All Web Software Review

My Experience

The first thing I did after loading up the software was to try and find my way around the interface without reading the tutorial. It gives me a better idea of just how user friendly the program is when I can at least get the basics down in short order without using the tutorial.

I can tell they put a lot of thought into the layout and design of this particular piece of software. There are only two tabs that you will be working with in AllWebMenus. One is the Menu Editor and the other is the Style Editor. The menu editor tab is where you build your menu and submenu items putting in the text, links, headers etc. The Style editor tab is where you change the look of the text, background, and borders to name a few. And also add effects and mouse over styles. On the menu editor tab there is a customize view button which allows you to make changes to a specific group or item whereas any change in the Style Editor will affect the whole menu. It took me a while to figure out their particular layout but once I understood the interface it didn’t take long to figure out how to build a menu and then add the desired effects and features.

For all of the design features that this program offers (And there are a lot!) it has a well laid out and clean interface.. The simple menu tree in the left window was very easy to use and understand. And for some of the design features that your not to sure about DHTML menu maker has provided some excellent tutorial features. If your not sure about one of the dozens of design properties available all you do is click on the property and you will get a detailed explanation of what it does in the help tips window below. The well organized layout and help tips feature was all I needed to build and design my menu. The help tips window is a great feature. It’s like having a tutorial follow you through the design process. And if you still have question you can go to their tutorial tree which gives detailed information on every feature and every property.

I was impressed with the amount of features AllWebMenus has including a feature that allows your web visitor to drag the menu and place it anywhere on the page. Another incredible feature is there browser specific-offsets. How many time have you placed something just right on your webpage only to find it way out of place in every other browser. The browser specific-offset allows you to tweak your menu individually in 7 of the most popular browsers without having to mess with code. Every menu making software should have this included. You can even have a different cursor appear when the mouse passes over an item. Just way to many features to list here. See the features list below. Like many of the menu building software out there AllWebMenus also comes with some beautifully designed menu theme templates.

Ok, after finishing my menu the next step was to upload it to my server and get it linked to my webpage. It worked fine on my local folders but the true test is how well and how easy and understandable the program makes it to get it on your web site.

NOTE: The process of getting your menu onto your website can be confusing             and complicated if you don’t at least have a basic understanding of how             folders and directory structures work not only on your local computer             but also on your remote server.

That being said, AllWebMenu really does a great job of simplifying this process. What a pleasant surprise when I found that they had a detailed video tutorial explaining the whole process. It took me about 20 minutes to carefully watch the video, apply what it said and get my menu up and running. This is one of the few times where I didn’t have to contact support to ask a question about a problem getting the software to work. But I still wanted to know how prompt their support was so I emailed a few dummy questions and received responses within 24 hours or less. Anything within 24 hours is more than acceptable in my opionion.

Weak Points

- None

Strong Points

- User Friendly Software

- Well Laid Out Interface

- Many Design Options and Features

- Excellent Tutorials

- Easy Publishing Process

Summary

This software really is in a class of its own. Not only would I recommend it to a beginner who will not be pulling their hair out trying to figure out how to use it, but also for the professional who is looking for additional power user features. They offer a Pro version and a lite version. This review was done on the Pro version because there are just too many important features not included in the lite version and for $25 more it is worth the extra cost as the pro version also lets you use it on as many sites as you like.
Check out the pro versus lite comparison chart on their website.

If the $59 price tag is out of your range then UltraMenu will certainly do the job for many users. AllWebMenu DHTML Menu Maker just happens to be the kreme de la kreme of menu builders in its price range. And for $59 dollars AllWebMenus is probably all you will ever need. No need to buy a different one down the road when you find yourself wanting more features. Since doing this review, AllWebMenus Pro is now my menu builder of choice and is the one I use to build menus on my websites. This menu building software definitely gets an A+ in every category.

Software Features

Click on tabs to compare features

  • All Web
  • SoThink
  • Ultra Menu
  • Xtreem

All Web Menu Maker

$59.95
Features

  • cross-browser compatibilityDHTML Menu Studio menus will work with all popuplar browsers: Internet Explorer 6+, Netscape 6+, Opera 7+, Mozilla 1+, Safari, Firefox on all popular platforms: Windows, Unix, MacOS.

