As with all the other Xara products I've used (Designer Pro, Photo & Graphic Designer, Web Designer 7) there are some features that, after a short time, are very hard to live without. A few favorites are multiple windows that allow you to switch effortlessly between files, and that automatically reopen so when you close the program without saving, your work is not lost; autosave of original images and master files; seamless image editing; and drag-and-drop color changes. There are also a few that seem unnecessarily difficult to master: Creating popups or rollover images in Xara is a huge headache.

If you become a Xara addict (and you may, even after just a thirty-day free trial), the addition of the media exchange (or MX) in Xara Web Designer MX 8 will appeal. If you own any other MX-enabled Xara or MAGIX product, you can easily access JPEGs through the share menu.

Let's face it, if you don't have any kind of web-presence, you're way behind the curve. If you have the time to come up with some copy and a few images, Xara Web Designer is a super-easy way to create a professional static web page or site. However, if you're looking to create a blog, need an , or want to regularly change content, this is not the software for you.

Note: The default trial period for this software is seven days. You can increase the trial to thirty days by registering the software.