A shameless plug for my own similar open source project with an already functional version http://www.brickseditor.com/. It uses Bootstrap for the layout but there are plans to support other frameworks. It's built on AngularJS. I'm currently working on it full time. Maybe there could be some way we could collaborate if this Kickstarter isn't successful?
The Database section needs a bit of work. When I click on Database I'm stuck. I HAVE to create a table which I then cannot rename. When I delete the table I'm in the same situation, lock down.
Sorry sorich87, I've never heard about your project. I did not create Frontend using Bootstrap (you can plug yourself anyways). The project is built using AngularJS + NodeJS + Vagrant + MongoDB (with support for other databases).
It pains me to see how he repeats the same action for each subtitle-block element, doing the same thing 3 times total. Imagine you had a scrollable area with 20 blocks.
If it's a mockup editor, then it should be easy to customize from JS to make anything useful from the mockup.
If it's a site builder, better add support for templates, so that one would then be able to drag and drop data (e.g. json) onto the canvas and bind it to a template to automatically populate a whole set of elements at once.
P.S. No matter how slick your UI is, if it's not programmable, it's not useful.
Although Frontend is impressive, the target market is a bit blurry. As a front-end developer, I don't see myself using such a tool. And non tech-savvy people would probably feel a bit overwhelmed and would still have issues designing a decent layout considering it's not their job.
For some time, I've had in mind a service where people could easily build their websites. A bit like Squarespace (which is amazing) but with a different interface. For many clients who only need a homepage, a contact page, an about page, and some content pages, I usually end up building a custom WordPress theme because its admin interface is efficient and user-friendly, and because I have much experience in it. But still, I don't consider it the best tool for the job.
I'm not a great programmer, but I have UI, UX, and front-end skills. I'll probably try to develop a workable draft of this app I have in mind, but if anyone is interested in building an easy-to-use platform for non tech-savvy people, feel free to contact me. I have some ideas about how the workflow should be and what features it should have.
Hi bbx,
Sorry if I could not make clear the market for the product.
Frontend is suppose to be an open-source general purpose web editor.
Beginners can use the visual mode, expert can access the source code to make things better. An ORM database plugin is on its way, along with other many cool features.
I am waiting to see how the project goes before I release the stretch goals on Kickstarter.
I am working toward a similar goal with my open source project (respondcms.com): allow the developer/designer to focus on design while allowing the end-user to focus on creating content.
Hasn't this been beaten to death by now? There are a handful of decent "free" website editors out there already. They tend to produce generic and unprofessional websites because the target market isn't going to pay to have a decent theme.
Bro, do you even Bootstrap? Edit: Sorry, it's not Bootstrap, it's their own framework. Though visually it's very similar.
But seriously, I'm not sure who this is for. It looks like there's quite a technical hurdle to setting it up - node.js and vagrant aren't easy to install for a novice user, and they aren't suitable for any shared hosting environment that I've come across.
I imagine (possibly incorrectly) that the market for simple point and click interfaces wouldn't necessarily overlap with that of people who are comfortable setting up complex hosting environments.
Now, as an online subscription model, I think it could be quite competitive. That's an entirely different route which definitely has a market.
Online system is definitely an option down the road.
About the setup. Basically the only thing you need to install is vagrant. The Frontend VM has all the files and tools required to run the application on your machine.
The open source part of it is cool, but i still have a couple of issues with it:
+ why do you need 75K as a minimum ? Sounds a bit high, even for 2 people
+ They say its built with node, but what about the frontend of frontend ? Only jquery ?
+ does it support bootstrap or other layouting frameworks?
+ when will they let people contribute to it ?
Id really like something like this being open source, but in that case i feel it would need some more flexibility to be integrated into CMSes and Frameworks. Abstracted reusable components to plug it into existing systems, some kind of Content Repository integration for versioning etc. If thats the plan, ill fund in a heartbeat.
If its meant just as a downloadable tool to built basic websites it wouldnt have much appeal to me though.
1. The goal was set after carefully look other software project costs on Kickstarter. Also, 75k is the average income for a software engineer here in Silicon Valley (the living cost here is crazy);
2. The front-end of Frontend is built using AngularJS, our own JS Library, JQuery, JQuery-UI (just for the visual editor, not included on production projects), and QUnit/Jasmine.
3. It uses xtyle framework (also open-source) by default, but you can choose to use Bootstrap;
4. We will first open the Github repository for early backers. After the project is done the repository will be open for everybody else.
Integration with frameworks and CMS systems are on its way. We are planning to release a list of stretch goals for the project.
> Abstracted reusable components to plug it into existing systems,
The problem is stuffs like that are supposed to run in the browser, the more bloated your code base is the worst performances you'll get.
Doesnt mean everything should be tightly coupled, my point is no matter what people say web apps are not desktop apps, web apps are slow,sometimes you need to trade decoupling for performances.
I think the last time a product like that got kickstarted it "won" more that 100K , so of course people are going to seek a similar amount of money for these kind of projects, though i dont believe these tools are that usefull in reality.