  • no need to spend tons of money on your menus You can create as many DHTML menus, for as many web sites as you like, when you purchase a single license of the program

  • XHTML 1.1 compatible code The output code generated by the program is compatible with the XHTML 1.1 standard.

  • integration with FrontPage, DreamWeaver, Adobe GoLive and NetObjects Fusion The program also comes in form of plugins for FrontPage, Dreamweaver, and GoLive (the stand-alone version of DMS also comes with a NetObjects Fusion plugin). This makes inserting menus into websites created with these applications as easy as it gets, making DHTML Menu Studio a perfect solution for beginners.

  • dynamic creation of menus with server-side script code (pro version only) Now you can insert items into the menu dynamically, from a server-side script such as ASP, PHP or ColdFusion. This is very useful if you want the menu to reflect a structure stored in a database or enable/disable items based on user's permissions. (pro only)

  • very small size of the generated JavaScript code The program creates different JavaScript files for different browsers, so that with any single browser only the necessary code will be loaded. The JavaScript code is highly optimized using an internal optimizer to further increase loading time. On top of this, the program generates only as much code as necessary -- all the functionality not selected in the options (e.g. certain effects) will not result in unnecessary code being generated. The size of the output code is usually around 12KB (depending on the selected features and target browser the size is guaranteed to be between 8KB and 21KB)

  • use cool bitmap backgrounds and even rare fonts You can use image-based backgrounds for the menu (also with roll-over effect), coming up with amazing results (the program comes with tons of such bitmap schemes created by professional artists). Since the top level menu bar items can be created in form of images, you can choose the coolest fonts and be sure that your visitors will see them the same way. You can even choose to anti-alias the top-level menu texts for an even nicer result.

  • cool javascript effects You can apply a number of visual effects to the menu (such as partial transparency, fading, roll-over, shadow, glow effect, or keeping the menu on top of the browser page at all times).

  • hundreds of predefined menu schemes come with the program Even though you can easily create your own designs, why not choose from tons of existing designs (most are bitmap-based schemes designed by professional artists) which you can also customize any way you want.

  • XML import/export The menu structure can be imported/exported in XML format.

  • search-engine friendly code There's an option that you can switch on in order to make your menus search engine friendly. In such case the whole structure (all links) can be found by search engines such as Google.

  • frameset integration Menus can be easily integrated into your existing frame-based or frameless site design. It's up to you to decide in which frame / window the menu item links will open and in which frame the popups will appear.

  • great performance with large menus Menus are built on demand so the loading time is kept as short as possible. Also, the output script is compressed to ensure fast loading time. If image-based menus are created, the images are pre-loaded to ensure smooth roll-over effects. On top of this, the user can scroll between popup menu items if a popup menu with lots of itemsdoesn't fit on the screen.

  • adding multiple menus to a single webpage You can easily include any number of horizontal / vertical DHTML drop down menus into a single web page or multiple web pages.

  • synchronization with current URL You can now have the menu track the currently visited page (it's highlighted in the menu) -- this works also for frame-based configurations.

  • integration with existing website created with any program The program can optionally create PHP / ASP / SSI / JSP / FrontPage / ColdFusion includes or use a DreamWeaver template so you can easily embed the menu into an existing website (on one or multiple pages) -- even if your web site is frame-based, you can visually click on the frames where specific menu parts will be displayed. The built-in assistant will help you go through this process.

  • customize the DHTML menu to the smallest detail Tons of options presented in a clearly categorized tree view can be used to choose every possible aspect of the menu, from with the graphical appearance and effects, to integration method with existing website and desired functionality.

  • integrated FTP upload You can have the program upload the output files automatically to an FTP server or to a local / network disk.

  • color matching You can easily match the menu colors with the color scheme of your website. If using image-based menus, you can modify the image coloring (e.g. changing a reddish scheme into a bluish one) by changing the hue/saturation/luminance settings. If not using image-based menus, you can also choose different colors for different popups creating a very nice visual effect.

  • informative and clear user interface At every moment you can preview and test the menu by using the preview window. The menu structure is also built in a visual way, just as the final menu will look.

SoThink DHTML Menu 8

$65.00
Features

  • cross-browser compatibilityDHTML Menu Studio menus will work with all popuplar browsers: Internet Explorer 6+, Netscape 6+, Opera 7+, Mozilla 1+, Safari, Firefox on all popular platforms: Windows, Unix, MacOS.

