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Without Code & Adobe Muse End of Life: Your Most Commonly Asked Questions

We’ve received a hugely positive response to our new business direction announcement – thank you for all your support!

Rather than replying to each email and post individually, we thought it made more sense to collect all of your questions and post the answers here for all to see.

We’ve split the questions up into two categories – those relating to Muse end of life and those to Without Code. I’m sure everyone is exhausted from all of the chaos in our world right now, so I’ll write these responses in a fast and transparent way.

Please note also there is quite a bit of incorrect information and several assumptions floating around in the community. Many users who do not work for our company and have no inside knowledge of our plans are spreading news and responding to questions with the wrong answers. We would just like to point out that unless information about our business and future plans comes directly from a MuseThemes team member, it’s best not to take it as the truth.

We also need to let you know that some of the information is subject to change. We’re still finalizing various aspects of our new platform, and we can only share this information with the understanding that there are many decisions to be made and aspects to finalize.

*NOTE - the Without Code website and builder is live! Check out our new site creation tools today: www.wocode.com

Let’s do this!

 

Muse Questions: 

 

What is happening to MuseThemes? Are you shutting down or will you take care of us? Will you stop selling memberships?

MuseThemes will continue to build new products for Muse as long as it’s viable. Our existing products will receive the same level of support as we’ve always given them. 

Muse is not going away tomorrow, and users shouldn’t rush into another platform without proper time and consideration. We are not shutting down, and we are not going to stop selling memberships.

Our core business is based on Adobe Muse – we employ a full-time staff of 12 people supporting over 100,000 customers. We’re going to support our Muse users as long as we possibly can, in addition to building a new path forward for both us and them. One day we know we’ll look back fondly at Muse as the catalyst that started it all. 

 

If I am currently working on Muse sites do you suggest I stick with Muse or switch to a new platform right away?

There’s nothing wrong with finishing your site build in Muse, or maintaining existing sites in Muse. If it was good enough for your website build two days ago, it’s still good enough today. It will likely be many years before Muse websites don’t work properly in modern browsers.

The only time sensitive element of the Muse end of life is if you’ve hosted a website on Business Catalyst’s servers. If that’s the case, you’ll need to move it to another hosting platform within the next two years (prior to May 2020).

While maintaining sites in Muse, you can also begin to explore web builder options. Without Code is free to try so you can begin learning the new platform to see if it will be a good replacement for you down the road.

 

Do you have a suggestion for hosting platforms with BC going away?

We have internal sites hosted with various companies, including HostGator, GoDaddy, Media Temple, and Amazon Web Services. The truth is they all load quickly and our sites perform in a very comparable way. Unless you’re doing millions of visits, I would base my hosting decision off stability of the host, features of the hosting platform, and price. 

If you have had a chance to check out the Without Code website builder, you might have noticed the built-in Worry Free Hosting service. Read more about what you should look for in a hosting solution, as well as the Worry Free Hosting details here.

 

Will you help convert Muse sites to other Adobe platforms like Dreamweaver? 

Dreamweaver is primarily used as a code editing tool for websites. So technically a conversion would be to simply export your Muse websites as HTML, and open those files in Dreamweaver.

We do not recommend Dreamweaver as a replacement for Muse. It’s built for developers and doesn’t seem to get much love and attention from Adobe from what we’ve seen at conferences.

 

What are your thoughts on Adobe's potential replacement products: XD, Portfolio, or Spark? 

None of these products offer the functionality of Muse, and they are not suitable replacements for Muse in their current states. This may change down the road depending on Adobe’s development plans for these applications.

XD is a prototyping tool that would show major promise if designs could be exported as complete websites (HTML / CSS). Working in XD is a very enjoyable and streamlined design experience, but the final design would need to be passed on to a developer for coding.

Portfolio and Spark are cloud apps that are easy to use, however, they build websites that are very static and basic compared to Muse.

 

What will happen to Muse in-browser editing after May 2019? 

In-Browser Editing (IBE) on Business Catalyst hosted sites will go away when that hosting service is de-commissioned on March 26, 2020.

