is where you create your content. You can use the Blog Post Toolbar to style your post. If you are using EverWeb 4.0 or higher, you can even use Paragraph Styles in your post. You can also include images within your post by drag and dropping them in to the Blog Post Editor. When you do this, you will see an Image Toolbar that allows you to add ALT Text to the image and set its alignment as In-line or break text. The Blog Post Editor Window also lets you add in video and audio files using the Video icon in the Toolbar.

The Blog Post Preview Window

When you add your content in to the Blog Post Editor Window, you will notice that it is also displayed as a preview in the Blog Post Preview Window which sits directly below the Blog Post Editor Window. You can think of the Blog Posts Preview Window as a kind of Master Page in which your content sits. When you create your first post, you will notice that the Preview Window contains a Header, date at the top of the Preview page and the EverWeb logo at the bottom. All these features will appear on all of your blog posts. You can add, delete and rearrange objects in the Preview Window as desired. For example, if you add your company logo to the Preview Window, it will appear on all of your posts. If e.g. you remove the EverWeb logo from the Preview Window, it will not appear on any of your posts. Therefore, use the Preview Window to format and customize the look of your blog itself if you want to. Alternatively, you can still use a Master Page instead if you prefer.

Blog Post Settings

In the Blog Posts Preview Window section above, we mentioned styling and customizing it to get the look that you want for your blog. Many of the customization settings can be found in the Blog Post Settings column that runs down the right hand side of the posts page. Here you can customize the fonts used for the posts header and date fields.. Additionally you can also add an image to the post and define the colors that you want to use for any hyperlinks. You can also create Navigation Links within the blog post to make it easy to navigate to the next or previous post as well as to the blog’s Index page. The last part of the Blog Posts Settings section is for adding a Comments Engine, such as Disqus or FaceBook Comments, if you want to allow your visitors to add comments about what you have posted.

SEO and Blog Posts

The last important part of the blog posts page it to remember that you can add in SEO to your posts. The post’s header will be used, and you should add keywords in to the first paragraph of your post if it is suitable to do so. If it is not, please just create good content instead. Google will prefer that to you adding keywords just for the sake of SEO.

In addition, you can also add keywords and summaries to your blog posts. Select the blog post that you want to apply SEO to in the Blog Posts List. Next, click on the left hand bottom side of the Blog Posts List. Choose the Post Options… menu option. You will now see a dialog box where you can add in a short summary description of your post, as well as Keywords relevant to your post. Once you have added these in, click on OK to finish.

Adding posts to your blog is super easy and super flexible! In our next post we will be looking at the blog page and the archive page.

Blogging has been a long standing feature of EverWeb since its EverWeb 2.0 debut back in 2016. Starting your own blog is easy to do. Just click on Add Page from the EverWeb Toolbar, then select either the ‘Blank’ or ‘Blank’ Responsive page in the list of themes down the left hand side of the dialog box. On the right hand side of the dial box click on the ‘blog’ page then click on ‘Select’ and you’ve got a ready made blog structure!

Should You Be Blogging?

The idea of having your own blog is often a tempting one, and there are a lot of advantages in doing so. There are also a lot of things that you should know before you start that may give you a better sense of perspective about blogging. Here are some of the good reasons to start a blog…

• Creative Expression – A blog allows you to share your thoughts, ideas, and expertise with the world.
• Potential Income – Through ads, sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and digital products, blogging can generate revenue.
• Builds Authority – Establishes you as an expert in your niche, helping with career opportunities and networking.
• Improves Writing Skills – Regular blogging enhances writing, research, and communication abilities.
• Flexible & Low Cost – Can be started with minimal investment and managed on your own schedule.
• Community Building – Connect with like-minded individuals and engage in discussions.

And here are some things worth considering before you embark on your own blog…

• Time-Consuming – Requires consistent effort to research, write, and promote content.
• Slow Growth – Building an audience and monetizing a blog takes time and patience.
• Technical Challenges – May require some knowledge of SEO, web design, and digital marketing.
• Competition – Many blogs exist, so standing out requires unique and high-quality content.
• Content Fatigue – Constantly coming up with fresh ideas can be exhausting.

After weighing up the pro’s and con’s, if you have decided that blogging is beneficial to you or your business, read on!

Plan Ahead To Save Time and Effort…

One of the main things you will soon learn as a blogger is that planning ahead is going to pay dividends quickly. Planning your blog topics in advance, as well as deciding the publishing frequency of your posts are key to successful blogging.

When it comes to planning what you are going to post about, create a list of topics that you want to blog about. If you run out of ideas quickly, you may have to consider if blogging is right for you. Also remember that when planning your blog posts, to keep in mind your audience. You want your posts to be read, but if they are not relevant to your target audience, then you might be wasting your time!

When planning your content, remember that there is usually Evergreen content that you can use. Evergreen content is content such as anniversaries and other yearly, or seasonal events. This kind of content as well as subjects that you can always talk about e.g. starting your first website project in EverWeb, will always be topics that you can rely on year in year out.

The second point is to determine your blogging frequency. Decide what is a good frequency. Depending on your business, this could be anything from daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly… It is up to you to decide what is appropriate. Once you have decided what is a good publishing frequency, decide on the day of the week, and time of day if relevant, that you will publish on. Humans are creatures of habit and like regularity so choosing the same day of the week for example, to publish on will tune your audience in to be ready for your next post each week.

A Word About Commenting

Allowing the visitors to your blog to be allowed to comment on what you post is something that you may or may not want. This will probably be something that you already will know whether you want to do or not before you start blogging.

Allowing comments on your posts can be very useful, but it can also be time consuming and there’s always potential for spammers and abusive commenters. So if you choose to allow comments, you will have to moderate those comments.

If Commenting is for you, EverWeb allows you to set up with Disqus, or with Facebook Comments. The EverWeb User Manual has full details about how to create accounts for either of these Comment Engines and how to link them to your blog.

Now that the we have discussed why you would want to blog and how to prepare properly for blogging, let’s turn our attention to what exactly a blog is…

What Is a Blog?

A Blog is an acronym for web-log, a way to publish written content, often in an informal or conversational way. Since its initial inception, blogging has grown and changed, but at its heart has a few principles:

• A blog usually consists of a main summary page, blog posts an an archive page
• A blog is usually updated on a regular basis
• Blog posts are usually displayed in chronological order
• Blogs are often used as a way to interact with a community
• Blogs are typically, but not exclusively, used for long form written text, but can include images and other media.

How EverWeb’s Blog Is Structured

As you have just read, a blog is something different to the regular pages of your site, and you can see this when you create your own blog in EverWeb. The blog page is actually a directory, so when you add it to the Web Page List in your project, you will see the following:

• blog: This is the directory page that displays a summary of your most recent blog posts in chronological order, with the most recent post displayed first
• Posts: This page is where you create the posts for your blog. The Posts page is where you will probably spend most of your time when you are blogging.
• Archive: The last page in the blog is for your archive. This page is identical to the blog page (but without the ability to link back to the archive page), but is typically used to display all of your blog posts, not just the most recent ones.

You should now have everything in place to start your blog! In our next post, we will take a look at the blog posts page in detail, as well as covering the Main and Archive pages!