  • no need to spend tons of money on your menus You can create as many DHTML menus, for as many web sites as you like, when you purchase a single license of the program

  • XHTML 1.1 compatible code The output code generated by the program is compatible with the XHTML 1.1 standard.

  • integration with FrontPage, DreamWeaver, Adobe GoLive and NetObjects Fusion The program also comes in form of plugins for FrontPage, Dreamweaver, and GoLive (the stand-alone version of DMS also comes with a NetObjects Fusion plugin). This makes inserting menus into websites created with these applications as easy as it gets, making DHTML Menu Studio a perfect solution for beginners.

  • dynamic creation of menus with server-side script code (pro version only) Now you can insert items into the menu dynamically, from a server-side script such as ASP, PHP or ColdFusion. This is very useful if you want the menu to reflect a structure stored in a database or enable/disable items based on user's permissions. (pro only)

  • very small size of the generated JavaScript code The program creates different JavaScript files for different browsers, so that with any single browser only the necessary code will be loaded. The JavaScript code is highly optimized using an internal optimizer to further increase loading time. On top of this, the program generates only as much code as necessary -- all the functionality not selected in the options (e.g. certain effects) will not result in unnecessary code being generated. The size of the output code is usually around 12KB (depending on the selected features and target browser the size is guaranteed to be between 8KB and 21KB)

  • use cool bitmap backgrounds and even rare fonts You can use image-based backgrounds for the menu (also with roll-over effect), coming up with amazing results (the program comes with tons of such bitmap schemes created by professional artists). Since the top level menu bar items can be created in form of images, you can choose the coolest fonts and be sure that your visitors will see them the same way. You can even choose to anti-alias the top-level menu texts for an even nicer result.

  • cool javascript effects You can apply a number of visual effects to the menu (such as partial transparency, fading, roll-over, shadow, glow effect, or keeping the menu on top of the browser page at all times).

  • hundreds of predefined menu schemes come with the program Even though you can easily create your own designs, why not choose from tons of existing designs (most are bitmap-based schemes designed by professional artists) which you can also customize any way you want.

  • XML import/export The menu structure can be imported/exported in XML format.

  • search-engine friendly code There's an option that you can switch on in order to make your menus search engine friendly. In such case the whole structure (all links) can be found by search engines such as Google.

  • frameset integration Menus can be easily integrated into your existing frame-based or frameless site design. It's up to you to decide in which frame / window the menu item links will open and in which frame the popups will appear.

  • great performance with large menus Menus are built on demand so the loading time is kept as short as possible. Also, the output script is compressed to ensure fast loading time. If image-based menus are created, the images are pre-loaded to ensure smooth roll-over effects. On top of this, the user can scroll between popup menu items if a popup menu with lots of itemsdoesn't fit on the screen.

  • adding multiple menus to a single webpage You can easily include any number of horizontal / vertical DHTML drop down menus into a single web page or multiple web pages.

  • synchronization with current URL You can now have the menu track the currently visited page (it's highlighted in the menu) -- this works also for frame-based configurations.

  • integration with existing website created with any program The program can optionally create PHP / ASP / SSI / JSP / FrontPage / ColdFusion includes or use a DreamWeaver template so you can easily embed the menu into an existing website (on one or multiple pages) -- even if your web site is frame-based, you can visually click on the frames where specific menu parts will be displayed. The built-in assistant will help you go through this process.

  • customize the DHTML menu to the smallest detail Tons of options presented in a clearly categorized tree view can be used to choose every possible aspect of the menu, from with the graphical appearance and effects, to integration method with existing website and desired functionality.

  • integrated FTP upload You can have the program upload the output files automatically to an FTP server or to a local / network disk.

  • color matching You can easily match the menu colors with the color scheme of your website. If using image-based menus, you can modify the image coloring (e.g. changing a reddish scheme into a bluish one) by changing the hue/saturation/luminance settings. If not using image-based menus, you can also choose different colors for different popups creating a very nice visual effect.

  • informative and clear user interface At every moment you can preview and test the menu by using the preview window. The menu structure is also built in a visual way, just as the final menu will look.

Ultra Menu Maker

$39.95
Features

  • cross-browser compatibilityDHTML Menu Studio menus will work with all popuplar browsers: Internet Explorer 6+, Netscape 6+, Opera 7+, Mozilla 1+, Safari, Firefox on all popular platforms: Windows, Unix, MacOS.

