Today we're reviewing IN5, put out by a software company whose name we will not mention. It is supposedly another magical app that converts InDesign files in HTML5, so all you have to do is design the darn thing in InDesign and voila! you have a website. Naturally, we were curious on how this software performs in something resembling real world conditions and the results did not disappoint. Using quickly assembled InDesign file we were able to generate really messy code with zero cross browser consistency and minimal fidelity to original layouts. On the plus side, the overall process was quick.
Take a look at some of the screens below and let us know which ones you like best. Mind you, the resulting code is so messy that to bring it up to a decent cross-browser level, let alone adaptive or responsive design state, it would be faster coding that page from scratch using Photoshop as a basis - and you already know how to get from InDesign to Photoshop. To be fair, this tool has its niche - hobbyists creating personal or pro bono websites with loads of time to tinker with code and not worry about client approval. Any professional using it to generate code that will match client-approved creative - you've been warned.
Our original and fairly basic InDesign file:
Result from Firefox on PC, overlaying original file:
Result from Firefox on Mac, overlaying original file:
Result from Chrome on PC, overlaying original file:
Result from Chrome on Mac, overlaying original file:
Result from Safari overlaying original file:
Result from IE8 overlaying original file:
Result from IE9 overlaying original file
Result from IE10 overlaying original file
Result from IE11 overlaying original file