WebAssist is making it easier to plug Google apps into your Web sites.
The San Diego-based Web development shop is announcing today a free extension for Adobe Dreamweaver that lets you plug Google Maps, Google Checkout and Google search into your site designs.
I installed the extension over the weekend. It’s super easy to use. With Maps, you can plot multiple data points and add custom markers and messages. Checkout integration allows you to drop in one of the four required Checkout buttons. The extension automatically encrypts your code and catalog item data and passes the values to Google when the button is pressed.
As for Google search, you just plop the search bar right into the page design. This is the old flavor of Google search, not Google Custom Search Engine. But WebAssist CEO Eric Otts, who used to be a Dreamweaver product manager at Macromedia, said the company is dutilfully working on enhancements and extensions for the future. WebAssist currently offers 15 commercial Dreamweaver extensions.