PSD Breaker. Statement: Convert automagically any PSD file into XHTML compliant code. On the spot.
The PSD Breaker is made by Krogos Software; since it’s in alpha-testing mode, I’ve submitted for a invitation. I’ve received my invitation and send a PSD file for converting into XHTML.
The PSD file is a page of product detail page of an online shop. Contains common elements, like: logo, header, menu images, headings, product image, pagination, search module, etc.
The Good.
- Pixel perfection. Just one pixel off. It converted the PSD into XHTML very good.
- Fast conversion. I’ve download the converted XHTML in a few hours (Downloadable plugin is currently unavailable; online version used only) Faster than our PSD to XHTML services time delivery, 3 days
- CSS. The necessary div and classes have the CSS written pretty good, with padding, margin, background repeat, etc.
- Images sliced. I like the way it sliced the images. The background shadow images was a neat thing sliced.
The Bad.
- CSS. As I stated above, I like the CSS made, but it’s not optimized. The background definition is made in 3 properties, when it can be summarized in just one. Same for margin, padding, etc.
- Semantic and SEO-friendly? Seems not. I recommend a website well coded, semantic and SEO-Friendly.
- Hard to maintain. I didn’t test it for smaller and less complex PSD files. For more complex websites it’s hard to convert the PSD’s file into XHTML by using the software and trying to maintain the CSS code afterwards.
- Mostly made from images. A handcoding website can use images for menu, for example, and text too (for search engines optimization) that will be hidden
- Too many divs. There’s too much of div’s generated on the XHTML pages. Unnecessary.
- Not flexible. Example: footer image should be flexible in height to expand for bigger content addition.
Can it mixed with handcoded websites ?
It’s fast, but it’s hard to maintain the code afterwards.
For who is it then ?
Done. Drag and drop. Fast, fast, fast.
Small webpages, but I wouldn’t recommended. Here’s a list of advantages of handcoded websites.
The Conclusion
The plugin will not replace a handcoded website. Because of semantic, seo-friendly, maintainable and flexibility.
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