Comparison of Web Templates, Wizards, and Packages

You are not alone in your quest to develop the perfect looking (and working) Web site. FrontPage provides for design (and technology) assistance through the use of Web templates, wizards, and Web packages. These tools are part of what makes FrontPage such a powerful product.

Templates are wonderful tools in Web design because they not only assist in layout for a site, but also they can help point you in the right direction for navigation and functional elements.

FrontPage has always come with Web page and site templates that assist in the design process. New to FrontPage 2003 is the introduction of the Web package.

Templates, wizards, and packages are each different in their use and implementation:

• A page template is a predeveloped Web page made up of page settings, formatting, and page elements. Page templates are often used when another has already developed a look and feel for a site, allowing the developer to simply enter the needed content.

• A Web template is made up of more than one page template and often contains navigation elements that connect the pages to each other. A Web template often contains all the needed elements of a complete Web site, allowing the developer to quickly focus on content instead of layout and design.

• A wizard takes you step by step through a series of questions to produce the required results in a Web page or site. The technology is similar to the wizards seen throughout other Microsoft technologies, such as the Resume Wizard in Microsoft Word or a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation Wizard. Wizards are found in Page Templates and Web Site Templates dialog boxes and lead to the eventual creation of FrontPage Web pages and Web sites.

• Web packages are a group of files that can contain, but are not limited to templates, components, themes, graphics, style sheets, scripting, and other elements. The difference between a Web package and a Web template is in the complexity of the additional files and that a Web package requires Windows SharePoint Services version 2.0 or higher to implement.

Where Does the Dynamic Web Template Come In?

Dynamic Web Templates are Web templates with additional design and layout capabilities that simply can't be contained within the confines of HTML. A Dynamic Web Template lets you create multiple pages on a site that shares the same layout.

The implications for this technology in Web design are exciting. Whereas a Web page template defines how a single page looks (and could have any part edited by anyone with FrontPage), a dynamic Web template can be used to define as many pages as desired and can be locked to prevent others from changing the developer's original view. In short, Web page templates are limited in scope and can be altered by anyone (by accident or on purpose), whereas Dynamic Web Templates can be used to format an entire site and can't be edited through the normal FrontPage interface. Make sure to read the chapter on this topic in the book.

Dynamic Web Templates also give you the power to lock areas of a Web page from being edited. This broadens the amount of people who can assist you in the Web design process because the beginner's fear of deleting something can quickly be erased by his inability to "mess up."

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If you aren't quaking in your boots with the thought of this kind of power, reread this section again.

Dynamic Web Templates greatly increase the power of the Web designer because he can let those not familiar with the design process into that very process and they will no longer be able to do the damage they were once so capable of doing.

In addition, Dynamic Web Templates give you a powerful new way to make sure that your site keeps the specific look and feel you've been striving for.

There is no limit to the amount of Dynamic Web Templates that can be used in any site. In addition, the creation of a Dynamic Web Template is as simple as saving a Web page as a Dynamic Web Template (see Figure 14.1). No other tools are needed.

Figure 14.1. Dynamic Web Templates are saved with the .dwt file suffix.

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The earlier FrontPage technology of shared borders was once used as a quasi-crutch to provide some of the power now afforded by Dynamic Web Templates. If you are using shared borders on any project, consider this as a much more powerful, and server-friendly, solution.

For more on the use of an integration of Dynamic Web Templates in the Web design process, see "Dynamic Web Templates," p. 411.

Sources for Obtaining Templates

Historically, design elements and templates provided by Microsoft often carried a certain "designed by Microsoft" look that many designers wanted to shy away from.

The rise of the third-party Web template industry is in many ways a response to that very issue. If you don't like the options that came with your copy of FrontPage, a simple search of the Internet for Web templates will provide many additional options.

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It is obviously buyer beware when working with third-party providers for Web site or page templates and similar technologies. A Web template and a FrontPage Web template are not the same technology although you can use both with FrontPage 2003.

For more information on recommended sources of third-party templates, see "FrontPage Resources Online," p. 911.