Microsoft developed FrontPage with the novice in mind.

Microsoft introduced FrontPage to its product lineup back in 1996 and it has caught on like wildfire.

Since that time the website creation and management tool is responsible for starting a multitude of personal and corporate websites alike. Why? In a word: simplicity.

Because the creation tool employs toolbars and menus similar to Microsoft Office applications –and is often offered in an MS Office bundle- users are working and building a site in a familiar environment. Plus, it doesn’t require knowledge of HTML (hypertext markup language), which makes it extremely popular with beginners.

Microsoft developed FrontPage with the novice in mind and introduced a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface, meaning you decide how you want your pages to look. Additionally you can use the drag and drop functionality, a popular approach, while the software handles the task of creating the correct HTML. So if you’re comfortable with cutting and pasting your text and graphics, creating a website can be that easy. If you have skills beyond the beginner level, you are still able to import your own HTML and take advantage of your CGI scripts. Advanced web programming tools such as Active X Controls, Web Browser Plug-ins and Java Applets are supported by FrontPage.

If you seek more interactive Web pages don’t fret, FrontPage allows you to implement more powerful options and features. Therefore, hit counters, forms, discussion groups/forums, site search engine/ full text searches, form handlers and link bars (to name a few things) are possible without having to do any server-side programming.

These features are accomplished in a straightforward manner by simply use of the drop-down menus or icons to insert the application on your Web page and FrontPage takes care of the rest. But you must establish that your FrontPage Web hosting provider has the relevant FrontPage Server Extensions (proprietary plugins) installed on their Web servers. FrontPage server extensions are merely a group of files installed on a Web server to give that server the ability to provide special Microsoft FrontPage functionality. Without these extensions the applications you have created with FrontPage will not work. Your Web host will provide detailed instructions on how these extensions are to be installed. Importantly, server extensions while designed to operate on the Windows hosting platform, are also available on various Linux/Unix hosting platforms.

There are other advantages as well:
* Site management tools will help you develop the look, feel and function of your website, including easy navigation, subdirectories, and the all-important links.

* Website traffic reports are supported.

* No need to FTP. Web page updates are automatically set after you’ve engineered your changes.

* Use of Web templates. Just fill in your content, links and images into the FrontPage templates and the design process is minimized.

Sure there are things that may be worrisome. For example, you may have to do some hand coding to make your site looks great on Netscape or Opera. But you realize that the majority of Internet browsers (more than 90 percent) use Internet Explorer 5 or higher, don’t you? Browser bias aside, there may be some limitations in creating dynamic and interactive sites but the FrontPage advantages of simplicity, maintenance and quickness to market far outweigh those.

Want to see FrontPage in action? Try Microsoft’s demo at:

http://www.microsoft.com/office/frontpage/prodinfo/demo.mspx.

Why not get up to speed with a course on how to create a web site using FrontPage 2003?
http://office.microsoft.com/training/training.aspx?AssetID=RC061276411033