Webydo

Webydo
Private
Founded 2012[1]
Founder Shmulik Grizim
Tzvika Steinmetz
Products web design cloud software, visual design editor (WYSIWYG), content management system (CMS)
Services website builder, software as a service, web hosting
Website www.webydo.com

Webydo is a cloud-based web design platform that allows designers to create advanced HTML5, responsive websites with a built-in CMS, without writing code. Webydo works on the intuitive WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) principle. It utilizes tools similar to those used in other software such as Adobe Photoshop or InDesign,[2] but with the ability to design directly in browser. While designers drag and drop their design elements on canvas, Webydo's cloud software automatically generates cross-browser and cross-platform W3C Validated HTML code as well as a built-in CMS for the ongoing content updates by the website owner.

Overview

Webydo is a cloud-based software as a service, providing two integrated work environments that can be used directly in the browser:

  1. A DMS (design management system) professional online software for creating and designing advanced HTML websites.
  2. A CMS (content management system) for content updates by the website owner.[2]

Webydo's DMS has an intuitive WYSIWYG design interface that allows designers to drag and drop into the online canvas design elements such as images, texts, videos, flash, galleries, menus, custom designed forms, widgets, or their own HTML code.[3][4] A July 2013 partnership with the e-commerce widget provider Ecwid also added a built-in e-commerce functionality.[5] Designers can start their clients' sites from scratch on a blank canvas, choose a layout or take inspiration from pre-made designs (in which each element can be modified).[6]

When the designer decides to publish the website, Webydo’s code generator automatically creates the HTML code, which is updated to the latest industry standards (W3C valid), cross-browser and cross-platform compatible, optimized for search engines and comes with built-in content management system (CMS) and SEO management tools.[7] The CMS permits further updating, deleting and creating new content in the website by the website owner.[8][9][10] Designers can lock specific design elements, preventing unwanted changes made by their CMS clients and preserving full artistic control.[2]

Webydo also hosts the published websites and provides automatic backups and data protection. The partnership between Webydo and Google Cloud gives access to the latter's content delivery network, permitting uploads to the closest server and subsequent duplication in all the other worldwide servers of the network.[11]

Webydo is a B2B website builder intended primarily for professional designers who want to create advanced custom-made websites for their clients including a CMS, without writing code. Unlike do-it-yourself B2C website builders that target un-professional users and offer simple pre-designed templates, Webydo provides a professional platform. Webydo’s cloud system offers professional design tools that eliminate designers’ dependency on developers and enable their direct communication with their clients.[12][13]

Webydo also provides a set of tools intended to help designers build an independent web design business, with a dashboard that permits handling multiple websites[11] with features created specifically for designers, like:[14]

Webydo offers designers a 30 day free trial of Webydo’s online software. Premium plans offer designers unlimited storage, CMS Management Tools, White Label options, advanced training and support and the ability to design more websites.

Features

Parallax Scrolling Animator

Animate any element on your site with unique motion paths, transitions and speed using a visual interface, without writing code.

Drag and Drop

Drag-and-drop control to upload elements such as: shapes, images, texts, videos, flash, galleries, forms, widgets and menus. Webydo will automatically optimizes all the assets.

Code-Free Web Design

Webydo will automatically convert the design into an updated HTML code + CMS (Content Management System).

In-Browser Editing

Webydo’s online Studio provides you with the features to design and manage your sites directly in-browser.

Web Fonts

Choose from hundreds of free open-source fonts which are optimized for the web.

Cross-Platform

Webydo generates a cross-platform code updated to the latest industry standards, so your website will look as planned on all browsers and devices.

Pixel Perfect Responsive Editor

Customize and adapt website design for compatibility across all devices and platforms.

Advanced Web Design Features

Webydo offers many advanced web design features such as a grid generator, smart guides and snapping, layers window, text caption for images and galleries, the ability to design sophisticated forms and set corner radiuses and other elements' properties such as fill, shadow and stroke.

E-Commerce

Webydo offers easy integration of the Ecwid E-Commerce widget. Ecwid accepts a wide variety of payment types, and offers great stock control, categories, and product descriptions.

Articles

You can create repetitive based elements such as blog posts, product collections, news feeds, etc.... Clients will be able to update and add new articles directly from the CMS without changing the design elements. Every new post created will follow the same design format as previous posts.

Smart Guides

The Smart Guides and Snapping features are temporary snap-to guides that appear when moving elements on the canvas. As the element you are moving approaches the edge of another, it snaps it to it like a magnet.

Anchor Links

Anchor Links provides you with the ability to add links to a specific part in the same page.

CMS: Content Management System

Webydo automatically creates a friendly CMS for you and your client. In the CMS your client can change, delete, or update any content element on your website, independently.

WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get

Similar to your design canvas, the integrated CMS editor is WYSIWYG. Any changes made on the CMS canvas reflect exactly how the content will look to your site users.