Any Muse-generated site on third party hosting platforms will remain editable with IBE as long as there are no browser incompatibilities (which could be several years).

 

Can you buy Muse from Adobe, and continue on development?

While we’re flattered you think this highly of us, unfortunately this isn’t possible. Adobe would likely never sell an app they built using their own proprietary code and technology, and we wouldn’t have a software team large enough to continue development. If they were willing to sell, the cost would likely be extremely high.

 

Can I have a refund for the remaining days of my MuseThemes membership?

At this time, we’re not issuing partial refunds for memberships that are beyond our 14-day satisfaction guarantee. We will fulfill our commitment to you to produce and support Adobe Muse products for the foreseeable future. If you have a question about your account or a cancellation, please send us a note to accounts@musethemes.com.

  

Why did Adobe decide to shutdown Muse? Why won’t they bring it back? 

I suspect only the executives at Adobe know the real answer. Adobe is a big, publicly traded company, with lots of very popular products like Photoshop and InDesign. Muse, in comparison to those products, is very small and if the ongoing costs to support the app were exceeding the volume of users it brought into the Creative Cloud offering, it might have just been a numbers decision.

Users are obviously very upset (as are we), however, this decision was probably made long ago after much thought. The damage is already done, and reversing their decision isn’t going to help their Creative Cloud signups, or their reputation, no matter what. Anything can happen, but I wouldn’t hold your breath for a change of heart.

 

 

Without Code Questions:

 

When is Without Code launching? 

The Without Code builder is live! Check out our new site creation tools today at www.wocode.com.

   

Why didn’t you build a desktop application to replace Muse? Why did you partner with an existing website creation platform? 

Applications of any kind are a very big undertaking from both a cost and time perspective. It took Muse nearly 10 years to get to this point, and that’s built by a billion-dollar software corporation. Most software start-ups take on venture funding to support their growth prior to being profitable. Squarespace, for example, has raised nearly 300 million dollars in funding (https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/squarespace#section-overview).

For us to build a feature-rich website creation app on the side (while still supporting MuseThemes) was just not feasible. That would require a large engineering team, along with dedication and years of focus – not to mention higher prices to recoup venture funding. 

By partnering with an existing platform that we’ve vetted and formed a great relationship with, we can leave the heavy lifting to them and build our community’s most-requested features on top. This platform has a very large engineering team (bigger than Muse had at its end of life) and millions of dollars in funding. It’s also been used to build millions of websites.

 

Can we export our sites, and host them anywhere? 

This is an area we are still working on. The Without Code builder does support site export, but in a feature limited way. What this means is that you could export out static / simple sites for hosting elsewhere, however, for advanced functionality such as CMS editing, blogging or ecommerce, you will need to host with us.

This is standard across any online website creation tool. Blogs and ecommerce systems are usually uniquely integrated with their hosting service, and are not inherently portable, as static content is. Think of the hosting behind a site as the foundation and land that your home is built on. If you want the ability to move your home around frequently and quickly, you’re going to be very limited in what kind of features you can have in that home – and it’s probably going to have wheels. 

Hosting is also a major profit center for any website creation system. There’s a reason that there are very few desktop / standalone website builders on the market (and likely part of the reason why Muse is going away) – it’s tough to be financially viable by charging a one-time fee for software that’s potentially used to make 1000’s of websites.

Export in Without Code is also a relatively new feature, and we still need to evaluate the flexibility of exported sites and the cost to export them. We know this is a very important feature for you, so we’ll ensure we give it the appropriate priority (it’s top of the list currently).

 

I recognize the core platform Without Code is built on – why shouldn’t I just go direct to them? 

As a large membership site with a huge volume of customers, we can negotiate rates and features that most other companies can’t.

If you recognize our core platform and go directly to them, that’s completely fine. However, you’re probably going to pay more than you would through Without Code, and you won’t have access to any of our custom integrations, widgets, themes, and training. If your account isn’t setup through Without Code, there is currently no way to transfer those products to you. Widgets are not portable like Muse for download and install. 

Essentially you will pay more, to get a lot less.

