# Solved: Is Front Page easy to use?



## HollyG (Apr 18, 2004)

I build my own site with html, but I am looking to help someone else get started. I have heard that Front Page is supposed to be easy to use. Would this be a good choice? What is the cost on that?


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

i would suggest people learn a little about HTML first, its always useful

front page is OK - some like some hate it

I dont know how much frontpage is

But people seem to like this free editor
http://www.evrsoft.com/

i have not used myself


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## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

FrontPage would *not* be a good choice. I would be one of those that "hate it," so to speak. I could write a long list of reasons why NOT to use FrontPage.  But that's all irrelevant now, because Microsoft actually discontinued it quite a while ago. It's successor, Microsoft Expression Web (now on version 2) is actually a much better product and conforms to all the web standards today. It's $299 at retail. 

Adobe Dreamweaver is the best web design product out there in my opinion.  It's easy to use, supports standards, CSS, AJAX, XHTML. XML, etc... It's $399 retail, but if money is no object I would definitely go with Dreamweaver (pay attention though; the CS4 version is coming out soon.) :up:

I've never actually tried the Evrsoft editor but I've heard good things about it. You may also want to consider the Coffee Cup HTML Editor. It's a great deal at only $49 and has everything you would need to get started with a basic website.


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## Old Rich (Jan 17, 2003)

FrontPage gets knocked by the folks that are good with HTML, or who use more sophisticated programs . . but it is a good option for folks who do not want to do either.


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## MMJ (Oct 15, 2006)

simpswr said:


> FrontPage gets knocked by the folks that are good with HTML, or who use more sophisticated programs . . but it is a good option for folks who do not want to do either.


Frontpage is 5 years old, if you want to use it at least use its successor, Expression Web.

Sites generated by Frontpage usually look messed up in browsers such as Firefox & Safari.


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## Old Rich (Jan 17, 2003)

I have a half-dozen sites created with FrontPage and see no differences with FireFox . . don't use Safari so can't comment


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## MMJ (Oct 15, 2006)

simpswr said:


> I have a half-dozen sites created with FrontPage and see no differences with FireFox . . don't use Safari so can't comment


I've never used Frontpage so I don't know exactly but some of the nested tables appear out of location.

There is a good chance this was done with frontpage: http://forums.techguy.org/web-design-development/720029-another-problem.html


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## Old Rich (Jan 17, 2003)

MMJ said:


> There is a good chance this was done with frontpage: http://forums.techguy.org/web-design-development/720029-another-problem.html


Quite an assumption . . what leads you to that conclusion?


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## MMJ (Oct 15, 2006)

simpswr said:


> Quite an assumption . . what leads you to that conclusion?


Because what I've seen from frontpage is something very similar.

Whether or not this is caused from Frontpage is irrelevant, my point is that Frontpage generates invalid, bloated code that often looks messed up in other browsers. And now with the IE team making this (correct) decision - http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/03/03/microsoft-s-interoperability-principles-and-ie8.aspx - code generated by frontpage will also look messed up in IE8 by default.


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## caraewilton (Nov 7, 2007)

FWIW: Front page is easy to use but there are problems:
1. It is no longer in development thus limited support and as browsers become more sophisticated it's limitations become more apparent.
2. There are somethings it just does not do well, thus a basic understanding of html is required so that you can overcome these glitches.
3. Certain things don't look right in firefox.
_(All these things have been mentioned already in previous posts)._

While dreamweaver is the best, it comes at a very big price.

As already mentioned, coffeecup html Editor 2008 is a good choice. A fair price and it is capable of doing most things, so a good choice for a simple website.

I teach an IGCSE ICT course. This course requires that students build a very simple webpage using a wysiwyg editor. I have found using a wysiwyg editor in addition to teaching basic html and css a good compromise. For this course, I do use frontpage, but only because we pay for it as part of our school microsoft licensing, which we pay for anyway. Despite the saving, I am looking seriously at CoffeeCup html editor.

While I do have dreamweaver, I have found that it has a steep learning curve and only the more advanced students are able to use it.

At the end of the day, if the person has the intent they will be able to learn anything. If the person has no html experience then get a wysiwyg editor that fits in their budget. If money is not a problem get dreamweaver. If that is a bit steep, rather than the old front page, maybe look at expressions (have not got it so can't comment). If that is still too much look at coffeecup or go the free option. Buy a manual and start creating the page. It is the best way to learn. Soon enough, the limitations of which ever editor you use, will get to the person and he/she will start tinkering with the html code. That way they will start to learn html.


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## MMJ (Oct 15, 2006)

simpswr said:


> Quite an assumption . . what leads you to that conclusion?


I know coincidents happen but this is a little freaky: http://forums.techguy.org/web-design-development/720362-web-page-display-differences.html


> My site looks fine on my computer, but
> the spacing goes amuke when I pull it up from other
> computers.
> *I program with FrontPage* and...


rofl.


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## Old Rich (Jan 17, 2003)

The OP should have enough data points to make a decision . .


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## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

I side with MMJ.


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## MMJ (Oct 15, 2006)

simpswr said:


> The OP should have enough data points to make a decision . .


Yeah



Eriksrocks said:


> I side with MMJ.


 :up:


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## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

I tried to explain it to that poor guy you quoted earlier. 
http://forums.techguy.org/web-desig...web-page-display-differences.html#post5920342


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## MMJ (Oct 15, 2006)

Eriksrocks said:


> I tried to explain it to that poor guy you quoted earlier.
> http://forums.techguy.org/web-desig...web-page-display-differences.html#post5920342


Frontpage is 5 years old, it is amazing so many people still use it.


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## jvic (Apr 17, 2004)

I have done several sites in Front Page and they look the same in IE,Firefox,Safari and Opera


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## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

They may or may not look the same, the point is that whether they look the same or not it still generates invalid, non-standards-compliant code, and you don't want to use it, *especially when Microsoft no longer supports it (it's so old)!*


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## HollyG (Apr 18, 2004)

Thanks for the info. I think we'll try the Coffee Cup editor first since they are just starting out. I'll probably learn some things to.


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## MMJ (Oct 15, 2006)

I hate bringing old threads back to life, but case in point: http://forums.techguy.org/showthread.php?t=724989



> I built our church website with FP2003
> http://www.jacksonvillefirstassembly.org/schedule.htm
> I setup a table for the schedule of events, the table
> displays perfectly in IE but loses all the entries when
> displayed with FireFox. How do I correct this problem???


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## caraewilton (Nov 7, 2007)

Do you have an opinion on Expression Web? The front page replacement?


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## MMJ (Oct 15, 2006)

Yeah, I've used Expression web, its a lot better than FrontPage and a pretty good program overall.


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## Eriksrocks (Aug 7, 2005)

Yeah, Expression Web is a lot better as MMJ said. I use Dreamweaver, but I wouldn't mind using Expression Web at all.


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

Here is some other discussion on Expression Web as well. 

Peace...


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