MS FrontPage

Creating a Basic Web Page

Many Web design graybeards consider their ability to write HTML code by hand a badge of honor. But for someone who's new to the Web, this approach is pretty over the top. Just because you'd like to post your party photos doesn't mean you want to become a programmer.

Novices aren't the only ones who need a hand. Pretty much every Web developer has popped a page into a visual Web editor like FrontPage at some point.

People use FrontPage and similar programs because they make the creation of Web pages fast and easy. Advantages of using FrontPage include:

  • Hands-on editing. Of all the benefits FrontPage offers, nothing beats its ability to let you see the changes to your Web page as you make them. While you're working, you pretty much see pages as visitors to your site eventually will. You add and edit visual elements like images and hyperlink buttons by clicking on them directly. When you move or resize an object, the results show immediately.
  • Speed. Tasks that are extremely tedious when coding manually, like creating a table, are a snap in a program like FrontPage. In fact, many professionals who write their pages by hand often hop into programs like FrontPage just to add a table. In the process, they save themselves tons of typing.
  • Visual aids. FrontPage provides diagrams to help manage even the abstract aspects of your site, like hierarchy and site navigation. An illustration can be a big help when you're having trouble organizing pages.
  • Guidance. FrontPage menus and toolbars provide direction that's lacking in an all-text HTML world. For instance, even if you don't know exactly how to do something, like format a table border, you can most likely figure it out by searching through menus called Format or Table to find the right command.

This tutorial introduces you to the FrontPage workspace. After a look around, you'll take a turn at the wheel, using FrontPage to create a simple Web site. Along the way, you'll get to know FrontPage's controls and windows and catch a glimpse of what the program makes possible.