SEO: Search Engine Optimization

Webydo provides SEO features that enable you to monitor and optimize the position of your website in search engines.

Dashboard: Manage Unlimited Websites

Webydo’s Dashboard provides you with an efficient way to manage all your clients’ websites from one control panel. There’s no need to log in and out of accounts, or install third party plugins.

Site Permissions

Define clients’ permissions or site settings with the CMS from the Dashboard. You can provide your client with a direct login page, so your client can access the CMS and make content changes to the site.

Bill My Client

Without having to use a third-party site, designers can bill clients for their services from their Webydo dashboard.

Content Delivery Network (CDN)

When you finish designing your site, press Publish and the site will be live immediately on Webydo’s sub-domain. You can use this temporary site for testing and to share with your clients for review.

Publish Independently

Webydo partners with Google Cloud Platform to deliver your website through a Content Delivery Network (CDN), ensuring fast load times and high level security.

History

Webydo's software was developed initially as an in-house tool for the web design agency of the founders Shmulik Grizim and Tzvika Steinmetz. While managing the agency, they identified specific problems in the web designing process, namely the repetitive development of handwritten code amounting to about 70% of website creation budgets and the communication gap between designers and their clients. They thought of a tool which would permit automatic generation of HTML code for an Adobe Photoshop-like graphic design and which would also make possible the direct involvement of the client in the website ongoing management process. Subsequently, they enlisted a team of mathematicians to create the necessary algorithms for such a software.[1][2][15]

The new platform proved quickly to be successful and with the potential to be used by web designers worldwide. A new company for this product was opened with investment from Adnan Raya. After Google chose Webydo’s technology to provide web solutions for businesses in Israel, some 35,000 websites were rapidly created. Microsoft-Israel also drove business to Webydo after selecting it in a competition as one of the 20 most innovative companies in 2012.[1]

Open source community design

Webydo is a community lead platform and employs the concept of radical democracy in its open source development process. Webydo provides the technology, while its community of designers is setting up the goals for the system development and voting on features that should be developed next.[2][15][16]

Reception

The main feature highlighted in reviews is the fact that the Webydo code generator manages to replace the developer in the web design process, an achievement described as a "web design revolution".[1][2][17][18][19] Other remarked features are the rich, intuitive and easy-to-use web design software, providing ample room to manage the professional web design process[4][20][21] and the good hosting infrastructure.[11][22]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Richard Behar (2012-09-20). "An Israeli Special Forces Commando, An Arab Investor, A Religious Zionist -- And A Hot Start-Up Called Webydo". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Hannah Gal (2013-10-11). "The Making of a Web Design Revolution: In Conversation With Webydo CEO Shmulik Grizim". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  3. ↑ "Webydo: WYSIWYG Web Design For The Pros". Appstorm. 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Webydo: Build your Dream Website". The Design Work. 2013-07-15. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  5. ↑ Allison Howen (2013-07-28). "Webydo Designers Get Ecwid Capabilities". Website Magazine. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  6. ↑ "Webydo: If You Can Dream It You Can Do It". 2013-06-27. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  7. ↑ Natasha Lomas (2013-04-30). "Webydo Makes It Easier For Designers To Build Websites By Creating The Code For Them". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  8. ↑ "Webydo – A Web Designer’s Dream Come True". The Design Work. 2013-06-10. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  9. ↑ Ken Yeung (2013-04-29). "Already powering 50k sites, Webydo launches its ‘code-free’ website making service in beta". The Next Web. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  10. ↑ "How to: Build your portfolio website fast with Webydo". CMS Critic. 2013-06-19. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Google (2014-12-10). "Webydo moves to scalable cloud with Google Cloud Platform". Google Cloud Platform. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  12. ↑ "Create Beautiful Websites with Webydo". Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  13. ↑ "Webydo is revolutionizing professional website design". Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  14. ↑ Chris Peterson (2013-09-24). "Webydo: The Code Free Website Creator Platform For Professional Designers". Smashingapps.com. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Interview with Shmulik Grizim, Co-Founder of Webydo". Webappers.com. 2013-08-05. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  16. ↑ "Webydo: New Fabulous Way to Create and Manage a Website". Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  17. ↑ Nick Cobb (2012-10-01). "Coding Not Required – Revolutionizing Professional Web Design with Webydo". Small business Yahoo. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  18. ↑ "With Increase in E-commerce Web Design, Webydo Rises to Meet Demand". 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  19. ↑ Cliff Boodoosingh (2012-07-25). "Thanks To Israeli Startup Webydo, Great Designers Don’t Need To Know Code". TopHosts.com. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  20. ↑ Kate Russell (2012-09-20). "Webscape: Business cards get smarter". BBC. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  21. ↑ "Webydo: Create a Beautiful Website without Writing Single Code!". 2012-04-22. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  22. ↑ "Have You Tried Webydo’s Free Website Creator?". 2012-09-26. Retrieved 2013-10-20.

External links