We’re not hiding the fact that our platform exists outside of Without Code, however, we’re not advertising it either. Partnering with a big, reputable company is a very positive aspect of our new business, and we’re proud of it. However, we do need to ensure users signup through our channels, or else we have no way to help those users succeed with the platform.

 

Why should I use Without Code vs. other solutions like Webflow?

There are lots of great products on the web, and we encourage you to explore them all and determine what’s best for your clients and business.

When we started looking at other solutions outside of Muse, we paid close attention to two important aspects: the learning curve to transition to another app, and the speed of website creation. Without Code is a wonderful balance of site flexibility and features, paired with quick build times and easy adoption. We were able to rebuild several of our Muse templates in about 1/10th of the time, with minimal up-front training. Since many users are planning to rebuild their Muse sites in another app, it's important that sites can be created very quickly.

Our experience with Webflow is that it is very powerful, and full of great features; several of our core team members use it often. However, we also felt that it took a long time to learn and feel comfortable in. Many of these apps fall a little closer to the developer end of the spectrum, using terms like box model, floats, and divs in their marketing materials. Most advertise they are ways to “code visually.” That’s fine for designers who have some understanding of code, but it’s a foreign language to designers who just need visual layout and site generation.

 

Can Without Code do everything that Muse can do? 

No, it can’t. However, it can do several things that Muse can’t do. Once users get started with Without Code and identify any gaps in functionality, we’ll work to fill those gaps as quickly as we can.

Just like Muse, there will be things we need to add and improve over time to add functionality. Nothing will fit your needs perfectly right out of the gate, but our entire business revolves around making sure we add the features you need. It’s our number one priority.

 

Can I transfer or migrate sites from Muse right into Without Code? 

There is no automatic migration from Muse, and no platform will be able to offer that. The site structure that Muse generated was very complex, and no platform will be able to pull it in and build a full site.

With that said, Without Code does have “content collection” tools available to help streamline the transition. In our experience, recreating Muse sites in Without Code has been a very quick and enjoyable process. 

We’re also exploring the idea of creating a directory of migration partners who could help you move your site over. This could be a great opportunity for designers to master our platform, and take on projects rebuilding Muse sites in Without Code. If this is of interest to you, please send us a note to info@wocode.com mentioning our partner program.

 

How much will Without Code cost? 

Without Code is structured with a few pricing plans for various levels of features.

  • Free accounts will have feature-limited access to the Without Code builder, with standard rates if you decide to host with us.
  • Premium or “VIP” memberships will have full access to the Without Code builder, in addition to Engineer, and all of our product updates, new releases, training and design resources. You will receive preferred hosting rates (including an SSL certificate), which are very competitive and leave plenty of room for you to markup and charge back to your clients. You will also receive full access to MuseThemes and all Muse-related widgets, themes and training.
  • We’re also exploring an Enterprise plan, that would give you white labelling features, along with exclusive community resources, front of the line support, and direct access to our team.

While we’re still finalizing our plans and pricing, the cost will most likely be billed annually in a similar fashion to MuseThemes. Prices will be comparable to what you paid for your MuseThemes membership. 

If you are paying for a Without Code membership, you will not need to pay for a MuseThemes membership as well. Without Code VIP’s get access to both sites under one membership.

 

Do existing MuseThemes members get a discount or incentive for Without Code?

Absolutely. We want to reward users who have supported us over the years, and always have by grandfathering in our pricing. Our ideal scenario is we transition you into Without Code, with very little interruption in our billing cycles. This is not an opportunity for us to charge you more or try to make more money, it’s about avoiding interruption in your business and smoothly transitioning ours to a new direction.

Discount levels are still being finalized, however, we would like to avoid having every individual customer at a unique pricing level. We will likely establish a few pricing tiers, and the length and price of your MuseThemes membership will establish which tier you fall into. 

We also encourage you to maintain your existing MT membership. Active members will qualify for different pricing than former / cancelled members, so try not to jump ship until you have enough information to make an informed decision.

 

How does the Adobe Muse end of life announcement impact Without Code? 

Well it’s certainly going to help us drive business to Without Code and get users on our platform. We would have liked a little more notice though, perhaps just a few months to get prepared.

