Internet tools are toddlers in a room full of adult app development software. Although sales are growing at an astounding pace, the tools are not as mature as VARs wish they were.

"No Web development tool feels complete yet," says Gordon Acker, manager of SoftLine, a VAR in Port Orchard, Wash. "Any VAR who moves from client-server development to Web development takes a step backward to doing the grunt work again."

Fortunately, Web development tools are leapfrogging from toddler to adolescent quickly. Head and shoulders above the rest is Netscape's LiveWire 1.1, according to 117 VARs surveyed for this Product Report. LiveWire's visual development environment, database functionality and site management features make it the best in class. In fact, its top scores in seven of eight criteria gave it a solid four-point lead over Adobe's PageMill and Macromedia's Backstage Internet Studio, which tied for second.

Microsoft FrontPage's sixth-place finish, behind Corel Web Designer and SoftQuad HoTMetaL Pro, strikes an odd chord, because surveyed VARs voted FrontPage their best-selling tool. FrontPage beat out only NetObjects' Fusion, which had only been on the market 90 days when the survey was done. FrontPage's poor features showing is even more odd considering VARs also deemed it the most improved tool.

The scores make more sense when VARs explain that although FrontPage is popular, its previous versions left something to be desired. "FrontPage is a broad tool that is used by the majority of people developing basic Web pages," says Ed Peak, president of Peak Solutions Inc., a VAR in Cincinnati. Once developers begin to write more complex applications, with multimedia and database connectivity, they "move up to other tools," he says.

FrontPage 97, released last December, resolves many problems VARs found in this tool. "FrontPage needed many improvements, particularly in page layout, ease of use and database connectivity," says Rich New, president of Dynacomp Inc., a VAR in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Ease of Use Is Key

LiveWire's first place in ease of use is the key to its success in this Product Report. LiveWire's innovation is service site scripting. JavaScript is embedded in LiveWire, "making it possible to work on a high level without writing long lines of code," says Rick Fleischman, Netscape senior product manager. VARs like scripting because it means they don't have to know HTML to build a Web site.

LiveWire "is so code-free and transparent we don't have to have high-end programmers doing Web development," says Aaron Eric, director of new technologies at Data Systems West, a VAR in Woodland Hills, Calif. Second in ease of use, Adobe PageMill won VARs' praise for its visual development, editing tools and ample page samples and clip art.

VARs' disdain for code-laden products put SoftQuad's HoTMetaL Pro last in ease of use. Several say that HTML knowledge is a prerequisite for using the product.

LiveWire won in robustness because VARs "trust that it's going to do what it's supposed to," says Fleischman. Corel Web Designer's best finish, a second-place tie with Adobe's PageMill, came in robustness. It's noteworthy, VARs say, for a comprehensive feature set, including native HTML editing and word processor translation tools.

LiveWire's first in HTML standards support comes from Netscape's philosophy of shunning proprietary standards. "Being standards-oriented is important because it gives users flexibility," says Fleischman. "We don't want to lock them into one vendor's product. With LiveWire, you can use any Web client that supports HTML."

Second in HTML support, Adobe's PageMill supports HTML tables, frames and importation of many types of file formats. "PageMill takes no religious view of what standards should be," says Kevin Wandryk, Adobe's product director. He thinks browser kings Netscape and Microsoft have a stake in pushing their own standards. "By not being tied to any one browser technology, PageMill offers the broadest based support for the HTML features used today," he says.

Connecting With DBMS

As Internet applications mature, the need for real-time database connectivity becomes crucial. "You can't build a compelling and useful Web site without it being driven in the background by databases," says Steve Shannon, senior product manager for Macromedia's Backstage.

Static database connectivity, in which specific reports from databases are delivered to the Web site, was the norm in earlier Internet development tools. Now, products such as LiveWire, FrontPage and Backstage-first through third in database connectivity, respectively-offer dynamic database connections. This real-time delivery of data is essential to Internet applications such as instant bank statements.

LiveWire's Java and JavaScript connections put it first in support for embedded languages such as Java, ActiveX, JavaScript and VB Script, even though LiveWire does not support ActiveX or VB Script. Macromedia's Backstage, second in this criterion, supports easy insertion and configuration of Java applets, VB script, JavaScript and ActiveX controls.

"I think the scores show that VARs see JavaScript as the key element," says Netscape's Fleischman. Indeed, more VARs use Java and JavaScript (68.4 and 56.4 percent, respectively) in Web development than Visual Basic (48.6 percent) or ActiveX (35 percent)

Accessibility is the watchword in the Web development market. Vendors are hustling to make Internet development tools as easy to use as possible. "Expect to see more visual environments and high-productivity rapid application development environments," says Shannon. "Vendors will eliminate the need to hack code to open Web development to a broader audience."

-Quick Scan

Adobe Systems Inc. Mountain View, Calif. (415) 961-4400, www.adobe.com

Corel Corp. Ottawa, Canada (800) 772-6735, www.corel.com

Macromedia Inc. San Francisco, Calif. (800) 888-9335, www.macromedia.com

Microsoft Corp. Redmond, Wash. (206) 882-8080, www.microsoft.com

NetObjects Inc. Redwood City, Calif. (888) 449-6400, www.netobjects.com

Netscape Inc. Mountain View, Calif. (415) 254-1900, www.netscape.com

SoftQuad Inc. Toronto, Canada (416) 239-4801, www.softquad.com

---

Most Improved Vendor Web Development Tools

Microsoft: 42%, Netscape: 18%, Corel: 9%, Adobe: 8%, Macromedia: 4%, NetObjects: 4%, SoftQuad: 3%

Other: 12%

---

VARs' Best-Selling Web Development Tools

Microsoft: 44%, Netscape: 20%, Corel: 10%, Macromedia: 9%, Adobe: 8%, NetObjects: 5%, SoftQuad: 4%

Source: VAR Business