Getting Page and Web Site Creation Tasks Done Quickly

When you want to ”or have to ”get it done quickly, the most powerful, timesaving features FrontPage 2003 puts at your fingertips are:

• Web components

• Page templates

• Page and Web Wizards

Let s look at each of these features in turn , and then look at how FrontPage 2003 supports them.

Accelerating the Development Process with Web Components

Using Web components, you can add advanced capabilities to your Web site at the touch of a button. Components not only offer drop-in interactive functionality and greatly streamline the development process, they also can, in many cases, eliminate the need to write your own scripts or add complicated HTML commands.

See Also  

Not only can FrontPage components save you time, they can also save you money, as you might not have to hire someone to create the functionality you need. You ll learn all about FrontPage components in Chapter 13, Using FrontPage Components.

You can think of components as programs that run when needed. Components available in FrontPage 2003 include:

• Dynamic Effects, such as marquees and interactive buttons .

• Web Search, of the current Web Site and the Web, through MSN.

• Microsoft Office System spreadsheets, charts , and PivotTables.

• Web site hit counters in a variety of styles.

• Photo galleries with horizontal, vertical, montage and slideshow layouts.

• Included content, such as page banners and pictures that rotate based on a schedule.

• Links bars to help visitors navigate your Web site more easily.

• Tables of Contents, top 10 lists, and list views.

• Maps, stock quotes, headline news from MSNBC, and weather forecasts.

Before FrontPage introduced Web components, Webmasters and designers had to be master programmers. Now you, as the webmaster, designer ”or business owner ”can spend more of your time thinking about the look, feel, and content of your pages, and less time worrying about programmatic functions needed to create a professional Web site.

Creating Pages Quickly with Templates

Over the years , thousands and thousands of people have turned to FrontPage to help them create great Web sites. And not all of them have been programmers or webmasters; lots of small business owners and managers have used FrontPage to get their businesses on the Web. That s why, from the beginning, FrontPage has supported a standard set of templates. Whenever you create a page or site in FrontPage, you will usually base the page or site on one of these templates. FrontPage includes dozens of templates designed to make page and site creation easy.

Page templates provide outlines for specific types of pages. You ll find page templates for:

• Bibliography pages

• Frequently asked question (FAQ) pages

• Feedback form pages

• Confirmation form pages

• Guest book pages

• Photo gallery pages

• User registration pages

• Search pages

• Table of Contents pages

• Frames pages in a variety of layout styles

Site templates provide outlines for specific sets of pages. You ll find Web site templates for:

• Customer support Web sites

• Personal Web sites

• Project Web sites

• SharePoint-based Team Web sites

Most templates contain guidelines to help you complete the design; some are basic and very straightforward in use, while others are more complex, requiring a bit of expertise to get the job done. We discuss these templates in Chapter 3, Maximizing Template and Wizard Options.

Creating Advanced Pages and Sites Fast with Wizards

When you need a bit more than templates offer, you may be able to use a power tool, like a wizard, to get the job done. Wizards help you create complex pages and sites automatically. All you have to do is start the wizard, and work your way through each successive wizard page.

See Also  

You'll learn more about Web Site Wizards in Chapter 3, "Maximizing Template and Wizard Options."

As with templates, FrontPage has both page and Web site wizards. The most commonly used page wizard is the Form Page Wizard, which you can use to create a form page by specifying the types of information you need collect. If you want to learn more about the forms, and the Form Page Wizard, see Chapter 14, Working with Forms, and Chapter 15, Crowd Pleasing Forms Extras.

The two most commonly used Web site wizards are the Corporate Presence Wizard and the Discussion Web Wizard. You can use the Corporate Presence Wizard to create a site that helps your business or organization to establish a presence on the Web. You can use the Discussion Web Wizard to create a Web site with multiple discussion groups that company employees and customers can use to discuss topics of interest.