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Microsoft announces WebMatrix Beta 2

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Today Microsoft released the second beta of WebMatrix, which is available to download now at www.microsoft.com/web/webmatrix. As Web development evolves, developers are looking for new ways to build websites faster and make their job easier. WebMatrix meets this by providing a single and free application that gives them the ability to create new sites by writing the code themselves or using existing free open source applications. WebMatrix gives developers the tools to customize their sites by editing their code, data and much more, as well as the ability to publish their sites with integrated deployment tools, and a gallery of hosting providers that meet their needs. As such it’s a great tool for Web agencies who build web sites for others using open source frameworks, as well as web developers who want to find a new and easier way of building web sites, or who want to learn how to build web sites quickly.

Creating Sites

WebMatrix makes it easy for developers to create new websites by offering a one-click solution that allows developers to simply create sites themselves.  WebMatrix also provides a number of simple website templates that are already implemented and easily customizable. Additionally, a developer can take advantage of free open source applications such as WordPress, Joomla, DotNetNuke or Umbraco, which WebMatrix will download, install and configure. Whatever the developer chooses, they’ll need the stack on which the Web application runs, including the server, database, and framework. With WebMatrix all of these are in one place, using the same technology on the developer’s desktop that is used on the production server, making the process of going live with the web site painless and worry free.

Customizing Sites

WebMatrix lets developers customize their site to make it the best possible site for their user’s needs. The lightweight editor supports major standard files, including HTML, JavaScript, PHP and ASP.NET, and includes shortcuts to help developers understand code. This includes color coding and tag completion and the new ASP.NET Web Pages framework featuring the easy to learn, yet powerful ‘Razor’ programming syntax that provides inline coding within HTML. But it doesn’t end there: WebMatrix gives developers the ability to use Web helpers, which take complex coding tasks such as integrating Twitter, using social links or video, and gives a single line-of-code solution. WebMatrix ships with dozens of helpers, and beta 2 gives developers the ability to create their own and share with a community of developers. Beyond coding, WebMatrix can also inspect the site in the same way that search engines do, in a process called Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and provide a report that contains advice and feedback in how to customize the site to make it rank as high as possible on places like Google, Bing or Yahoo!.

Publishing Sites

WebMatrix gets the site on the internet quickly and easily. Developer who already have an internet server can use to get files onto the server using the standard FTP or FTP protocols, or can use the WebDeploy protocol from Microsoft. WebDeploy makes the task even easier by only publishing changed files and handling the deployment of all the site’s data.  Or, if developer want to find a company that provides an internet server and open a hosting account with them, WebMatrix can help find the right one with the right technologies and price. Whatever a developer chooses, WebMatrix gives them the ability to publish and manage sites on the internet as easily as they use it on a development machine.

Conclusion

All components of WebMatrix seamlessly integrate with Microsoft’s developer platform and tools including Visual Studio, SQL Server and Windows Server. Without leaving WebMatrix, developers can build websites from scratch; download and customize free open source web applications available within Microsoft’s Web Application Gallery; select a hosting partner, and deploy their website.

Download the second beta today at www.microsoft.com/web/webmatrix

Comments

  • Anonymous
    October 06, 2010
    How does it differ from Microsoft Expression Web?

  • Anonymous
    October 28, 2010
    Awesome job. Now when do we see Visual Studio 2010 integration? I'm dying over here on Windows XP! ;'-(