Sandvox, a website creation tool for Mac OS X developed by Karelia Software, has reached version 1.2.8. The new release adds direct support for websites hosted through web.me.com (including MobileMe) and sports various other enhancements.

Whether it's a personal website you want to revamp, a business website, or both, Sandvox's text, image, audio, and video sharing features will be of great help to you, with more than 40 site designs being available (with viewport settings for optimized display on iPhones), according to the developers. With the release of Sandvox 1.2.7, customizable banners that let you personalize your site have been added, as well as a comprehensive and completely integrated Help feature with more than 200 articles, including step-by-step "How do I...?" pages. Localization for French, Italian, Danish, German, Japanese, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese languages and improved Flash file support have also been added.

Now that version 1.2.8 is here, users get direct support for websites hosted through web.me.com, including MobileMe personal domains. Support for existing .Mac websites is also included with the latest Sandvox release.

"Sandvox is a great piece of software. It should be used in a software design class as an excellent example of an intuitive user interface. The features are accessible to basic users, but it is also powerful enough for advanced web designers. I've tried out different web publishing software, but they don't come close to Sandvox when compared on features, ease-of-use, and pricing," said Andrew Soh, a California resident and user of Kareila's website creation tool. Here's Andrew's site, by the way.

Kareila Software's Sandvox costs $49 to buy. The demo version of the software, available HERE, will only export or publish the home page of each project you create using it. The application requires Mac OS X 10.4.4 (Tiger) or later to work and is a Universal Binary, meaning it is compatible with both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs.