Publication Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Web sites as easy as 1, 2, 3
Web sites as easy as 1, 2, 3
(June 22, 2005) New service promises simple method to post anything from the basic blog to the most complex Web site
by Daniel Grujic
Approximately once every two seconds each day, someone establishes a blog or Web site on the Internet.
Despite such demand, however, many feel the process is too complex -- a tangle of HTML coding commands that renders the creation and maintenance of Web sites nearly impossible.
Since Silicon Valley abhors a vacuum, Five Across in Palo Atlo has developed a site creation application, Bubbler, that replaces coding with a "drag and drop" system they consider more user friendly.
"The idea was to separate content and presentation," said David Aune, vice president of marketing for Five Across. In this manner, he added, the user would be free to concentrate on the content of the site without getting mired in the details of its realization.
"The nice thing is that you don't need to know HTML...which we think is way too much work.," Aune said.
The application is simple and intuitive, allowing the user to drag images, movies or music directly from the computer and upload them to the Web site in real time.
Five Across CEO Glenn Reid, has infused Bubbler with the same simplicity and grace he championed as architect and engineer of Apple Computer's acclaimed iPhoto and iMovie programs. The process is streamlined for the user with 28 customizable templates made by "people experienced in web design," said Aune.
Though the need for HTML has lessened over the years as popular Web design tools like Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver try to protect users from the terrors of coding, the programs themselves are intimidating and massive; they are geared toward professionals and can be burdensome for the inexperienced.
On the other hand, blogging services like Livejournal.com and Google's Blogger are available for those wishing no more than the most minimal site. However, even with these services, HTML is often required for anything other than basic text entries (Livejournal.com has a two-page tutorial answering the question "How do I make text bold, italic or centered?")
Reid feels there is room somewhere in the middle. "I like to look at a space that everybody thinks is done and we make it a lot easier to do, like iMovie when everybody accepted the fact that you would be limited with the easily understandable, and the capable stuff was way more complex," he said.
Despite its ease of use, the application is designed with the horsepower to appeal to those who want more out of their Internet presence than a simple blog. Aune is quick to point out that although there are approximately 9 million blogs, Google indexes more than 9 billion web sites -- making weblogs only 1 percent of that total.
Reid believes that professionals and small businesses unwilling or unable to hire a Web master could benefit from an easy-to-manage site. "It is too much trouble to maintain it, to add a page. They have other things to do," said Reid.
In fact, Bubbler is aiming for that very market.
In order to accommodate commercial use, the templates Bubbler supplies are highly customizable and geared for Realtors, small businesses and other individuals.
Additionally, Five Across recently announced a merger with pairNIC, a internet domain registration service, that will allow Bubbler users to purchase a personalized domain name to lend more professionalism to the site. For instance, a business could use Bubbler with the registered name www.example.com instead of using www.bubbler.net/example.
Reid said setting up the company was difficult because he is trying to rebuild the user experience from the ground up. Five Across has their own proprietary Web servers, instead of using the popular Apache models Reid calls "archaic." The Bubbler service can be used on a small scale for free, but there are pricing configurations to accommodate more complex needs, such as a personal Web page, and a business site. The company also sells servers.
Their products have already been purchased by Dartmouth University's Hitchcock Medical Center and Jordan Baris Real Estate Services.
For more information on Five Across and the Bubbler application, visit www.bubbler.com.
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