Do the components include back-end Node.is code also? If so I really hope your project becomes popular and is open source. Because I think that developers should code components not UIs or reinventing Crud or email sign up forms. So this is the right direction for developers not just designers or novices. The popular approach with a lot of manual code for basic things like layout and other things is very dumb. Components are the way to go.
Components should be easy to plugin on the system using any available APIs out there. Facebook Login, Twitter Feeds, Database integration, etc. Our goal is not to build a simple visual editor. We want to create an ecosystems for developers, designers, and regular users. This is just a "kickstart".
Hey everybody. Please give a second look over the project. We tried to make clear the differences between Frontend and the other options out there. Let us know about anything we can improve on the Kickstarter page. Thank you.
Webflow, an existing product, is much more powerful and pretty affordable. Macaw, if it's as awesome as it looks in the demo, may be better than Webflow.
This, this is thoroughly underwhelming. Sorry.
If open source is your biggest differentiator, I think you should emphasize this. Being able to use this as a part of other environments would make it much more compelling. Maybe change up the kickstarter page?
1.How is it different from macaw or Adobe Muse ?
2.I did not understand why are you using a custom web framework xtyle , instead why not go for Bootstrap ?.
Its already used by millions and you also save a lot of time.
3.Components feature sounds exciting , but how much similar is it to angular directives.
4.What is target market ? front-end developers or non-tech people?
Macaw and Muse are commercial tools. Frontend was created as an open-source alternative.
We use xtyle by default, but you can for sure use Bootstrap (its your choice).
Components are anything you can plugin on the system (including directives if you are an Angular developer). The target market are front-end developer, designers, and non-tech.
I'm sure they will have market: people who don't have the money to contract serious developers, and some novel developers who may like this idea, but in the end, I think it's a product with few possibilities.
Looks to me like it works pretty much just like Squarespace (except self-hosted and open). The way Squarespace makes it easy for non-web-designer folk to put together nice-looking websites is excellent, so it's a good model to work from.
It irks me that this is called Frontend. It's not, it's design. Call it Design. Or Frontpage 2013. Whatever. Frontend is a development skill, which requires intricate knowledge of markup and javascript languages/frameworks.
What about https://rukzuk.com/en/ ? Not open source but the only tool I found which has integrated CMS. Website says it's even extendable with custom code.
The reward structure is odd. For example, the 'super backer' $1000 level is limited to 200, yet the rewards given (e.g. The memory stick) are unlimited in the previous levels. Why artificially limit yourself to 200?
there are many of this apps already, and while there are a couple that are nice my question is: has anyone actually ever used any of this for something serious?
Yes but this one is slightly different being open source - it means (rather than everyone re-inventing the wheel) it can be integrated into Drupal, Wordpress, any other CMS... which I for one would be in favour of, as it would level the playing field again.
[+] [-] sorich87|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pan69|12 years ago|reply
Other than that, very nice.
[+] [-] tmikaeld|12 years ago|reply
EDIT: And yours is not MIT licensed and has separate commercial licenses.
[+] [-] marizmelo|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mmsimanga|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] BenjaminN|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ishener|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] alco|12 years ago|reply
If it's a mockup editor, then it should be easy to customize from JS to make anything useful from the mockup.
If it's a site builder, better add support for templates, so that one would then be able to drag and drop data (e.g. json) onto the canvas and bind it to a template to automatically populate a whole set of elements at once.
P.S. No matter how slick your UI is, if it's not programmable, it's not useful.
[+] [-] marizmelo|12 years ago|reply
Also, you will be able to select multiple elements and parent elements and apply the same actions.
[+] [-] bbx|12 years ago|reply
For some time, I've had in mind a service where people could easily build their websites. A bit like Squarespace (which is amazing) but with a different interface. For many clients who only need a homepage, a contact page, an about page, and some content pages, I usually end up building a custom WordPress theme because its admin interface is efficient and user-friendly, and because I have much experience in it. But still, I don't consider it the best tool for the job.
I'm not a great programmer, but I have UI, UX, and front-end skills. I'll probably try to develop a workable draft of this app I have in mind, but if anyone is interested in building an easy-to-use platform for non tech-savvy people, feel free to contact me. I have some ideas about how the workflow should be and what features it should have.
[+] [-] marizmelo|12 years ago|reply
Frontend is suppose to be an open-source general purpose web editor.
Beginners can use the visual mode, expert can access the source code to make things better. An ORM database plugin is on its way, along with other many cool features.
I am waiting to see how the project goes before I release the stretch goals on Kickstarter.
We hope you join us too.
[+] [-] madoublet|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Xdes|12 years ago|reply
Hasn't this been beaten to death by now? There are a handful of decent "free" website editors out there already. They tend to produce generic and unprofessional websites because the target market isn't going to pay to have a decent theme.