  • no need to spend tons of money on your menus You can create as many DHTML menus, for as many web sites as you like, when you purchase a single license of the program

  • XHTML 1.1 compatible code The output code generated by the program is compatible with the XHTML 1.1 standard.

  • integration with FrontPage, DreamWeaver, Adobe GoLive and NetObjects Fusion The program also comes in form of plugins for FrontPage, Dreamweaver, and GoLive (the stand-alone version of DMS also comes with a NetObjects Fusion plugin). This makes inserting menus into websites created with these applications as easy as it gets, making DHTML Menu Studio a perfect solution for beginners.

  • dynamic creation of menus with server-side script code (pro version only) Now you can insert items into the menu dynamically, from a server-side script such as ASP, PHP or ColdFusion. This is very useful if you want the menu to reflect a structure stored in a database or enable/disable items based on user's permissions. (pro only)

  • very small size of the generated JavaScript code The program creates different JavaScript files for different browsers, so that with any single browser only the necessary code will be loaded. The JavaScript code is highly optimized using an internal optimizer to further increase loading time. On top of this, the program generates only as much code as necessary -- all the functionality not selected in the options (e.g. certain effects) will not result in unnecessary code being generated. The size of the output code is usually around 12KB (depending on the selected features and target browser the size is guaranteed to be between 8KB and 21KB)

  • use cool bitmap backgrounds and even rare fonts You can use image-based backgrounds for the menu (also with roll-over effect), coming up with amazing results (the program comes with tons of such bitmap schemes created by professional artists). Since the top level menu bar items can be created in form of images, you can choose the coolest fonts and be sure that your visitors will see them the same way. You can even choose to anti-alias the top-level menu texts for an even nicer result.

  • cool javascript effects You can apply a number of visual effects to the menu (such as partial transparency, fading, roll-over, shadow, glow effect, or keeping the menu on top of the browser page at all times).

  • hundreds of predefined menu schemes come with the program Even though you can easily create your own designs, why not choose from tons of existing designs (most are bitmap-based schemes designed by professional artists) which you can also customize any way you want.

  • XML import/export The menu structure can be imported/exported in XML format.

  • search-engine friendly code There's an option that you can switch on in order to make your menus search engine friendly. In such case the whole structure (all links) can be found by search engines such as Google.

  • frameset integration Menus can be easily integrated into your existing frame-based or frameless site design. It's up to you to decide in which frame / window the menu item links will open and in which frame the popups will appear.

  • great performance with large menus Menus are built on demand so the loading time is kept as short as possible. Also, the output script is compressed to ensure fast loading time. If image-based menus are created, the images are pre-loaded to ensure smooth roll-over effects. On top of this, the user can scroll between popup menu items if a popup menu with lots of itemsdoesn't fit on the screen.

  • adding multiple menus to a single webpage You can easily include any number of horizontal / vertical DHTML drop down menus into a single web page or multiple web pages.

  • synchronization with current URL You can now have the menu track the currently visited page (it's highlighted in the menu) -- this works also for frame-based configurations.

  • integration with existing website created with any program The program can optionally create PHP / ASP / SSI / JSP / FrontPage / ColdFusion includes or use a DreamWeaver template so you can easily embed the menu into an existing website (on one or multiple pages) -- even if your web site is frame-based, you can visually click on the frames where specific menu parts will be displayed. The built-in assistant will help you go through this process.

  • customize the DHTML menu to the smallest detail Tons of options presented in a clearly categorized tree view can be used to choose every possible aspect of the menu, from with the graphical appearance and effects, to integration method with existing website and desired functionality.

  • integrated FTP upload You can have the program upload the output files automatically to an FTP server or to a local / network disk.

  • color matching You can easily match the menu colors with the color scheme of your website. If using image-based menus, you can modify the image coloring (e.g. changing a reddish scheme into a bluish one) by changing the hue/saturation/luminance settings. If not using image-based menus, you can also choose different colors for different popups creating a very nice visual effect.

  • informative and clear user interface At every moment you can preview and test the menu by using the preview window. The menu structure is also built in a visual way, just as the final menu will look.