 

Is Without Code going to be part of Creative Cloud? 

Over the years we often received questions about our connection to Adobe. Users assumed we were affiliated with Adobe because of our name.

Without Code is in no way affiliated with Adobe, and we’re not part of the Creative Cloud.

  

Are all of your MuseThemes widgets going to be available in the Without Code builder? 

No. We have to manually rebuild all of our products in Without Code, which is a good opportunity for us to be selective and prioritize your needs. We will work quickly to add widgets that are highly popular on MuseThemes, and we’ll give you a channel to voice your needs directly to our team.

Existing MuseThemes widgets will not work in Without Code since the development format is completely different.

 

Does Without Code feature a Content Management System for my clients? 

Yes! Content management was a major priority for us, and we’re happy to say your clients can have either full or limited editing access to make site updates, depending on your needs. Our final release of Without Code will be unbranded, so that your clients won’t be able to trace the CMS back to our company.

Engineer is also a tool that can be utilized to give clients access to specific components in a website, no matter what platform that site is built on.

 

Will you create templates for Without Code, or other web design products? 

Yes! We’ve already started creating themes for Without Code, along with a big library that comes default with the product. Without Code also uses “sections,” which are similar to MuseThemes’ Stacks in Adobe Muse. Pre-built content blocks that can be dropped into place and quickly customized for fast site creation.

Without Code also has plans to provide themes and training for other web design platforms. The Without Code builder is our core focus initially, however, in the spirit of sharing the best tools available for code-free design, we do want to expose our members to alternative systems that may work better for their client needs.

 

Does Without Code export perfectly clean, semantic code? 

The code behind the Without Code builder is much better than Muse, however, it’s not as clean as a developer would write by hand. Code clarity should only matter to you in two situations: you’re experiencing slow websites due to code bloat, or you plan to edit the code manually later on.

In our speed test comparisons of Without Code vs. other platforms, it was the top performer in every test we ran. By default, Without Code sites are optimized to pass Google page speed requirements. Images are automatically optimized and reduced for optimum load time. 

The code behind Without Code sites is available for editing directly in the editor interface. It might not look as pretty as the code behind other developer focused website builders, however, it loads faster and ranks the same or better from an SEO perspective.

 

Are Without Code sites fully responsive? 

Yes. Without Code sites are a responsive / adaptive hybrid model, and are beautifully optimized for all devices.

Without Code uses a different (and superior) responsive system than Muse did. By using device detection on the server side, Without Code sites can display the same site to a mobile user with highly optimized assets. Think of this as a blend between alternate layout and responsive in Muse. You have the power to tweak various site elements for mobile / tablet layouts, however, you don’t have to maintain completely different websites.

 

Feature specific questions – does it have? 

Blogging – yes, default feature. 

CSS Animations – yes, default feature. Includes parallax scrolling for images.

Ecommerce – yes, default feature with a huge list of payment providers. Requires an upgraded pricing plan for larger stores.

Embedded HTML – yes, default feature. Insert anything you did in Muse using embed code. 

Forms – yes, default feature. Includes dropdowns, radio buttons, and entry fields. Your form submissions will actually arrive in your email too (sorry Muse forms, but it’s true).

iFrames – yes, through a Without Code widget or embedded code. 

Image upload / editing – yes, site assets can be bulk uploaded, managed within the editor, and even modified within the app. The asset management system is far superior to Muse.

Language Support – yes, default feature. 

Login pages / database features / membership sites – not available out of the box. Possibility for later addition through Without Code widgets, or using our Engineer CMS.

Overlapping elements – yes, but there are limitations. You need to respect the grid (row and column) structure to ensure beautiful responsiveness. 

Webfonts – yes, default feature. Additional fonts could be added through a Without Code integration widget (Typekit, Google Fonts, etc.)

YouTube, Facebook and social widgets – yes, default feature. Also available through embedded code or custom widgets.

 

What makes Without Code stand out from other web design platforms?

Here are my favorite aspects of the Without Code builder, and what I think makes it stand above the rest: 

  • You can build sites very quickly. After working in Muse, Without Code is a very streamlined and enjoyable experience. It’s almost impossible to completely "break" a site in Without Code, because of the grid system.
  • Custom widgets are stable and powerful. We can fix bugs or issues quickly and update widgets across our entire platform in a single click.
  • Low learning curve, easy adoption. While not as simple as mass commercial builders like Wix, it’s also nowhere near as complex as the developer-oriented tools like Pinegrow and Webflow. We will also provide extensive training as we always did with MuseThemes products.
  • The platform is complete business tool. You can build and manage multiple sites from a single interface. Costs can easily be billed back to clients as part of your design quote / agreement. It’s a tool that enables you to make more money and grow your business to the next level.

 

Phew! Thanks for reading. If you have any other questions, please drop us a line or comment below and we will add them to the list. 

Cheers,
Steve

Steve Harris
Steve Harris / Calgary, Canada

Steve Harris started MuseThemes in 2011 and steadily grew the company, going from a full-time corporate employee to being his own boss. More than just MuseThemes, Steve is a conference speaker, Lynda.com author, and holds equally large collections of both business books and fine scotch.

Comments

Jim White
Jim White

Is there anything out there that come close to the Business Catalyst back-end functionality? I really think Adobe screwed up by doing this. If they combined the 3 entities (Muse, DW, BC) to work in unison, they had the perfect solution for web professionals.

Chuck Braman
Chuck Braman

Transparency, honesty, and showing a timely consideration for the actual needs and concerns of your customers. You’re a breath of badly needed fresh air after having been dropping into a void by Adobe in the most thoughtless way possible. Your informative post is as considerate and helpful as one could hope for under the circumstances. Thank you.

Krista G.
Krista G.

Thanks Steve, this is great information. Please let me know if you need a beta tester. I’ve done it for a lot of other software companies and I would love to work on Without Code.

Daniel
Daniel

Think it is the same like Webflow

Matt
Matt

Great stuff! Look forward to it!

Juan Vega
Juan Vega

I am so glad and excited by the good news, is very important to handle a “clear message” as you do, thank you for the empathy. When adobe let us down, the silence is killing me, I have hope again, eager to star with that great project 👍

John Klungers
John Klungers

Thank you for the clear anwers. I do have confidence in your team.
It would be great to have a platfor for rapid develop website. I hope there will be export possiblties to own server or hosting providers. If you built your company on a company that is not yours you are at risk.

Jayne Bunting
Jayne Bunting

Thank you so much for this. It’s really refreshing to hear a voice of reason and of a potential solution to my personal Adobe Muse crisis. Now I’ve stopped hyper-ventilating I have a few points to mention.
1) is there a mailing list I can sign up to so I can be informed of the launch of Without Code ? (the initials WC are a little unfortunate 😉)
2) if you need the lowest common denominator to demonstrate any non-tech numpty can build a website using your software I may be just the person to try it out on. I’m praying it’s as easy to get my head around as Muse.
3) and finally a big thank you for being that little ray of sunshine in what has been a devastating few days. If anyone had suggested to me that I would ‘mourn the loss’ of a software programme like it was a close family member I would have laughed hysterically, oh how little did I know how reliant on these things we become.

SAVE MUSE!!!!
SAVE MUSE!!!!

Save Muse!!!!!!!!!!

Hi this may get removed but if you support Adobe Muse then…

https://www.change.org/p/adobe-systems-adobe-do-not-discontinue-muse

Ewhyn - BlessED PIXEL
Ewhyn - BlessED PIXEL

Now that I’m done mourning (lol), glad to see web design for DESIGNERS will keep going on. I will admit that I’ve been looking at other “Muse” alternatives and considering 2 possibilities, W/Ocode being one of them. Was wondering if you guys were soliciting any Beta testers at this time?
Keep up the good work MT & W/Ocode
Cheers!

SDS
SDS

“By partnering with an existing platform” <— What / Who is it being built on top of ? Since it will be an online product what happens if the service or my internet goes down, can I keep working or save my progress? <- This worries me.

SDS
SDS

Why was my comment deleted, what type of crap is that?