[+] [-] dools|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] coldarchon|12 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] eonil|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jwarren|12 years ago|reply
But seriously, I'm not sure who this is for. It looks like there's quite a technical hurdle to setting it up - node.js and vagrant aren't easy to install for a novice user, and they aren't suitable for any shared hosting environment that I've come across.
I imagine (possibly incorrectly) that the market for simple point and click interfaces wouldn't necessarily overlap with that of people who are comfortable setting up complex hosting environments.
Now, as an online subscription model, I think it could be quite competitive. That's an entirely different route which definitely has a market.
[+] [-] marizmelo|12 years ago|reply
Online system is definitely an option down the road.
About the setup. Basically the only thing you need to install is vagrant. The Frontend VM has all the files and tools required to run the application on your machine.
1. Install Vagrant (with our installer);
2. Run VM
3. You are ready to go.
[+] [-] kayoone|12 years ago|reply
+ why do you need 75K as a minimum ? Sounds a bit high, even for 2 people
+ They say its built with node, but what about the frontend of frontend ? Only jquery ?
+ does it support bootstrap or other layouting frameworks?
+ when will they let people contribute to it ?
Id really like something like this being open source, but in that case i feel it would need some more flexibility to be integrated into CMSes and Frameworks. Abstracted reusable components to plug it into existing systems, some kind of Content Repository integration for versioning etc. If thats the plan, ill fund in a heartbeat. If its meant just as a downloadable tool to built basic websites it wouldnt have much appeal to me though.
[+] [-] marizmelo|12 years ago|reply
1. The goal was set after carefully look other software project costs on Kickstarter. Also, 75k is the average income for a software engineer here in Silicon Valley (the living cost here is crazy);
2. The front-end of Frontend is built using AngularJS, our own JS Library, JQuery, JQuery-UI (just for the visual editor, not included on production projects), and QUnit/Jasmine.
3. It uses xtyle framework (also open-source) by default, but you can choose to use Bootstrap;
4. We will first open the Github repository for early backers. After the project is done the repository will be open for everybody else.
Integration with frameworks and CMS systems are on its way. We are planning to release a list of stretch goals for the project.
[+] [-] camus2|12 years ago|reply
The problem is stuffs like that are supposed to run in the browser, the more bloated your code base is the worst performances you'll get.
Doesnt mean everything should be tightly coupled, my point is no matter what people say web apps are not desktop apps, web apps are slow,sometimes you need to trade decoupling for performances.
I think the last time a product like that got kickstarted it "won" more that 100K , so of course people are going to seek a similar amount of money for these kind of projects, though i dont believe these tools are that usefull in reality.
[+] [-] ilaksh|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] glazskunrukitis|12 years ago|reply
[0] https://webflow.com/
[1] http://froont.com/
[+] [-] marizmelo|12 years ago|reply
The differences:
1. Frontend is open-source;
2. Database integration;
3. Plugins (components) create by users;
Other differences will appear on the stretch goals.
[+] [-] tmikaeld|12 years ago|reply
Have you seen divshot, jetstrap or easel?
You probably have, are they open source? NO!
[+] [-] ilaksh|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] marizmelo|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] marizmelo|12 years ago|reply
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emoriz/frontend-the-web-...
[+] [-] mooted1|12 years ago|reply
This, this is thoroughly underwhelming. Sorry.
If open source is your biggest differentiator, I think you should emphasize this. Being able to use this as a part of other environments would make it much more compelling. Maybe change up the kickstarter page?
[+] [-] marizmelo|12 years ago|reply
Frontend vs Webflow:
1. Frontend is open-source (as you mention);
2. Frontend has a databased integration (ORM);
3. Frontend let users create their own components and templates and plugin on the system;
4. You can develop locally (for speed) and push projects to the web whenever you are done;
6. You can host frontend on your own server online and deploy projects from there;
Frontend vs Macaw:
1. Frontend runs on the browser, there is not "preview" process;
2. Frontend is open-source;
3. Frontend let users plug their own components and templates;
4. You can develop locally and push projects whenever you are done;
5. You can host frontend on your own server online and deploy projects from there;
6. Frontend is responsive (mobile ready), with Macaw you need to check if your project will work on mobile first (and on tablet);
More differences will appear on the stretch goals.
Thank you for the comment.
[+] [-] kanakiyajay|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] marizmelo|12 years ago|reply
We use xtyle by default, but you can for sure use Bootstrap (its your choice).
Components are anything you can plugin on the system (including directives if you are an Angular developer). The target market are front-end developer, designers, and non-tech.
[+] [-] dsego|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] meerita|12 years ago|reply
I'm sure they will have market: people who don't have the money to contract serious developers, and some novel developers who may like this idea, but in the end, I think it's a product with few possibilities.
[+] [-] elsurudo|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] izolate|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] skrebbel|12 years ago|reply
There have been frontends long before there was HTML.
[+] [-] incimou|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tmikaeld|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pter_s|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] joosters|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] marizmelo|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] korussian|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ilaksh|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sycren|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] marizmelo|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] duiker101|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] porker|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] brickcap|12 years ago|reply