Filemaker Server Advanced or Lasso?

[Mike Summer]

I would like some advice. I would like to build, for my customers, a web site displaying a catalogue of their products. Presently I use Dreamweaver and Filemaker Pro 8 and have been looking at the option of using Filemaker Server 8 Advanced (using Custom Web Publishing) as a solution for building a database driven web site. However, at over £1,600 (approx $2,500) Filemaker Server 8 Advanced is very expensive and it's not possible to get a trial version of this to see whether it suits my needs. Furthermore, I can't find an example of a web site driven by this package. I spoke to Filemaker UK today and they said www.eatpret.com was an example, but having looked at it, it's nothing like a web site I wish to build.

I was intrigued by Lasso. I have looked at their web site and it looks like it might be a better solution. Whilst it is pricey, it's not as expensive as the Filemaker option and it supports both Filemaker and Dreamweaver. Furthermore, it is possible to download a trial version.

What do you think I should do? I would be grateful for any comments.

I might just add that I have used the Instant Web Publishing feature in Filemaker which is incredibly simple and it turned me on to the idea of Custom Web Publishing.

[John May - Point In Space]

You need to use FileMaker Server Advanced to be able to connect to your databases with Lasso Professional. IMHO, Lasso is MUCH easier to use than FileMaker's built-in XML/XSLT Custom Web Publishing.

If you're concerned about pricing, I would suggest considering hosting with a provider such as ourselves - www.pointinspace.com - as we provide the FMSA, Lasso, etc. licenses on our servers as part of our hosting packages.

- John