Barbara
Barbara

Thanks for the comprehensive and timely update – I so appreciate your jump on the FAQ communication and updates. Many thanks for your continued focus and tools. Very excited to see what’s next!

ILONA L EDENS
ILONA L EDENS

Excited to see what the future will bring for W/O Code et al; I suspect good things!

Renaldo Wade
Renaldo Wade

Very impressed. Especially knowing you guys will make widgets with Architect. I’ll have to consider switching once pricing is revealed.

Kirk
Kirk

Do we HAVE to start with a theme, even blank, and modify from there like Wordpress, which looks like it could really handcuff our creativity or can we start from a blank canvass like Muse?

Kirk
Kirk

Why do 90% of my comments get deleted when I’m a paying member?

Kirk
Kirk

I will ask again and hope this does not get deleted. Do we HAVE to start with a theme, even blank, and modify it like WordPress, which I feel could really handcuff our creativity or can we start with a blank canvass like Muse?

Kip
Kip

What a well written piece! Whoever wrote this. Thank you!

Allen
Allen

I don’t imagine that widgets purchased from other suppliers will work on your platform?

Andries
Andries

Sounds great, looks great. Perfectly explained Steve. I’m looking forward to try a beta version and taste the look and feel of it soon.
And please, let there be a pricefriendly option for al those designers that have small company websites to build and maintain. Then the other ‘lots of free WP world items’ is easier to defend. Have a nice Easter to you folks!

Ariel A
Ariel A

One thing I didn’t see in there was the preview feature. We have it in Muse to show clients our progress. Well W/O Code have this option?

Eru
Eru

Thank you for posting this information. As I expected we need to use your hosting in order to acquire all features. I am hoping the hosting is not outrageously expensive. Is the price for hosting similar to Webflow? Also, I would really like to see a password feature —I know Webflow I got that feature and it is a great feature to have. Thank you.

Sean Menefee
Sean Menefee

This week has felt a bit chaotic after Adobe’s announcement, but your post has really helped clear up some questions for us here! Thanks for taking the time to keep up in the loop, and I can’t wait to test out the new platform in the future!

Tracy
Tracy

Timeframe? We have been with you from the start…can’t wait to try Architect!

Paul – Third Wave Creative – Toronto
Paul – Third Wave Creative – Toronto

Thanks for the well written explanation Steve. You and your team do a tremendous job keeping us old-time print designers from drowning in the Code Ocean.
Look forward to learning and building sites (re-building Muse sites) the W/O Code. cheers!

Mel
Mel

This info has halted my plans to immediately migrate all my Muse/BC sites to another web builder/host. I’m convinced that W/OC will be worth waiting for. And the news that W/OC will be affordable, as well, prompted a big sigh of relief! Thank you.

Ryan
Ryan

Will one subscription only cover one site and domain, or with one VIP membership, can I manage 10 sites and 10 different domains?

Also, with this platform, would I be able to link my current domain that I pay for with someone else to the site, or can I only use domains purchased by you?

Marc Paolella
Marc Paolella

This all sounds positive and I appreciate the efforts and vision. But this is still a platform. If I spend years investing time and for whatever reason you get acquired or go bankrupt or merge with a larger company that does not want your product to continue, then where am I? I am up the creek without a paddle. I think the best alternative is to bite the bullet and just learn to code. That way I am not a slave to any platform.

Boris
Boris

I’m from Belarus, I bought a subscription recently. I am very pleased that you provided me with your new project very quickly. It is simply amazing, identify the best that I have met online, thank you. I wish you further prosperity and creative ideas!)))

John Mollison
John Mollison

Thank you, Steve. I’m bummed about Muse but recognize that it had turned into a ferocious soup of components. I look forward to Architect/Engineer and am grateful for all your team’s work on Muse Themes.

Chipp Walters
Chipp Walters

I’m wondering about the pricing model. Can you share any details? I’m sure it’s subscription, but is it domain specific? IOW, do I pay the same for a 1 page landing site with custom domain as I do with a 30 page custom domain website? My guess is that’s where the rub might come for many of us.

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