Javascript, Flash, DHTML, CSS menu editors

In the search for some good software to create javascript or flash menu, we took time for testing a few different products. Our main source is Google; more keywords will be used and it is very likely that more products will be included in this review.
We believe that this evaluation of Javascript, Flash and CSS menus software could be interested for several users, who might take adavantage of my paintakingly research.
This review is expecially meant for people who need to add menus to their websites, but who don't want to spend too much time on the software. So, easy of use and immediate, good results were more important than others in our evaluation.

Our general rating is based upon following consideration:

Was the software easy to install?
Was the software easy to start?
Was the software easy to use?
Were we able to quickly generate a menu that could be used on one of our sample pages. This essentially means that the menu fit in the existing content and did what it was supposed to do.
Was the best menu appealing?
Is there a good template choice?
Is the price fair?
Rating in Google

Menu Generators Software Products

UltraMenu

UltraMenu comes from AntsSoft

The product is very intuitive
A working menu could be generated in few minutes
The item size can be changed and the menu can fit where you intend to put it

Follows a couple of menus generated by the free trial

123 Flash Menu by DreamingSoft

123 Flash Menu by DreamingSoft is easy to use, goodlooking, but placing the menu where intended on the page proved a tough endeavour.
Apparently only the absolute positioning is possible (or clearly offered), which is of course a pain when testing with different browsers.

CSS QuickMenu 6

The list of well known companies using CSS QuickMenu 6 in their home page is a good testimonial.
Its effects are impressive and very clean
The product, though, is not for novices; it requires a very good understanding of CSS in order to exploit the numberless options and its price has to be justified by larger devolopments.

The user forum on http://www.opencube.com/forum/ is a a valuable source of information. As of March 2008, the price of CSS QuickMenu 6 is:

Flash Menu Factory

Flash Menu Factory The product is not particularly cheap if you go for a larger number of templates.

Prezzo

Requires Microsoft .NET Framework, additional software that gets installed with the main product.
See next two examples of a menu built using Flash Menu Factory; if they seem not to work, click on one of the buttons (it depends on your browser's settings).

Amara Menu Maker

Amara Menu Maker is a cheap product (as of March 2008 just US$29.95), but its functionality is limited.

The demo version does not allow to generate the menu and to preview it a browser, therefore only a screenshot can be put in this page.

The kind of menu that can be created looks rather "basic", but the price is accordingly low

AllWebMenus by Likno Software

AllWebMenus by Likno Software

Affiliate BellePagine

	All menu web comes with a wonderful, clean graphic and an excellent set of templates; many more can be bought separately
The menu can be placed very precisely on the web page, but the function could not thouroghly be tested as the demo version does not allow for it.

CrystalButton Navigation Bar Maker

CrystalButton Navigation Bar Maker is a tool that allows to define and edit an array of Flash buttons, which can then be used in a navigation bar. The navigation bar is created by the SWGSoft Navbar Maker.

The first impression is not particularly favourable, but the component "In Motion" is much better

Crystal Button screenshot

The limitation of this product is that only bars can be created, and no drop-down menu.

Home|InMotion! Buttons

Flash Drop-Down Generator

Flash Drop-Down Generator is a free tool that generates one customizable flash drop down menu. Apparently Flash dropdown menues can currently be created only by means of an extention in Dremaweaver

FlashMenulabs.com/

FlashMenulabs.com/

The behaviour of the chosen menu can be chosen fron a list, comprising "Falling Wave", "Luminescent" etc.

As of March 2008, the price of Flash Menu Labs is:

The nice feature of this Flash software is that it allows for drop down menus and that they are quite beautiful.
Generating a menu and positioning it on a web page was quite straightforward

You need to upgrade your Flash Player or to allow javascript to enable Website menu.
Get Flash Player

http://www.extendstudio.com/index.php

belle pagine

needs an account
Bisogna usarli solo con Flash o Dreamweaver

conto: r29cy@yahoo.com c....7
Free navigation menu

Flash Vortex

Flash Vortex offers a simple navigation bar for free; by subscribing more configuration is offered for the menu.

The peculiarity of this software is that no local file is generated; the script refers to http://www.flashvortex.com, which is therefore a way of linking back to their site.
It seems that this may have an impact on your ranking, but this has to proved.

Sothink DHTML Menu 8

Sothink DHTML Menu 8 generates menus in DHTML, no Flash. It is quite easy to use, but pubishing the menu was not obvious. Once you manage it the result is very nice, as the following example shows:

Our summary:

Product	Java/Flash	Immediate productivity	Easy to use	Many templates	Good looking	Price	Google Ranking	Overall
UltraMenu	Javascript						4/10
123 Flash Menu	Flash						4/10
CSS QuickMenu 6	CSS						8/10
Flash Menu Factory	Flash						4/10
Amara Menu Maker	Flash						6/10
AllWebMenu	CSS						6/10
CrystallButton	Flash						5/10
Flash Menu Labs	Flash						4/10
Flash Vortex	Flash						6/10
Sothink DHTML Menu 8	DHTML						6/10