Is FrontPage 2003 the best?

Brazzell Marketing · 11-03-2006, 03:57 PM

Time to upgrade. What should I buy?
I've been using a combination of Microsoft Publisher and Microsoft Word to generate HTML for inexpensive, COST-EFFECTIVE websites. It's time to upgrade, produce cleaner code, and easily impliment some attractive features that are not available in Publisher or Word. What do you think? Should I buy Microsoft's FrontPage 2003 or is there something out there that's a better value and just as easy to use?

DaveyBoy · 11-03-2006, 04:22 PM

If you need to use a WYSIWYG editor, then go for Adobe Dreamweaver, it produces far, far cleaner code than the Microsoft product. More expensive though, I think.

**Cricket** · 11-03-2006, 05:35 PM

FrontPage2003 is in the process of being replaced with Expression Web. Expression Web produces valid code.

DaveyBoy · 11-03-2006, 10:27 PM

Still Microsoft, though :mygreen:

ewomack · 11-04-2006, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cricket
FrontPage2003 is in the process of being replaced with Expression Web. Expression Web produces valid code.

Interesting! The end of an era that should have ended long ago? The ExpressionWeb page and demos (ExpressionWeb) do seem to promise valid XHTML/CSS code. This looks like a MAJOR overhaul. I guess we'll have to see (Amazon release date: December 22, 2006; cost: $299 before Amazon reduction; $100 for upgrade).

So here's yet another reason to avoid Front Page. I have never liked that tool after being forced to use it at various companies. Blech! I spent more time cleaning up than actually developing. I just hope that MS delivers a robust and quality web tool this time. So either wait to evaluate ExpressionWeb or go for Dreamweaver.

vistadivine.com · 11-04-2006, 09:45 AM

Well I have always used only Frontpage 2003 for all the web designing work and I think its good.

Akash

**Cricket** · 11-04-2006, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ewomack

Here's yet another reason to avoid Front Page. I have never liked that tool after being forced to use it at various companies. Blech! I spent more time cleaning up than actually developing. I just hope that MS delivers a robust and quality web tool this time. So either wait to evaluate ExpressionWeb or go for Dreamweaver.

Expression Web has been available for evaluation for quite some time now. For what it is worth though, I never had any trouble creating W3C valid code with FP2003. I think maybe many people still remember the oldest versions of FP back in '98 that without a doubt created horrendous results.

My own personal preference still tends to be plain old notepad.

Just my humble opinion here, but any tool you choose is going to put out exactly what you tell it to do. If someone writes crappy code, they are still gonna write crappy code with any editor.

Brazzell Marketing · 11-04-2006, 03:53 PM

Thanks for the feedback, all. I'm definitely glad I asked first. Yes, I'm looking for a WYSIWYG editor. No way I'm getting FrontPage when Microsoft is coming out with a whole new deal. I've always been really happy with Photoshop 7, so I might spring for Dreamweaver based on that alone. Can Adobe's do anything that Microsoft's doesn't do, or vice versa? Sounds like the consensus is that Adobe produces better code.

tordon · 02-11-2009, 09:59 AM

Does anyone know the exact steps to take to publish a web site with Microsoft Publisher 2007? Please help….

Brazzell Marketing · 02-11-2009, 12:40 PM

Big question Tordon. The best advice I can give you is to open Publisher and press F1. In the window that pops up, type "websites" in the search field. From the results, select "Prepare, publish, and maintain your Publisher Web Site." There is a long article here about how to export your Publisher file as a website, how FTP works, etc. Other searches in this help feature will also tell you the ins and outs of making hyperlinks in Publisher, choosing websafe fonts, and other questions.

You may need an FTP application to make this work. I like FTP Explorer. It's free and works great.

Publisher has some funky issues as a WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) editor. Before you get too involved there, you might try downloading a free copy of NVU (pronounced in-view). If you have any money to spend on a WYSIWYG editor, even an old copy of Dreamweaver is well worth it.

Tordon, to get more replies, I would start a new thread.

pinkfluffybunny · 02-11-2009, 01:06 PM

I like Frontpage because it gives me the opportunately to edit live. I like that. I have DW and use it also.

I've done 1/2 million dollar sites with FP. It's just a tool. Find one you like and learn to use it. Pick up some trials and play.

I tend to stick with IIS, because most corps I have worked for use it. The newest version of Frontpage is Expression - MS's stab at Dreamweaver. Got some good widgets, etc (good for dot net stuff), I use it also. (gives a good wysiwyg for dotnet - FP 2003 doesn't).

You can pick up a copy of FP 2003 pretty cheap now-a-days.

good luck

sssharlasss · 02-17-2009, 09:29 PM

If you must have WYSIWYG, I would suggest Dreamweaver.

dr16049 · 02-18-2009, 12:08 AM

I used FP for a long time. Not a problem. But I also am new to this relatively.
I just went to expression about 1 month ago, and it is alot like FP but better and with a lot more helpful tools.
I got it because it was only 50$ from microsoft when I got it. Just a tiny bit cheaper than dreamweaver, which I would love to try, but for the price and what I do, Expression does just fine.

pinkfluffybunny · 02-18-2009, 05:06 AM

I use several editors. Here's the deal - Frontpage is nice because it doesn't try to do stuff for me. a large percentage of the work I do in in code mode. FP doesn't throw out bad code (2003 fixed the flaws in previous versions), FP has a bug with Vista and will screw some things up,

The good things about both expression and FP is FPSE. I like editing live, and I don't like having IIS and FPSE installed on my ownpc. I never publish - can only cause problems.

I use dreamweaver also. DW has always been trouted as what the pros use - give me a break, there are some many plugins and baby stuff in there for noobs it drives me nuts....lol
I do like a lot of the plug-ins you can get for it. But as far as using it to develop, it's a pain in the butt to test. I do a lot of DOTNET and and database work, I'm not going to upload, test upload test all the damn time. and I'm certainly not going to run MSSQL, FPSE, and a dozen or so server apps on my development pc.

So, long story short - any ole editor will do for a noob. learn to use what you got, use third party scripts or apps - don't use the stock editor plugins (they come included for a reason - they were cheap).

Learn to use the easiest one and then no matter what editor you get later you already have 80% of it down.

**ScriptMan** · 02-18-2009, 06:42 PM

Notepad or notepad2. That is what you really need to produce clean code.

Works with html or php. Preview is your browser.

All the rest do things the way they want and it isn't necessarliy the right way.

pinkfluffybunny · 02-18-2009, 06:55 PM

Good advice Scriptman,

But I think it's a little over his head.

Damn I have so many apps, but you're right notepage is open all the time.....lol

**ScriptMan** · 02-19-2009, 11:05 AM

Quote:

But I think it's a little over his head.

I am almost evangilical on the subject. A reformed convert is always the most comitted.

Clean up as much of your own crappy WYSIWYG code as I have and you would be the same.

Anybody can learn to make a simple web page in a single afternoon using nothing but notepad. In a couple of days they can have a mostly valid, nice three column, CSS based page that they can use as a template for all the others.

See the secret is you only have to create one page and get it right.

webkings · 04-11-2009, 06:18 AM

it is time to move hand coding