FrontPage Center: Should You Use Web Templates?

Some in Web design would say that using a Web template (or package) in the design process is "cheating." This is a silly notion that should be dismissed immediately.

For many, templates provide a great jumping off point that allows the users to get their hands around a design concept and form the site they really are looking for from that skeleton. For others, the deconstruction of a template provides a training process they couldn't have received anywhere else. For others, the simple reality is that they don't need (and often can't afford) a custom design all their own. Templates provide a great path for any of these situations.

Templates in Web design are no more cheating than is the use of templates in desktop layout or even in database design. If at all possible, let someone else do the hard work for you ahead of time.

Just because Microsoft hasn't updated the FrontPage templates for many revisions of the product, it doesn't mean that they are no longer a viable option. Plenty of great developers are all over the Net who would love to sell you a template of their design.

One of the most powerful implications of the changes introduced in FrontPage 2003 and the minimization of server extensions is that a FrontPage user can easily integrate a third-party template into his Web design. Obviously, a FrontPage-friendly template will always integrate quicker, but the option to branch out is now available to the FrontPage 2003 user.

For recommendations of third-party template options, see "FrontPage Resources Online," p. 911.


The third-party Web template industry is thriving by providing templates to people who don't have time to design them for themselves. The new options provided by FrontPage 2003 allow you to use what it has to offer.

I've seen too many people get so trapped in the process of developing the look and feel of their Web site that they never actually get to the process of publishing their Web and actually doing business online.

Don't let this happen to you. If you need help, certainly consider using a template. You now have more choices and better tools than ever before.



Special Edition Using Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003
Special Edition Using Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003
ISBN: 0789729547
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 443

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