Xtreem DHTML Menu Studio

$49.99
Features

  • cross-browser compatibilityDHTML Menu Studio menus will work with all popuplar browsers: Internet Explorer 6+, Netscape 6+, Opera 7+, Mozilla 1+, Safari, Firefox on all popular platforms: Windows, Unix, MacOS.

  • no need to spend tons of money on your menus You can create as many DHTML menus, for as many web sites as you like, when you purchase a single license of the program

  • XHTML 1.1 compatible code The output code generated by the program is compatible with the XHTML 1.1 standard.

  • integration with FrontPage, DreamWeaver, Adobe GoLive and NetObjects Fusion The program also comes in form of plugins for FrontPage, Dreamweaver, and GoLive (the stand-alone version of DMS also comes with a NetObjects Fusion plugin). This makes inserting menus into websites created with these applications as easy as it gets, making DHTML Menu Studio a perfect solution for beginners.

  • dynamic creation of menus with server-side script code (pro version only) Now you can insert items into the menu dynamically, from a server-side script such as ASP, PHP or ColdFusion. This is very useful if you want the menu to reflect a structure stored in a database or enable/disable items based on user's permissions. (pro only)

  • very small size of the generated JavaScript code The program creates different JavaScript files for different browsers, so that with any single browser only the necessary code will be loaded. The JavaScript code is highly optimized using an internal optimizer to further increase loading time. On top of this, the program generates only as much code as necessary -- all the functionality not selected in the options (e.g. certain effects) will not result in unnecessary code being generated. The size of the output code is usually around 12KB (depending on the selected features and target browser the size is guaranteed to be between 8KB and 21KB)

  • use cool bitmap backgrounds and even rare fonts You can use image-based backgrounds for the menu (also with roll-over effect), coming up with amazing results (the program comes with tons of such bitmap schemes created by professional artists). Since the top level menu bar items can be created in form of images, you can choose the coolest fonts and be sure that your visitors will see them the same way. You can even choose to anti-alias the top-level menu texts for an even nicer result.

  • cool javascript effects You can apply a number of visual effects to the menu (such as partial transparency, fading, roll-over, shadow, glow effect, or keeping the menu on top of the browser page at all times).

  • hundreds of predefined menu schemes come with the program Even though you can easily create your own designs, why not choose from tons of existing designs (most are bitmap-based schemes designed by professional artists) which you can also customize any way you want.

  • XML import/export The menu structure can be imported/exported in XML format.

  • search-engine friendly code There's an option that you can switch on in order to make your menus search engine friendly. In such case the whole structure (all links) can be found by search engines such as Google.

  • frameset integration Menus can be easily integrated into your existing frame-based or frameless site design. It's up to you to decide in which frame / window the menu item links will open and in which frame the popups will appear.

  • great performance with large menus Menus are built on demand so the loading time is kept as short as possible. Also, the output script is compressed to ensure fast loading time. If image-based menus are created, the images are pre-loaded to ensure smooth roll-over effects. On top of this, the user can scroll between popup menu items if a popup menu with lots of itemsdoesn't fit on the screen.

  • adding multiple menus to a single webpage You can easily include any number of horizontal / vertical DHTML drop down menus into a single web page or multiple web pages.

  • synchronization with current URL You can now have the menu track the currently visited page (it's highlighted in the menu) -- this works also for frame-based configurations.

  • integration with existing website created with any program The program can optionally create PHP / ASP / SSI / JSP / FrontPage / ColdFusion includes or use a DreamWeaver template so you can easily embed the menu into an existing website (on one or multiple pages) -- even if your web site is frame-based, you can visually click on the frames where specific menu parts will be displayed. The built-in assistant will help you go through this process.

  • customize the DHTML menu to the smallest detail Tons of options presented in a clearly categorized tree view can be used to choose every possible aspect of the menu, from with the graphical appearance and effects, to integration method with existing website and desired functionality.

  • integrated FTP upload You can have the program upload the output files automatically to an FTP server or to a local / network disk.

  • color matching You can easily match the menu colors with the color scheme of your website. If using image-based menus, you can modify the image coloring (e.g. changing a reddish scheme into a bluish one) by changing the hue/saturation/luminance settings. If not using image-based menus, you can also choose different colors for different popups creating a very nice visual effect.

  • informative and clear user interface At every moment you can preview and test the menu by using the preview window. The menu structure is also built in a visual way, just as the final menu will look.